Clacton-on-Sea

Clacton-on-Sea’s motto Lux, Salubritas, Felicitas (Light, Health and Happiness), sums up the main reason for the town’s existence. Born in 1871, the brainchild of Victorian entrepreneur Peter Bruff, it was created from nothing to become one of the country’s leading seaside resorts. Its name derives from the ancient farming village of Great Clacton, about a mile inland from the then desolate area known as Clacton Beach. with a short acknowledgement to its mother village, this book deals mainly with the growth of its lusty offspring from its earliest days to its height as a seaside resort from the 1920s to the 1970s. The fact that the entire history of Clacton-on-Sea falls within the lifetime of the camera means that every part of Clacton’s history has been charted by the photographer. This book brings together than exceptional selection of photographs, and great majority being published for the first time, to illustrate that history. All aspects of the town are here: its streets, its shops, its beach, the Pier, its entertainers, the events that shaped it and the people who moulded it. All are recorded in this compelling photographic record which is certain to evoke many memories for older residents and visitors while at the same time conjuring up the past for those new to the area and those visiting for the first time. The illustrations in this book are drawn mainly from the author’s own collection, from those of the Clacton District Local History Society, of which he is the chairman, and from the archives of Tendring District Council.