History of Great Clacton (Clacton)

Clacton-on-Sea, Christchurch 1891
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.
White's Directory of Essex 1848
CLACTON, (GREAT) a large village on an eminence, about a mile from the sea beach, and 14 miles South East by East of Colchester, and >>more.
White's Directory of Essex 1848 - list of inhabitants.
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874 - list of inhabitants.
Great Clacton Criminal Cases
Court cases involving Great Clacton residents - ongoing project >>more.
Images and Maps
Images and maps of Great Clacton supplied by the Francis Frith.
More local history sources
Ebay is now a great source for old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these. Link already formatted for Essex. Browse through or type the name of the location in the Ebay search box. >>
Also on Ebay are legal documents on vellum. This link is formatted for Essex. (Sometimes I think these should be in an archive.) >>
Books featuring Clacton-on-Sea from Abebooks. Just click the logo. The search terms are already formatted for Clacton-on-Sea.
Search for Great Clacton census returns at ancestry.co.uk.
1841 England Census | 1851 England Census
| 1861 England Census
1871 England Census | 1881 England Census
| 1891 England Census
1901 England Census

Pier Avenue, Great Clacton
Reproduced courtesy of Footsteps.
Quality reproductions of old photographs.
The Essex Record Office: an excellent starting point for research. The ERO has an online catalogue by the name of SEAX and a database of Parish Records held in the ERO. Access to both via their home page.
Clacton And District Local History Society web site.
1881 Ordnance Survey Map from the British History Online web site (Essex: 048, Ordnance Survey 1:10,560: Epoch 1.0).
Ordnance Survey - type the place name in the gazetteer search box to view detailed map of Great Clacton.
Heritage Gateway. Database of national and local records of England's historic sites and buildings. Includes records and photographs of all listed buildings, and historical and archaeological information on locations throughout England.