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Harwich Redoubt Fort
An extremely impressive 180ft (60m) diameter circular fort built in 1808 to defend the port of Harwich against a Napoleonic invasion. It is the only such example open to the public. Eleven guns sit on the battlements. Eighteen casements below would house 300 troops in siege conditions. Part of the fort is now used as a military museum. Battle reenactments and other events are held during the summer months. The fort was restored by the Harwich Society as a voluntary project.
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Harwich Maritime Museum
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Superb nautical displays housed in a decommissioned lighthouse with excellent views over the harbour and its unending shipping movements.
The lighthouse that previously occupied this site was painted by John Constable, possibly around 1800. The present lighthouse was built, along with the high lighthouse a few hundred yards away, in 1818. Click the link button below the picture to see Constable’s painting at the Tate Gallery.
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Harwich
Lifeboat Museum
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Housed in a Victorian lifeboat-house of 1876 and containing a comprehensive history of Harwich lifeboats. Take the opportunity to go on board a 37ft (12m) lifeboat which saw service from 1968 until 1988. |
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Harwich Ha’penny Pier Visitor Centre
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This wonderfully refurbished Victorian pier ticket office contains a small exhibition of local history and offers a free information service on what to see, where to eat and where to stay in Harwich.
Right: the Ha’penny Pier Visitor Centre; below: the Mayflower exhibition |
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The Ha’penny Pier now boasts a Mayflower exhibition, which is a must for anyone interested in history.
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In addition, the Harwich Society ...
- can provide guided tours of the historic old town, at any
time, by prior arrangement;
- publishes self-guide leaflets in eight languages;
- erects commemorative plaques on historic buildings and sites;
- maintains flower displays in prominent public places;
- owns the Bobbit’s Hole Nature Reserve — an oasis of
wildlife remarkably close to the town centre;
- maintains the oldest drinking fountain and the oldest
posting box in the town; and
- painted a wall mural 180ft (60m) long and 10ft (3m) high
depicting local buildings and ships.
| Further information |
telephone +44 (0)1255 503429
fax +44 (0)1255 503429 |
Contact
Mr A Rutter
4 Hall Lane
Harwich
Essex
CO12 3TE
England |
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