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Flints and bronze axe heads are among the relics which have survived to show that there were settlements in Dovercourt in ancient times. The Romans were here in 1AD and there are relics of their camp on Beacon Hill which have also been preserved. After the Romans left the Saxons moved inwards, but at the beginning of the 9th century the area was invaded by the Vikings, or Danes, and by 878 the area became part of Danelaw. The first reference to the area comes in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle where there is a report of a battle fought by King Alfred’s ships against the Danes off Shotley in 885, when Alfred’s forces were victorious, but which were themselves defeated when returning to Kent.
Dovercourt is very much older than Harwich. It appears under the name Duvrecurt in the Domesday Book of 1087 under the ownership of Aubrey de Vere. [de Vere court, possibly? — Ed.] The early name for Harwich, Herwyz or Herewyk, does not appear until the 13th century. Until about the beginning of the 12th century, when the rivers broke through on their present course — earlier they had entered the North Sea near to where the pier now is in Felixstowe — Harwich was not on a promontory, but once the change had come about the significance of the site on the promontory was realised, and the Lord of the Manor, Roger Bigod, the 4th Earl of Norfolk, developed what was a small settlement into a thriving town. By 1253 Harwich had a market, and in 1297 Simon de Montfort convened a parliament in Harwich to take advice from those in the area who had had experience of ‘planting’ new towns ‘to devise, order and array a new town to the greatest profit to Ourselves and of Merchants.’ The town was Berwick upon Tweed, which had suffered at the hands of the Scots.
By a charter, which has been lost, issued by Thomas de Brotherton in 1319 and confirmed in the following year by Edward II, Harwich became a free borough.
In the 14th and 15th centuries Harwich was used as a base for the ships employed in the sea battles against Holland and France, and it had now become a town of some importance. Run by the Vestry, its accounts were recorded in the Churchwarden’s Accounts Book of St Nicholas Church, which lists all transactions which took place between 1550 and 1718, though by a new charter given by James I in 1604 Harwich and Dovercourt had been joined in a new borough, run by a Mayor and Councillors, among whom is listed Christopher Jones, the Captain of the Mayflower. The powers granted were confirmed in a charter issued by Charles II in 1665.
Harwich ships and men were prominent in the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Harwich brothers Thomas and John Grey were captains of Lord Howard’s flagship, the Ark Royal, and Drake’s ship the Revenge, respectively, and it was from Harwich that the Duke of Cumberland was sent to bring the news of the victory to Elizabeth at Tilbury.
The 17th century began with a rise in cod fishing and the bringing of coals from Newcastle, and Harwich seamen were prominent in the establishment of settlements in the New World. In 1604 Christopher Newport led the expedition which founded the first settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, and in 1620 Christopher Jones was captain of the Mayflower which sailed from Southampton with the Pilgrim Fathers and merchants who settled in New England.
During this century England was engaged in three wars against the Dutch, and Harwich was prominent as a base where ships could be stored and repaired. Reports of its efficiency in repair work during the first war led the Government to decide to establish a shipyard at Harwich, which ran from 1657 to 1660. Again in 1664, when there were fears of further hostilities, it was decided to revive the yard, and Samuel Pepys and Anthony Deane, a shipbuilder of considerable renown and a native of Harwich, set up a thriving yard, which although the war ended in 1667, remained under Admiralty control until 1713 when it continued as a private concern.
During the latter part of the 17th century the packet boat service began and trade increased. The 18th century was a time of great prosperity, packet boat captains and customs officers prominent in the control of the borough. It was not to continue in the 19th century, when fishing was reduced and the packet boat service was transferred to Tilbury, which had the railway connections which Harwich lacked. The Napoleonic threat caused some improvement in its defences, and in 1808 the Redoubt fort was built to protect the town against possible invasion by the French. A new industry, the making of cement from stone taken from the Beacon Hill cliff, brought a revival of fortunes, but necessitated the building of a stone pier in 1849 to prevent the silting of the harbour. The Ha’penny Pier was built in 1853 and the railway service began in the following year. In 1863 the Harwich Harbour Conservancy Board, now the Harwich Haven Authority, assumed control. In 1883 Parkeston Quay was built and there was a great increase in traffic to the Continent. The Continental Pier (Trinity) was built in 1886.
Harwich was of immense importance during the two World Wars. During 1914-18 it became a base for destroyers under the command of Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt and submarines commanded by Sir Roger Keyes, and saw the surrender of German U-Boats in 1918 — click the ‘U’ button for more information about this. In the Second World War it was the base for destroyers, corvettes/minesweepers, and trawlers, including Dutch, French, and Polish ships, and the town accommodated soldiers from Czechoslovakia.
Between the wars prosperity declined, and during that time and after World War 2 there was a population shift westward into and beyond Dovercourt. The Council, housed in the Guildhall since 1769, moved in 1951 to the Great Eastern Hotel, which had been built in 1865, and which acted as Naval Headquarters during World War 2, but with the loss of borough status in the local government reorganisation of 1974, it moved back to the Guildhall, though it did retain its Mayor and Town Council.
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