About Harwich

In 1604 King James 1 awarded a Royal Charter to Harwich, consolidating earlier privileges which had established markets and fairs. This Charter established a form of local government that survived for centuries. A Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors appointed by the King were bequeathed with substantial legal and administrative powers. The importance of the town was underlined in that it was represented by two Members of Parliament, half the number for the
whole of Essex. Harwich is one of only 24 boroughs in the country that has the post of High Steward, the origins of this position dating back to the 12th century.

St Nicholas Church

The parishes of St Nicholas’ at Harwich and All Saints’ of Dovercourt formed the borough, with Dovercourt mentioned in the Domesday Survey (1086) as a flourishing manor. It was, however, Harwich’s growth as a seaport, with its natural harbour at the confluence of the rivers Stour and Orwell, that was to lead to the town’s dominance. The town produced a hardy race of seafarers, supplying crews to man warships, merchantmen and the exploring ships that sailed from Harwich. From the 14th Century onwards ships from Harwich were engaged in conflict with various European adevrsaries. Five of Drake’s Captains who faced the Spanish Armada in 1588 came from Harwich and HMS ‘Conqueror’, built at the dockyard in 1801, captured the French flagship at the battle of Trafalgar.

Christopher Newport, born in Harwich in 1561, led the expedition to the New World, founding the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown in 1607. Christopher Jones, Master of the Mayflower, who conveyed the Pilgrim Fathers to America in 1620, lived in the town. Samuel Pepys, secretary to the Admiralty, signed the Navyard lease and was a Member of Parliament for Harwich.

The High Lighthouse

For over 150 years Harwich Packet boats had the sole contract with the Post Office to transport mail to the Continent. Passenger and freight vessels have served ports in Northern Europe and this continues to the present day. The Redoubt, a huge fortress, was built to repel any naval invasion from Napoleon.

Harwich was in the front line on the First and Second World Wars, with fleets of destroyers, submarines and minesweepers. The entire German U-boat fleet surrendered at Harwich in 1918. Local sea Captain Charles Fryatt was executed at Bruges in 1916, and the local cottage hospital built in his memory bore his name as does the recently built new hospital which replaced it.

Evidence of Harwich’s rich history is all around. Wander the streets and observe the splendid 18th Century Packet Boat Captains’ residences, the Parish Church, built to accomodate sailors, soldiers and parishioners, and the fine lighthouses that once marked the harbour channel. Visit the Electric Palace cinema, beautifully restored to its original 1911 design. If you stroll along the quay from where the ships sailed, you can watch world-wide trading vessels across the water at Felixstowe. Close by are the Headquarters of Trinity House, the Harwich Haven Authority and the site of the shipbuilding yard. On Harwich Green is the unique Treadwheel Crane, used in Harwich Dockyard from 1667 until 1928.

Nearby Dovercourt, a popular seaside resort during the pre- and post-war periods, now boasts a fine promenade and a sandy and safe Blue Flag beach.

There is so much to see, you will want to come again.

Facebook