The Victorian visionary, Peter Schuyler Bruff, saw the potential in 1865, of a new cliff-top seaside resort on the Essex coast, later to be known as Clacton-on-Sea.
A Favourite Place for Holiday-makers
Essex boasts a variety of seaside resorts and one which is still very much a favourite with many holiday-makers is Clacton-on-Sea. Originally, the only efficient access to the fishing village was by sea. Then, 145 years ago, the entrepreneur Peter Schuyler Bruff purchased the cliff-top estate that eventually became Clacton. As the first engineer of the Eastern Union Railway, working on the line from London to Colchester through to nearby Walton, Bruff obtained an Act of Parliament to build a railway line, plus an agreement for a 300-yard-long pier for the steamships of the Woolwich Steam Packet Company.
Clacton Pier
The first public building of the new resort of Clacton-on-Sea was the pier, which opened officially on 27 July 1871 and was 160 yards in length and 4 yards wide. Originally built as a landing point for goods and passengers, as Clacton was becoming an increasingly popular destination for day trippers, in 1893 the pier was lengthened to 1180 ft (360m), and entertainment facilities added. Bought by Ernest Kingsman in 1922, it remained in the ownership of the Kingsman family until 1971. In March 2009 the pier was purchased by the Clacton Pier Company, who installed a 50 ft helter-skelter as a new focal point.
The Woolwich Steam Packet Company
Steamships began calling regularly bringing the first tourists. The Woolwich Steam Packet Company was supremely important to the popularity of the embryo tourist resort. Londoners flocked to Clacton in the summer months from the early 1880s, when the railway was established. In 1890 the London, Woolwich & Clacton Steamboat Company built the first of the Belle Steamers, the Clacton Belle. This famous steamer operated for almost 40 years and others followed until World War II.
Lifeboat Station
The original lifeboat station opened in Anglefield in 1878 where it can still be seen. During the early years of the twentieth century, the lifeboat was moored off the pier in summer and, in 1927, this new boathouse with roller slipway was built on the eastern side of the pier. In 2006, a modern lifeboat house was opened at Clacton's western end.
All Roads to Clacton
People who wanted to visit the resort had to come by road through Great Clacton. In the 1920s, London Road was built to cope with the influx of holidaymakers. Later, in the 1970s, the eastern section of the A120 was opened, obviating the need for Clacton visitors to go through Colchester.
Billy Butlin Opens His Holiday Camp
The well known entrepreneur, Billy Butlin purchased and refurbished an existing amusement park in Clacton in 1936. This became his second holiday camp in 1938.
Post-War Clacton
After the war Clacton was quickly back in business and holiday-makers and London day-trippers were keen to experience sand, sea and entertainment offered by the resort. Butlin's Holiday Camp reached its height of popularity in the 50s and 60s, but with cheap foreign holidays beckoning holidaymakers in the 1970s, the resort suffered and the Butlin Camp closed in 1983. It was bought by former managers at the camp, who reopened it as a short-lived theme park called Atlas Park. The land was then sold and redeveloped for housing.
Modern Day Resort
Investment in the town has brought a new look to many of the familiar old places. The caravan parks, cliff top gardens, and a whole range of clubhouses, restaurants, and shops are attracting a new generation of holiday-makers. The climate on that sea coast is usually pleasant and warm, with relatively dry summers. For the 1961-1990 observation period, Clacton averaged 103.7 days with at least 1mm of rain annually, and just 24.3 air frosts a year- comparable to south west coastal locations.
The well known Essex author, Michael Rouse has just released his superb book Clacton-on-Sea Through Time which gives readers an insight into this popular resort with his superb selection of images capturing the heyday of Clacton, alongside his own modern photographs.
Source:
Jacobs, Norman, The Sunshine Coast, Tyndale & Panda (1986)
Rouse, Michael, Clacton-on-Sea Through Time, Amberley Publishing (2011)
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