Hythe Pier stretches 700 yards (640 m) from the centre of Hythe to the deep water channel of Southampton Water, making it the 7th longest pier in the British Isles. A ferry has operated from Hythe to Southampton since the Middle Ages, and it is marked on a map by Christopher Saxton of 1575. Steam vessels were introduced in 1830. From 1889 the Percy family were involved in the running of the ferry, and from 1900 to 1980 the service was run by the General Estates Company, owned by the Percy family