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| Felixstowe's History |
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In Roman times the cliffs at Felixstowe stretched
out to sea for a further mile and it was here just south of
the River Deben estuary, that the Romans built Walton Castle.
The castle has long since disappeared, some of its stone being
used for building.
For ten centuries there was little at Felixstowe except for
a few houses on the clifftop and the church at Old Felixstowe.
Much of Felixstowe's history centres around the defence of the
country. In 1338, Edward III used the long creek, now known
as Kingsfleet, to assemble his fleet before setting off to battle
with the French.
Landguard Fort marks the spot where England was last invaded,
in 1667.
In the early 19th Century England feared invasion from Napoleon's
forces and forts known as Martello towers were built up the
east coast, four of these can still be seen.
It was in the second half of the 19th Century that Felixstowe
began its rapid growth. Two factors caused this and continue
to do so to this day, the creation of the port in 1886 and tourism.
In 1891 the Empress of Germany visited the area and the small
clifftop village began its transformation into fashionable and
desirable seaside resort.
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