Darrell's Marines 1667

At The Landguard Fort

Felixstowe UK

The previous page was: "D-Day Royal Marines"

The Kingdom of Essex was traditionally founded by Aescwine in 527 AD, occupying territory to the north of the River Thames. At the time Felixstowe was a clustered human settlement or community, a little larger than a hamlet.

The village of Felixstowe 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.

The Landguard Fort’s first fortifications are recorded from 1540 they consisted of a few earthworks and a blockhouse. In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building.

It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment, but it was James I of England who ordered the construction of a square fort with bulwarks at each corner.

D-Day Royal Marines

The Last Opposed Invasion On British Soil

Built just outside Felixstowe, Suffolk, at the mouth of the River Orwell, Landguard Fort was designed to guard the entrance to Harwich. It continued as a linchpin in England's defence, as proved when in 1667 Dutch soldiers landed and failed to capture the Landguard Fort.

In 1667 the Dutch landed a force of 1500 men on Felixstowe beach and advanced on the fort, but were repulsed by Nathanial Darrell and his garrison of 400 musketeers of the Duke of York & Albany's Maritime Regiment Afoot (the first English Marines) and 100 artillerymen with 54 cannons.

It is recorded as the site of the last opposed invasion of England in 1667 and the first land battle of The Duke of York and Albany's Marines, who went on to be today's Royal Marines.

Although other great Units fought in the Landguard fort. This first recorded defensive action on land by the Marines is very important to their history because most of their actions at this time were fought in the big ships at sea.

The fort was considered to be part of Essex in the 18th and 19th centuries; births and deaths within the garrison were recorded as 'Landguard Fort, Essex'. But today it is 'Landguard Fort, Suffolk.'

Other Forts Were Captured On That Day

The gunnery skill of the Artillerymen and the rapid reloading of the muskets by the Marines saved the day at Landguard Fort.

The Marines were hand picked volunteers, chosen from only those who were suitable to wear the uniform of the Duke of York & Albany's Marines. Only physically fit and strong men with a common sense attitude who could undertake strong discipline were selected.

From their start the Marines training was tough and rigorous; their skill with muskets was of the highest importance. Their priority in training was to load their muskets in half the expected time for loading a musket, with many being able to load theirs quicker.

For the Marines it was necessary to get everything into its proper prospective. Because the cost of raising a good armed force was expensive. The uniforms, weapons, housing and the pay of a large force had to be accountable at the end of the day.

Men such as these were enticed by the higher than average pay and better living accommodation than would normally be expected. And there was always the promise of a share of any bounty.

Those founder principles are what helped make the Royal Marines who they are today.

New Landguard Fort, Felixstowe, UK

A new battery was built in 1716, and a complete new fort on an adjoining site was started in 1745 to a pentagonal bastioned trace. New batteries were built in the 1750s and 1780.

The biggest change was in the 1870s where the interior barracks were rebuilt to a keep-like design, the river frontage was rebuilt with a new casemated battery covered by a very unusual caponier with a spectacular quarter sphere bomb proof nose. Several open bastions were enclosed. Later a mock ravelin block was constructed to house a submarine mining contingent.

During the Second World War, it was used as one of the balloon launch sites of Operation Outward. This was a project to attack Germany by means of free-flying hydrogen balloons that carried incendiary devices or trailing steel wires (intended to damage power lines.) Between 1942 and 1944, many thousands of balloons were launched.

The Left Battery was converted into the Anti-aircraft Operations Room for Harwich in the 1950s.

Landguard Fort Is Open to Visitors

Many visitors, as well as local people, have their own experiences of paranormal activity in or around the Fort. The most common being the image of a sailor looking out of the top right window (the side visible from the road).

Most reporting’s were in the 1990s, but occasionally there are still reports of lights at night and being "pushed" whilst visiting the top floors.

The fort has been structurally consolidated and is open every day from April to the end of October. The Ravelin block houses Felixstowe museum.

The current fort was built in the 18th century, and modified in the 19th century with substantial additional 19th/20th-century outside batteries.

The fort hosts regular military re-enactments, including Darrell's day with a Sealed Knot celebration of the last invasion, art exhibitions and alternative theatre.

Landguard Fort is in the care of English Heritage and managed by the Landguard Fort Trust. It is open to the public from 10am until 5pm every day.

Landguard Fort

The Glorious Revolution

Also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland and II of Ireland) in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians with an invading army led by the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange) who, as a result, ascended the English throne as William III of England.

The Norman conquest is viewed as the last successful conquest of England, although the Dutch victory in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 should be identified as the most recent successful invasion from the continent.

An important distinction is that the Glorious Revolution can be seen as one segment of the English ruling class centered around Parliament collaborating with outside forces to oust a different segment of the ruling classes (that centered around the Stuart monarchy), whereas in the Norman conquest the entire English ruling class was utterly displaced.

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Felixstowe, UK.

Now A Massive Port With History

The town only became a major port in 1886. In addition to shipping, tourism increased, and a pier was constructed in 1905 but is now unsafe. 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, and a visit by the German imperial family.

It remained so until the late 1930s. In 1953, at least 48 people died in the town in the North Sea flood.

Felixstowe Museum

A museum telling the story of Felixstowe, with a reference library, historic maps, photo archive and 14 rooms of artifacts from Roman finds, the Martello Towers, military social and domestic history through two world wars and into the new Millennium is managed by volunteers from the Felixstowe History and Museum Society.

It is located in the old submarine mining establishment building at Landguard Point, between the Fort and Port and is open on Sundays, Bank Holidays and Wednesdays during the summer.

The next Link will be: "First Recruit"

Darell's Marines 1667 First Recruit