The Hotspur IV was built by Rowhedge Ironworks in 1946.

The use of the name Hotspur for several generations of Hythe ferries derives from the involvement, and later ownership, of the ferry service by the Percy family, whose member Hotspur was immortalised by William Shakespeare.

[3] Hotspur II was sold in 1978 and continued in service on the Firth of Clyde under the name Kenilworth until 2007.

[1][3] In 2012, the Hotspur IV received a new livery of green, following a re-branding of the Hythe Ferry.

In 2014 however, her life on the Hythe Ferry run came to an end, as the Hotspur IV was forced out of service, after the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) ruled that it was unsafe for passenger use due to a corroding hull.