UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Region: East of England

Shire County: Essex

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The seaside-resort Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring Peninsula, in Essex, England. It residential population is about 53,000.

Great Clacton was founded by the Celts in c. 100 BC and was originally called Claccingaton, which means The Village Clacc's People. There are some vague traces of Romans using the Clacton area as a seaside resort. The Domesday Book, a census conducted in the 11th century by William the Conqueror, records the village as Clachintuna. Early village life was dominated by the St. John's Church and The Ship Inn, which are now the two oldest buildings in Clacton. It has been suggested that smugglers may have used a tunnel from the coast to the Ship Inn to smuggle goods into the country. Nowadays, this village is called Great Clacton.

Clacton as we know it was officially founded by civil engineer Peter Schuyler Bruff in 1871. Back then, Clacton was a popular seaside resort, but it was originally only accessible by sea. Ships came and docked with Clacton Pier, which is now an arcade and entertainment Pier. People who wanted to come by road would have to go through Great Clacton. In the 1920s, London Road was built to cope with the influx of holidaymakers.

In archaeology, Clacton is famous as the eponymous site of the lower Palaeolithic Clactonian industry of flint tool manufacture.

The picture on item no. 2085 of this collection [left] shows the old Life Boat House.

[Text adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clacton-on-Sea]

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