Town History
History and Heritage
Historians disagree about the origins of the name Felixstowe.
Some believe it comes from St Felix, the Burgundian monk who brought Christianity to Anglo-Saxon East Anglia back in the seventh century AD. There is some dispute over this, though in the 11th century the town did have a priory dedicated to St Felix. Other historians give credence to the theory that the name derived from Fylthestowe, by which part of the east area of the town was known during the 1300’s.
Felixstowe has no mention in the Domesday Book, and for hundreds of years was little more than a few homes scattered on the clifftops until it was developed for port and tourism purposes in the 19th century. Walton, a village which is now part of Felixstowe, is far older and for many years – when larger – dominated and administered the affairs of the smaller but rapidly-growing Felixstowe. Walton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and for centuries has been a thriving community. Today it still retains a special character of its own. It has a busy shopping street and is a bustling area centred around its church and community hall.
Landguard Fort
Felixstowe has a rich military past and a unique place in English history in being the last place a foreign force invaded our shores. On 2nd July 1667 an invasion force of some two thousand Dutch soldiers came ashore at Felixstowe, in the vicinity of the current Fludyers Hotel. The Garrison at Landguard Fort, led by Captain Nathaniel Darell successfully repelled the attackers.
For centuries Landguard Fort, with its panoramic views over the mile-wide Harwich harbour and out to sea, guarded the estuary mouth to protect the Rivers Stour and Orwell, town and ports. There have been defences at Landguard since the time of Henry V111, but the first true fort on the site of today’s structure was not constructed until 1626, and then it was only a square turf fortress, lately bricked.
By 1720 the fort had been replaced with a new one, which Daniel Defoe hailed as “one of the best and securest in England”, but 25 years later further remodelling was done, creating today’s familiar pentagon shape with bastions at the angles and a deep ditch surround. The Victorians, in 1875, casemated the bastions, though the 18th century walls are visible still, added batteries and improved barracks. After the victory against the Dutch, and service through two World Wars, Landguard Fort’s role as a military base came to an end in1957 when the last soldiers left its walls.
Martello Towers
With Napoleon threatening to expand his empire eastwards, it was decided some new defences were needed should an invasion suddenly materialise. Between 1804 and 1812, some 103 Martello Towers were built along the south and east coasts of England at points identified as possible landing places for an enemy army.
British generals favoured the design of a stumpy two-storey circular tower after a fort of this type at Cape Mortella in Corsica successfully held off a British attacking force in 1794. The impregnable stone and brick towers, which had a powerful cannon on a revolving platform on the roof, had walls up to 15ft thick, and were able to accommodate up to 24 men, stores and ammunition. As defences, they were never put to the test. Of those built, 43 remain – four of them at Felixstowe.
Felixstowe originally had seven towers dotted along its five-mile coastline just in case. Two have been lost to the sea – one on Landguard only lasted 20 years, disappearing in the 1830’s, and another in The Dip area was the victim of erosion. Remains of a tower at the top of Bath Hill were incorporated in the design of the former Bartlet Hospital.
Tower P was for many years the Coastguard Station, but today stands empty – though only for the time being. When the south seafront is redeveloped, it is hoped it may be opened to the public. Tower Q is converted to a family home. Towers T and U stand at Felixstowe Ferry.
RAF Felixstowe
For nearly 50 years Felixstowe was known worldwide for its association with the RAF and the development of seaplanes and flying boats. It was one of the first RAF stations in Great Britain and hosted the famous Schneider Trophy flying boat teams. It was located where part of the Port of Felixstowe now stands.
The Felixstowe Mayor’s chain is the only civic regalia in the country to feature an RAF badge, a symbol of the ongoing friendship between the town and the RAF. Although the RAF station closed in 1962 the town is still very proud of its RAF history and hosts anniversary parades to commemorate the granting of the freedom of entry to the town by the RAF.
Beach House
In Undercliff Road East stands the site of a house which witnessed part of the biggest scandal to engulf the Royal Family in the 20th century. The six bed-roomed property has now been demolished – taken apart brick by brick, its fireplaces, doors and other features sold at auction, pieces of history now furnishing other people’s homes.
Beach House was tucked away behind a high, red-brick wall, but from its gardens it enjoyed the most perfect and undisturbed views of the sea. From the road it was almost totally hidden.
It was here that Mrs Simpson stayed during the abdication crisis in 1936 as she waited for the divorce which would allow her to marry King Edward V111, the man who gave up the throne of England for love.
Wallis Simpson stayed at the two-storey, sprawling Beach House for six weeks in order to establish the residential qualification required for divorce from her businessman husband, Ernest. She left Beach House for the last time on 27th October, 1936, for the 17 minute hearing at court in Ipswich. Her hopes of a quick, quiet end-of-marriage in a county town were dashed when hordes of newsmen arrived from local and national papers to cover the event. The divorce action – in which Mrs Simpson alleged her husband had committed adultery at the Hotel de Paris, Bray on Thames – was defended. However, she was wisked away from the court by car straight after the hearing – with her counsel, Norman Birkett, and journalists locked in the courtroom.
Unfortunately, Mrs Simpson hated Beach House. Clearly used to more grandiose surroundings, she wrote in her biography: “My first impression of the little house in Felixstowe was dismaying. It was tiny, there was barely room for the three of us (two friends and herself), plus a cook and a maid, to squeeze into it.”
Out-of-season Felixstowe of the 1930s, too, was not to her liking. She commented “The only sounds were the melancholy boom of the sea breaking on the deserted beach and the rustling of the wind around the shuttered cottages. No hint of distant concern penetrated Felixstowe. When I walked down to town for the mail and the newspapers not a head turned….on fair days, we used to walk alone on the beach and for all the attention ever paid to us, we could have been in Tasmania.”
While she waited, the King would frequently visit. His little red aircraft would land on open fields to the east of the seafront – or at Ipswich, and he would travel incognito. So as not to arouse suspicion and allow the pair to meet in private, his staff would often report that he was elsewhere.
South Beach Mansions
It is especially fitting that Felixstowe’s twin town should be Wesel in Germany when it was a member of that country’s Royal family who was possibly the founder of the Suffolk resort’s modern tourism industry. For had it not been for the visit of the Empress of Germany and five of her young children in 1891, today’s Felixstowe may have been very different.
It is always difficult to assess the effects of any one single event on 100 years of progress then made, but the visit of the Empress and her stay at the impressive South Beach Mansions was certainly significant for Felixstowe – turning it from a quiet health resort into a bustling, fashionable seaside town. If Felixstowe was good enough for the Royalty of Germany, it was good enough for the populace of England. Development started soon after, with the building of fine hotels and a town centre railway station to complement that on the seafront.
South Beach Mansions and the cottage alongside, which nestle in cliffs next to Bent Hill, was home to the German Royals for a month from July to August 1891. The Italianate mansion – originally built by the cartridge manufacturer Eley and, because of its tower, known as Ely Cathedral – was chosen mainly because of its size and sea-facing position. The visitors needed at least 20 bedrooms for themselves and a battalion of servants. Drawing room and dining furniture had to be hired, electric bells installed in bedrooms, and the Empress insisted the building’s billiard table be removed. Most days the Royal party spent swimming in the sea and playing on the beach.
Today, South Beach Mansions is a private house