diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/TransportException.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/TransportException.java
index a4d1ffec..056d473a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/TransportException.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/TransportException.java
@@ -30,4 +30,9 @@ public abstract class TransportException extends IOException {
         super(msg);
     }
 
+    protected TransportException(String msg, Throwable cause) {
+        super(msg);
+        initCause(cause);
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSender.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSender.java
index 81a2d311..71d6ac0d 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSender.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSender.java
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ package org.springframework.ws.transport.http;
 
 import java.net.URI;
 
+import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
+
 import org.springframework.ws.transport.WebServiceMessageSender;
 
 /**
@@ -29,6 +32,11 @@ import org.springframework.ws.transport.WebServiceMessageSender;
  */
 public abstract class AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSender implements WebServiceMessageSender {
 
+    /**
+     * Logger available to subclasses.
+     */
+    protected final Log logger = LogFactory.getLog(getClass());
+
     private boolean acceptGzipEncoding = true;
 
     /**
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpTransportException.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpTransportException.java
index b4910078..767e62f1 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpTransportException.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpTransportException.java
@@ -29,4 +29,10 @@ public class HttpTransportException extends TransportException {
     public HttpTransportException(String msg) {
         super(msg);
     }
+
+    protected HttpTransportException(String msg, Throwable cause) {
+        super(msg);
+        initCause(cause);
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpUrlConnectionMessageSender.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpUrlConnectionMessageSender.java
index 19dd357b..61190afa 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpUrlConnectionMessageSender.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpUrlConnectionMessageSender.java
@@ -46,16 +46,31 @@ public class HttpUrlConnectionMessageSender extends AbstractHttpWebServiceMessag
         }
         else {
             HttpURLConnection httpURLConnection = (HttpURLConnection) connection;
-            httpURLConnection.setRequestMethod(HttpTransportConstants.METHOD_POST);
-            httpURLConnection.setUseCaches(false);
-            httpURLConnection.setDoInput(true);
-            httpURLConnection.setDoOutput(true);
-            if (isAcceptGzipEncoding()) {
-                httpURLConnection.setRequestProperty(HttpTransportConstants.HEADER_ACCEPT_ENCODING,
-                        HttpTransportConstants.CONTENT_ENCODING_GZIP);
-            }
+            prepareConnection(httpURLConnection);
             return new HttpUrlConnection(httpURLConnection);
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Template method for preparing the given {@link java.net.HttpURLConnection}.
+     * <p/>
+     * The default implementation prepares the connection for input and output, sets the HTTP method to POST, disables
+     * caching, and sets the {@code Accept-Encoding} header to gzip, if {@linkplain #setAcceptGzipEncoding(boolean)
+     * applicable}.
+     *
+     * @param connection the connection to prepare
+     * @throws IOException in case of I/O errors
+     */
+    protected void prepareConnection(HttpURLConnection connection) throws IOException {
+        connection.setRequestMethod(HttpTransportConstants.METHOD_POST);
+        connection.setUseCaches(false);
+        connection.setDoInput(true);
+        connection.setDoOutput(true);
+        if (isAcceptGzipEncoding()) {
+            connection.setRequestProperty(HttpTransportConstants.HEADER_ACCEPT_ENCODING,
+                    HttpTransportConstants.CONTENT_ENCODING_GZIP);
+        }
+    }
+
+
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSenderIntegrationTestCase.java b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSenderIntegrationTestCase.java
index 4bb4f2d9..715ca575 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSenderIntegrationTestCase.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSenderIntegrationTestCase.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package org.springframework.ws.transport.http;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
 import java.net.URI;
+import java.net.URISyntaxException;
 import java.util.zip.GZIPOutputStream;
 import javax.servlet.Servlet;
 import javax.servlet.ServletException;
@@ -50,6 +51,7 @@ import org.springframework.ws.transport.FaultAwareWebServiceConnection;
 import org.springframework.ws.transport.WebServiceConnection;
 import org.springframework.xml.transform.StringResult;
 import org.springframework.xml.transform.StringSource;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
 
 public abstract class AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSenderIntegrationTestCase extends XMLTestCase {
 
@@ -91,6 +93,9 @@ public abstract class AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSenderIntegrationTestCase ext
         jettyServer = new Server(8888);
         jettyContext = new Context(jettyServer, "/");
         messageSender = createMessageSender();
+        if (messageSender instanceof InitializingBean) {
+            ((InitializingBean) messageSender).afterPropertiesSet();
+        }
         XMLUnit.setIgnoreWhitespace(true);
         saajMessageFactory = MessageFactory.newInstance(SOAPConstants.SOAP_1_1_PROTOCOL);
         messageFactory = new SaajSoapMessageFactory(saajMessageFactory);
@@ -105,6 +110,10 @@ public abstract class AbstractHttpWebServiceMessageSenderIntegrationTestCase ext
         }
     }
 
+    public void testSupports() throws URISyntaxException {
+        assertTrue("Message sender does not support HTTP url", messageSender.supports(new URI(URI_STRING)));
+    }
+
     public void testSendAndReceiveResponse() throws Exception {
         MyServlet servlet = new MyServlet();
         servlet.setResponse(true);
diff --git a/support/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpsTransportException.java b/support/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpsTransportException.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9f721696
--- /dev/null
+++ b/support/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpsTransportException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2009 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.ws.transport.http;
+
+/**
+ * Exception that is thrown when an error occurs in the HTTP transport.
+ *
+ * @author Arjen Poutsma
+ * @since 1.5.8
+ */
+public class HttpsTransportException extends HttpTransportException {
+
+    public HttpsTransportException(String msg) {
+        super(msg);
+    }
+
+    public HttpsTransportException(String msg, Throwable cause) {
+        super(msg, cause);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/support/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpsUrlConnectionMessageSender.java b/support/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpsUrlConnectionMessageSender.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e5ba67ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/support/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/transport/http/HttpsUrlConnectionMessageSender.java
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2009 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.ws.transport.http;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
+import java.net.URI;
+import java.security.GeneralSecurityException;
+import java.security.KeyManagementException;
+import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException;
+import java.security.NoSuchProviderException;
+import java.security.SecureRandom;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import javax.net.ssl.HostnameVerifier;
+import javax.net.ssl.HttpsURLConnection;
+import javax.net.ssl.KeyManager;
+import javax.net.ssl.SSLContext;
+import javax.net.ssl.TrustManager;
+
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
+import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+import org.springframework.util.ObjectUtils;
+import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
+
+/**
+ * Extension of {@link HttpUrlConnectionMessageSender} that adds support for (self-signed) HTTPS certificates.
+ *
+ * @author Alex Marshall
+ * @author Arjen Poutsma
+ * @since 1.5.8
+ */
+public class HttpsUrlConnectionMessageSender extends HttpUrlConnectionMessageSender implements InitializingBean {
+
+    /** The default SSL protocol. */
+    public static final String DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL = "ssl";
+
+    private String sslProtocol = DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL;
+
+    private String sslProvider;
+
+    private KeyManager[] keyManagers;
+
+    private TrustManager[] trustManagers;
+
+    private HostnameVerifier hostnameVerifier;
+
+    private SecureRandom rnd;
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the SSL protocol to use. Default is {@code ssl}.
+     *
+     * @see SSLContext#getInstance(String, String)
+     */
+    public void setSslProtocol(String sslProtocol) {
+        Assert.hasLength(sslProtocol, "'sslProtocol' must not be empty");
+        this.sslProtocol = sslProtocol;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the SSL provider to use. Default is empty, to use the default provider.
+     *
+     * @see SSLContext#getInstance(String, String)
+     */
+    public void setSslProvider(String sslProvider) {
+        this.sslProvider = sslProvider;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Specifies the key managers to use for this message sender.
+     * <p/>
+     * Setting either this property or {@link #setTrustManagers(TrustManager[]) trustManagers}  is required.
+     *
+     * @see SSLContext#init(KeyManager[], TrustManager[], SecureRandom)
+     */
+    public void setKeyManagers(KeyManager[] keyManagers) {
+        this.keyManagers = keyManagers;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Specifies the trust managers to use for this message sender.
+     * <p/>
+     * Setting either this property or {@link #setKeyManagers(KeyManager[]) keyManagers}  is required.
+     *
+     * @see SSLContext#init(KeyManager[], TrustManager[], SecureRandom)
+     */
+    public void setTrustManagers(TrustManager[] trustManagers) {
+        this.trustManagers = trustManagers;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Specifies the host name verifier to use for this message sender.
+     *
+     * @see HttpsURLConnection#setHostnameVerifier(HostnameVerifier)
+     */
+    public void setHostnameVerifier(HostnameVerifier hostnameVerifier) {
+        this.hostnameVerifier = hostnameVerifier;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Specifies the secure random to use for this message sender.
+     *
+     * @see SSLContext#init(KeyManager[], TrustManager[], SecureRandom)
+     */
+    public void setSecureRandom(SecureRandom rnd) {
+        this.rnd = rnd;
+    }
+
+    public void afterPropertiesSet() throws Exception {
+        Assert.isTrue(!(ObjectUtils.isEmpty(keyManagers) && ObjectUtils.isEmpty(trustManagers)),
+                "Setting either 'keyManagers' or 'trustManagers' is required");
+    }
+
+    protected void prepareConnection(HttpURLConnection connection) throws IOException {
+        super.prepareConnection(connection);
+        if (connection instanceof HttpsURLConnection) {
+            HttpsURLConnection httpsConnection = (HttpsURLConnection) connection;
+            try {
+                SSLContext sslContext = createSslContext(sslProtocol, sslProvider);
+                sslContext.init(keyManagers, trustManagers, rnd);
+                if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
+                    logger.debug("Initialized SSL Context with key managers [" +
+                            StringUtils.arrayToCommaDelimitedString(keyManagers) + "] trust managers [" +
+                            StringUtils.arrayToCommaDelimitedString(trustManagers) + "] secure random [" + rnd + "]");
+                }
+
+                httpsConnection.setSSLSocketFactory(sslContext.getSocketFactory());
+
+                if (hostnameVerifier != null) {
+                    httpsConnection.setHostnameVerifier(hostnameVerifier);
+                }
+            }
+            catch (NoSuchProviderException ex) {
+                throw new HttpsTransportException("Could not create SSLContext: " + ex.getMessage(), ex);
+            }
+            catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException ex) {
+                throw new HttpsTransportException("Could not create SSLContext: " + ex.getMessage(), ex);
+            }
+            catch (KeyManagementException ex) {
+                throw new HttpsTransportException("Could not initialize SSLContext: " + ex.getMessage(), ex);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private SSLContext createSslContext(String protocol, String provider)
+            throws NoSuchProviderException, NoSuchAlgorithmException {
+        if (!StringUtils.hasLength(provider)) {
+            return SSLContext.getInstance(protocol);
+        }
+        else {
+            return SSLContext.getInstance(protocol, provider);
+        }
+    }
+
+}