Clacton-on-Sea

The town was settled during the Old Stone Age by a race of hunters. Flint implements and the fossilised bones of the cave lion, straight tusked elephant and wild ox have been unearthed on the Clacton foreshore and at Lion Point. Clacton developed from a small village into a seaside resort in the late 19th Century with the fashion for coastal health and bathing.

The Pier was constructed in 1871 and paddle steamers provided the first direct route to the resort until the railway line opened in 1882. The Pier was only 30 feet across until the 1930’s when it was widened to over 300 feet wide and a berthing arm was added.