is a
North Sea Seaport in
Suffolk ,
England , with a population of 27,052 (2001 census). It is one of the largest container ports in England.
There was a village there since before the
Norman Conquest , but it only became a major port in 1886. In addition to shipping, tourism increased, and a
Pier was constructed in
1905 . Indeed, during the late Victorian period (after circa 1880) it became a fashionable resort, a trend initiated by the opening of
Felixstowe Railway Station , the pier, (see above) and a visit by the then German royal family. It remained so until the late 1930s. During the war the pier, at the time one of the longest in the country and complete with its own train, was purposely bombed by the allies to prevent it being used as an easy landing point for enemy troops. Unfortunately after the war the damage was never repaired and the pier never regained its original length. By the late 1990s the town council had neglected the pier so badly and for so long it was deemed to be unsafe and closed to the public. Ambitious plans have been presented from time to time since the closure of the pier for its redevelopment along with large disused areas of the seafront near the former site of the Felixstowe Beach railway station, but as yet nothing has come of them. The beach station itself was demolished in 2004 despite a storm of protest from many local people keen on saving the 137 year-old historical building which the council had branded as 'unsafe'. The station was originally opened in 1877 and was used continuously until 1959, after this is it was the site of a small printers for many years until its demolition. Felixstowe also had a third station, Felixstowe Pier, which was actually sited inside the area of the modern day docks at a small pier popular with pleasure boats. This station was the first to close in 1951. The only remaining station, previously known as Felixstowe Town, opened in 1898 in the well-preserved building which now houses a Solar supermarket. At its prime the station saw more than 20 services an hour but now hosts only one (the service to ipswich) on its single remaining platform, formed from the far end of one of the originals.
Felixstowe is twinned with the
German towns
Wesel and
Salzwedel . It is administered by
Suffolk County Council Suffolk Coastal District Council, and Felixstowe Town Council.
There is a
Nature Reserve and
Bird Observatory at
Landguard Fort and a
Golf Club which is amongst the oldest in the UK having been established in 1881.
The Rt. Hon.
Arthur Balfour Captain of the Golf Club in 1889, became Captain of the
R&A in 1894 and British Prime Minister from 1902-1908.
Today Felixstowe is one of Britain's top three
Container ports (along with
Southampton and
Tilbury ), dealing with 35% of container cargo — and is Europe's fourth busiest. It has good road links to the Midlands via the
A14 and to
London via the
A12 Road . The single-track railway line to Ipswich has recently been upgraded to allow larger containers, and many containers are now transported by rail.
