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There are competing theories as to how the name of Felixstowe arose. One is that the town is named after Felix of Burgundy, a saint and the first bishop of the East Angles in the seventh century, although this is unlikely as the name Felixstowe is not recorded for almost 900 years. An alternative etymology is from the Anglo-Saxon or Old English name "Filicia" and "stōw", meaning a place of location. Literally Filicia's place. The earliest recorded names "Filchestou" from 1254, and "Filchestowe" in 1291 support this idea. It is possible that the later reworking of Filicia/Filche was made with the intention of referencing Felix of Burgundy.[citation needed]
The old Felixstowe hamlet was centred on a pub and church, having stood on the site since long before the Norman conquest of England. The early history of Felixstowe, including its Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norman and medieval defences, is told under the name of Walton, because the name Felixstowe was given retrospectively, during the 13th century, to a place which had expanded to a form beyond the boundaries of Walton alone. In the Domesday Book, for instance, only Walton is shown, and not Felixstowe, which at the time held little more than a few houses scattered over the cliff tops. Walton was a settlement on the River Orwell and in 1844 had a population of 907 compared to the relatively small Felixstowe Parish holding only 502 people. Walton had always preceded Felixstowe as a settlement as seen by the presence of Walton Castle, built by the Romans in the 3rd century, but today Walton is generally considered part of Felixstowe due to modern expansion.
Felixstowe is situated at the tip of the Colneis peninsula, and was in the ancient Colneis Hundred of Suffolk.
The Felixstowe area as a whole provided a linchpin in England's defence, as proved in 1667 when Dutch soldiers landed near the Fludyers area and tried (unsuccessfully) in the Battle of Landguard Fort to capture Landguard Fort due to its strategic location. The town only became a major port in 1886 when the docks opened, following the initial construction of the dock basin in 1882.
In 1810 or 1811 seven Martello Towers were built along the shore, of which four survive. Tower P on Wireless Green, off Old Fort Road, is the home of the local CoastWatch group. Q Tower, in the town, was the HQ of the Harwich-Ipswich-Martlesham Heath anti-aircraft guns between 1941 and 1945, earlier it had been in Landguard Fort.[citation needed]
At the turn of the century, tourism increased, and a pier was constructed in 1905, some of which is partially functional to this day as an amusement arcade. Indeed, during the late Victorian period (after circa 1880) it became a fashionable resort, a trend initiated by the opening of Felixstowe Town railway station, the pier and a visit by the German imperial family in 1891.
It was in this buoyant period that Felixstowe was the first British town to adopt beach huts as stationary permanent structures (rather than wheeled bathing machines) and there are photographic records of beach huts at the "spa area" in Felixstowe dating back to 1895. It is therefore known as the home to British beach huts. Some of the beach huts in the spa area (a conservation area) date back to c.1900, so are probably the original beach huts. On the cliffs above this area sits Harvest House, which was built as The Felix Hotel in 1903, and was known as "the millionaire's hotel", because of the gentry and royal visitors it attracted. The Floral Hall was built in 1909, and subsequently became known as The Spa Pavilion. Felixstowe remained a fashionable seaside destination until the late 1930s.
In April 1914 as part of the suffragette bombing and arson campaign Bath Hotel, which was popular with elite visitors, was burnt down.
Felixstowe played an important role in both world wars; in the first as Royal Naval Air Service and RAF seaplane base RNAS Felixstowe, and in the second as the Coastal Forces MTB, MGB and ML base HMS Beehive. Between the wars the seaplane station housed the RAF experimental establishment which tested seaplanes and flying boats. Its sheds and piers were incorporated in the MTB base and later the container port.
On 11 August 1919, the Felixstowe Fury sideslipped and crashed into the sea 500 yards offshore soon after take-off while on a test flight. It was preparing for an 8,000-mile flight to Cape Town, South Africa. The wireless operator, Lt. MacLeod, was killed, and the six passengers were rescued. The wreckage was towed ashore.
Wallis Simpson stayed in Felixstowe in 1936 in order to claim residence for her divorce from Ernest Simpson so that she could marry Edward VIII. The divorce and marriage sparked the abdication crisis in the same year.
Most of the south-western area of Felixstowe Urban District, between the Dock, Landguard Point, and Manor Road, was occupied by the Navy, RAF and Army. with Landguard Fort and several ruined gun emplacements and bunkers a reminder of the 1939–1945 era.
It was the first base from which Second World War German E-boats and coastal convoys were systematically attacked—by flotilla led by Lt-Commanders Howes, Dickens, Hichens and Trelawney. Felixstowe was also HQ of the Harwich Harbour coast and anti-aircraft defences, and accommodated the RAF's 26th Marine Craft (Air-Sea Rescue) Unit. In 1944 the piers near the Dock were used to load troops, tanks and vehicles onto the British and American landing craft of "Force L", which reinforced the Normandy Invasion on its first and second days.
In 1945 the German naval commanders in Occupied Holland arrived in E-boats at Felixstowe Dock to surrender their boats and charts to the Royal Navy.
In 1953, at least 48 people died in the town during the North Sea flood.
In 1993 'Fast Eddie Maher', a security van driver, stole £1.2m cash from outside Lloyds bank. He went on the run and was eventually arrested in 2012.
Landguard Fort[edit]
Main article: Landguard Fort
Landguard Fort, originally known as Langer Fort, is on the site of the last opposed invasion of England in 1667, and the first land battle of the Duke of York and of Albany's (later James II & VII) Marines. The current fort was built in the 18th century, and modified in the 19th century with substantial additional 19th/20th century outside batteries. The Fort hosts regular military re-enactments, including Darell's Day, which is a celebration of the last invasion, children's events and open-air theatre.
In the two world wars the Fort was variously the HQ of the Harwich Harbour coast and anti-aircraft defences, the signal/control station for the harbour entrance, and a radio and radar station.
Landguard Fort is in the care of English Heritage, and is managed by the Landguard Fort Trust to make it accessible to the public.
Museum[edit]
A museum telling the story of Felixstowe, with a reference library, historic maps, photo archive and fourteen rooms of artefacts from Roman finds, the Martello towers, military social and domestic history through two world wars and into the new millennium is managed by volunteers from the Felixstowe History and Museum Society. It is located in the old submarine mining establishment building at the Landguard Peninsula, between the Fort and Port.
Pier[edit]
Felixstowe Pier
The pier was opened in 1906, rebuilt in late 2017, and re-opened in 2018. During the Second World War the majority of the pier, at the time one of the longest in the country and complete with its own train, was purposely demolished by the Royal Engineers to prevent it from being used as an easy landing point for enemy troops. After the war the damage was not repaired and the pier never regained its original length. The pier in its current incarnation features an amusement hall with a gambling section, traditional fish and chips and ice cream kiosks, and a restaurant/bar with indoor and outdoor seating. The deck spans the perimeter of the main building.
Railway stations[edit]
The sole remaining railway station Felixstowe, was opened in 1898. The well-preserved station building now houses a supermarket and shops.
In its prime the railway station saw more than twenty services a day and is now served by an hourly service to Ipswich. The station now has only one platform, which has been created from the far end of one of the original platforms. Felixstowe Beach railway station was demolished in 2004, despite a storm of protest from many local people keen on saving the historic building which the council had branded as "unsafe". The station was originally opened in 1877 and was used continuously until 1959, after which it was the site of a small printers for many years until its demolition.
From 1877 until 1951 there was also Felixstowe Pier railway station, sited inside the area of the modern day docks at a small pier popular with pleasure boats, and with a paddle steamer link to London. A dock next to the pier was approved in 1879.
