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.