Before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, it provided service for road traffic crossing between the West Country and South Wales.

[5] The journey, a distance of over a mile at a point where the tides run swiftly, was a dangerous one, and its reputation, the roughness of the water, and the smallness of the boats deterred travellers.

Daniel Defoe visited the crossing from the Aust side in the 18th century, but did not trust the ferry to survive the bad weather, and elected to go via Gloucester instead.

[8] The company built stone piers on both banks, and commissioned a steamboat which began to ply in 1827, with a second one five years later, although sailing boats also continued to be used.

[13] The last remaining ferry boat, the Severn Princess which was launched in 1959, was found wrecked, abandoned and full of fertiliser in Ireland in 1999 by Dr. Richard Jones, the grandson of Enoch Williams.

For some years the vessel rested alongside the Beachley slipway,[21] but was eventually moved to the west bank of the River Wye in Chepstow, to sit beneath the railway bridge.

Holes were also drilled in the lower hull to drain the ferry of rainwater and Mabey Bridge staff secured the cabins.

The long-term aim of the Severn Princess Restoration Group is to return the vessel to a state where it can sit as a permanent heritage display at the site.

The group has begun the process of clearing the area under the Brunel (tubular) railway bridge to make the site more attractive to visitors and users of the Wales Coast Path, which runs through Chepstow.

Practical Boat Owner magazine reported on the project in 2021 as an example of a restoration project which has stalled, writing "there is no longer a Severn Princess Restoration Group website and the fascinating Wikipedia page hasn't been updated since the 2014 collaboration with the bridge-building firm Mabey Bridge in Chepstow.