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Felixstowe Suffolk
Approximate Population: 29,349
A village has stood on the site since long before the Norman conquest. 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 already been important for well over a thousand years.
It continued as a linchpin in England’s defence, as proved when in 1667 Dutch soldiers landed and failed to capture Landguard Ford. The town only became a major port in 1886. In addition to shipping, tourism increased, and a pier was constructed in 1905 but is soon to be demolished.
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 imperial family. It remained so until the late 1930s. In 1953, 38 died in the town in the North Sea flood.