Editing Harwich (section)

==History==
[[File:Harwich Harbour 1804.png|upright|thumb|left|An 1804 chart of Harwich from a survey by Graeme Spence]]
The town's name means "military settlement", from Old English ''here-wic''.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PzIer-wYbnQC&dq=harwich+military+settlement&pg=PA152 Adrian Room, ''Placenames of the World'' (2003), "Harwich"]. Retrieved 20 December 2010</ref>

In 885 the [[River Stour Suffolk]] north of the town was the location for the two [[Battles of the River Stour]].

The town received its charter in 1238, although there is evidence of earlier settlement&nbsp;– for example, a record of a chapel in 1177, and some indications of a possible [[Roman Empire|Roman]] presence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=sarcophagus {{!}} British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1939-0327-4 |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=The British Museum |language=en}}</ref>

The town was the target of an abortive raid by French forces under [[Antonio Doria]] on 24 March 1339 during the [[Hundred Years' War]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sumption |first1=Jonathan |title=Trial by Battle: The Hundred Years War, Vol. 1 |year=1999 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0571200955}}</ref>

Because of its strategic position, Harwich was the target for the [[Glorious Revolution#Crossing and landing|invasion]] of Britain by [[William III of England|William of Orange]] on 11 November 1688. However, unfavourable winds forced his fleet to sail into the [[English Channel]] instead and eventually land at [[Torbay]]. Due to the involvement of the [[Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg|Schomberg]] family in the invasion, Charles Louis Schomberg was made Marquess of Harwich.

Writer [[Daniel Defoe]] devotes a few pages to the town in ''[[A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain]]''. Visiting in 1722, he noted its formidable [[fort]] and [[harbour]] "of a vast extent".<ref name=Defoe>Daniel Defoe, ''A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain'' (1724–1726) [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Defoe&c_id=3&p_id=44 Available online here]</ref> The town, he recounts, was also known for an unusual [[chalybeate spring]] rising on Beacon Hill (a [[promontory]] to the north-east of the town), which "petrified" [[clay]], allowing it to be used to pave Harwich's streets and build its walls. The locals also claimed that "the same spring is said to turn wood into iron", but Defoe put this down to the presence of "[[copperas]]" in the water. Regarding the atmosphere of the town, he states: "Harwich is a town of hurry and business, not much of gaiety and pleasure; yet the inhabitants seem warm in their nests and some of them are very wealthy".<ref name=Defoe/>

Harwich played an important part in the Napoleonic and more especially the two world wars. Of particular note:

[[File:Napoleonic fort or spaceship? (17154789929).jpg|thumb|[[Harwich Redoubt]]]]
1793–1815: Post Office Station for communication with Europe, one of embarkation and evacuation bases for expeditions to Holland in 1799, 1809, and 1813/14; base for capturing enemy privateers. The dockyard built many ships for the Navy, including [[HMS Conqueror (1801)|HMS ''Conqueror'']] which captured the French [[Pierre-Charles Villeneuve|Admiral Villeneuve]] at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]]. The Redoubt and the now-demolished Ordnance Building date from that era.

1914–1918: Base for the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[Harwich Force]] light cruisers and destroyers under Commodore Tyrwhitt, and for British submarines. In November 1918, the German [[U-boat]] fleet surrendered to the Royal Navy in the harbour.

1939–1945: One of main East Coast minesweeping and destroyer bases, at one period base for British and French submarines; assembled fleets for Dutch and [[Dunkirk evacuation]]s and follow-up to [[D-Day]]; unusually, a target for [[Corpo Aereo Italiano|Italian bombers]] during the [[Battle of Britain]].

===Royal Naval Dockyard===
{{main|Harwich Dockyard}}
Harwich Dockyard was established as a [[Royal Navy Dockyard|Naval Dockyard]] in 1652. It ceased to operate as a Royal Dockyard in 1713 (though a Royal Navy presence was maintained until 1829). During the various wars with France and Holland, through to 1815, the dockyard was responsible for both building and repairing numerous warships. [[HMS Conqueror (1801)|HMS ''Conqueror'']], a 74-gun ship completed in 1801, captured the French admiral Villeneuve at Trafalgar. The yard was then a semi-private concern, with the actual shipbuilding contracted to Joseph Graham, who was sometimes mayor of the town.<ref>{{cite book|last=Foynes|first=Julian|title=East Anglia Against the Tricolor|publisher= Poppyland Press|date=2016}}</ref> During [[World War II]] parts of Harwich were again requisitioned for naval use and ships were based at [[HMS Badger (shore establishment)|HMS ''Badger'']]; ''Badger'' was decommissioned in 1946, but the [[Royal Naval Auxiliary Service]] maintained a headquarters on the site until 1992.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.harwichanddovercourt.co.uk/the-war-years/|title=The War Years &#124; Harwich & Dovercourt &#124; History, Facts & Photos of Harwich}}</ref>

===Lighthouses===
{{main|Harwich High and Low Lighthouses}}
[[File:Constable - Harwich Lighthouse, exhibited 1820, N01276.jpg|thumb|''[[Harwich Lighthouse (painting)|Harwich Lighthouse]]'' by [[John Constable]], 1820]]
In 1665, not long after the establishment of the Dockyard, a pair of lighthouses were set up on the Town Green to serve as [[leading lights]] for ships entering the harbour. Completely rebuilt in 1818, both towers are still standing (though they ceased functioning as lighthouses in 1863, when they were replaced by a new pair of lights at [[Dovercourt]]).