In 1867, Colonel (George) Tomline (1813-89) purchased 6,000 acres of coastal land from the Duke of Hamilton on which he soon started to build roads and houses. He also began a campaign to build a railway from Ipswich to Felixstowe and was soon chairman of the Felixstowe Railway and Pier Company. This resulted in a new branch line and many new developments in Felixstowe. The Pier hotel was part of this early development.

A new dock basin was dug out by hand between 1882-86 and the hotel was built adjacent to it at that time.

The 1904 Woodbridge licensing records show that the Pier Hotel's license was issued in 1877.

When the Pier Hotel became the Little Ships isn't certain, but it's clear from the 1910 Felixstowe Rate Book that it was the Pier Hotel in 1910 and the name changed some time during the duration of the book (early or mid 1930s).

The Pier Hotel was built by Colonel George Tomline in 1883, whilst he was engaged in developing the then much smaller dock that opened in the Summer of 1886.
By 1969 the Little Ships formed just a part of the large building - comprising a large public bar, a smaller room, and a cocktail bar - the remainder of the building was then used for offices.Inns of the Suffolk Coast, Leonard P Thompson, 1969

HMS Beehive (a Royal Naval Coastal Force with MTBs) was headquartered at Boomer Hall in Felixstowe docks during the Second World War (from 1940-45), which was located close to the Little Ships Hotel. The hotel itself was requisitioned by the military for use as a hospital on August 5th 1914, for the duration of the war.

The Little Ships burnt down one night not long after closure.

The site is now part of the modern port redevelopments. In 2009 the Victorian dock basin was filled in as part of a new 21st cent dock expansion plan. No buildings from the earlier port site now remain, including all of the military structures from the Second World War and earlier structures.