Clacton-on-Sea: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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GBP 38 - 79 The Langtry Hotel
 This cosy hotel has a lounge, a bar, and is just a few metres from Clacton´s popular beachfront.
Bedrooms are centrally heated and feature an e… MoreGBP 43 - 65 The Sandrock
 Just a minute´s walk to West Cliff Beach, Clacton-On-Sea town centre and Clacton-On-Sea pier, The Sandrock has free Wi-Fi and free parking.
A f… MoreGBP 55 - 100 The Chudleigh
 The Chudleigh has a Visit Britain ´Silver Award´ and a ´Highly Commended´ AA rating. It is a central 4-star Guest Accommodatio… MoreGBP 30 - 90 Le Vere House
 A warm and friendly welcome awaits at Le Vere House, situated a short walk from the seafront, shops, restaurants, pier and beautiful gardens.
Le Vere… MoreGBP 35 - 85 Comfort Hotel Clacton-On-Sea
 Comfort Hotel Clacton-on-Sea is on the promenade opposite historic Clacton Pier. It is just minutes from Clacton Beach and has an ideal location for a… MoreGBP 30 - 89 Esplanade Hotel
 A warm welcome is assured at this hotel in Clacton-on-Sea, ideal for spring and autumn breaks. The picturesque countryside is dotted with charming tow… MoreGBP 45 - 65 Brunton House Guest House
 Brunton House is a family-run guest house situated in the heart of Clacton-on-Sea, only a 5-minute walk from Clacton-on-Sea Rail Station and the beach… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clacton-on-Sea: Guide
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Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring Peninsula, in Essex, England and was founded in 1871. It is a seaside resort which attracts many tourists in the summer but which like other English resorts has been in decline since foreign holidays became fashionable in the 1960s and 1970s.
Clacton has a pleasure pier, arcades, a golf course and an airfield. The town and its beaches are popular with tourists, and there is an annual entertainment programme including the Clacton Airshow, an aerial display involving historic aircraft such as the Lancaster Bomber, Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires, helicopters, and the Red Arrows.
Clacton-on-Sea is served by a bustling shopping area with many of the usual national chains represented.
Clacton-on-Sea has two theatres, the West Cliff Theatre and the Princes Theatre. The West Cliff is one of the last theatres is the country to put on an old style summer show.
Clacton used to be home to one of the oldest Butlins sites, but in 1983, it was closed and replaced with the Martello Bay housing estate.
Clacton's population has grown hugely, in 1901 it was 7456, 1991 was 45,065 and today stands at over 53000.
Clacton was once the home of the singer Sade Adu|Sade and the groups the insane picnic and Spasmodic Caress.
History
Great Clacton was founded by the Celts in c.100BC. There are some vague traces of Roman Britain|Romans using the Clacton area as a seaside resort. The name Clacton dates from c.500 AD when the area was settled by Saxons. The original name, Claccingaton, means 'the village of Clacc's people'. The Domesday Book, a census conducted by William the Conqueror, records the village as Clachintuna.
Early village life was dominated by St John's Church which is now the oldest building 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, but this is discounted by serious historians. Nowadays, this area is called Great Clacton.
Clacton-on-Sea, as we know it, was officially founded by Peter Bruff in 1871 as a seaside resort. Originally the main means of access was by sea. Ships came and docked at Clacton Pier, which now offers an amusement arcade and many other forms of entertainment. People who wanted to come by road had to go 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.
In archaeology, Clacton is famous as the eponymous site of the lower Palaeolithic Clactonian archaeological industry|industry of flint tool manufacture. "Clactonian" is the name given for the man whose remains were found at Clacton from that period.
Industry
Before the Industrial Revolution, Clacton's industry mainly consisted of arable farmland. As the industrial revolution spread across the country, farmers in Clacton realized that their equipment was obsolete. A steam powered mill was built in 1867 to replace the windmill, which was eventually demolished in 1918.
Image:Clacton-on-Sea 700.jpg|Clacton town centre
Image:Clacton memorial gardens.jpg|Clacton memorial gardens
Image:Clacton-on-sea.jpg|Clacton-on-Sea from the air
Image:Clacton pier.jpg|Clacton beach, seen from the pier
Image:Clacton pier 700.jpg|Clacton pier
See also
Clactonian|Clactonian Man
Colchester
Essex
Clacton & District Indoor Bowls Club
External links
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Clacton-on-Sea". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.