Port of Felixstowe

The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk is the United Kingdom's busiest container port, dealing with 42% of Britain's containerised trade. In 2011, it was ranked as the 35th busiest container port in the world and Europe's sixth busiest. The port handled 3.74 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of traffic in 2011.

The port is operated by the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company which was set up under an Act of Parliament, the Felixstowe Railway and Pier Act 1875 and so, is one of the few limited companies in the UK that do not have the word "Limited" in their name. Much of the land on which it sits is owned by Trinity College, Cambridge which in the 1930s bought some land near Felixstowe which included a dock which was too small to be included in the National Dock Labour Scheme. In 1967, it set up Britain's first container terminal for £3.5m in a deal with Sea-Land Service.

Felixstowe is owned by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group. The port has always been privately owned. In 1951, Gordon Parker, an agricultural merchant, bought the Felixstowe Dock & Railway Company, which at the time was handling only grain and coal. In 1976, Felixstowe was bought by European Ferries. In June 1991, P&O sold Felixstowe to Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong for £90m. In June 1994, Hutchison Whampoa's Hutchison International Port Holdings bought out Orient Overseas International's 25% stake in Felixstowe for £50m.

Felixstowe

Coordinates: 51°57′50″N 1°21′05″E / 51.9639°N 1.3515°E / 51.9639; 1.3515

Felixstowe (/ˈfiːlᵻkstoʊ/) is an Edwardian seaside town and civil parish between the River Orwell and River Deben on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 23,689. It includes the Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom.

The nearby small town of Walton is often viewed as an extension of Felixstowe as the two towns are virtually side by side, though Walton was the original village. The quieter area nearer to the Deben River is often referred to as Old Felixstowe, there is though no formal classification of Old Felixstowe.

History

The 'old' Felixstowe hamlet was centred on a pub and church, having stood on the site since long before the Norman conquest of England. 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 expanded to a form beyond the boundaries of Walton alone. In the Doomsday book, for instance, only Walton is shown, and not Felixstowe, which at the time held little more than a few houses scattered over the cliff tops. Walton was a settlement on the River Orwell and in 1844 had a population of 907 compared to the relatively small Felixstowe Parish holding only 502 people. Walton had always preceded Felixstowe as a settlement as seen by the presence of Walton Castle, built by the Romans in the 3rd century, but today Walton is generally considered part of Felixstowe due to modern expansion.

Felixstowe (disambiguation)

Felixstowe may refer to:

Places

Aircraft

Royal Navy

See also