England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Great Clacton St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Great Clacton lies in the extreme east of Essex forming a lengthy stretch of the county's North Sea coastline. Great Clacton is located roughly 12 miles south of the port & town of Harwich and sits at the end of the A133 road which connects it with Colchester some 14 miles to the northwest. This is a town and coastal resort (Clacton on Sea) which has changed markedly over the centuries and expanded considerably since the arrival of the railway. Medieval Great Clacton was held by the Bishops of London and functioned as a manorial estate supplying income and produce. Much of the area was intensely farmed with cereals dominant, wetter areas along the coast were grazing marsh. Through much of its existence this area was remote and isolated with discrete creeks which lead to a reputation of for harbouring the contraband of smuggling. Through all of this period Great Clacton was a mid-sized village forming an inverted "L" shape centred upon the right angled bend wherein sits the parish church, early maps show properties heading west and south from this prominent bend, today's St John's Road and Old Road. Everything changed as a consequence of the vision of entrepreneur Peter Bruff who in 1865 purchased farmland above the cliffs fronting the sea and developing a coastal resort, Clacton on Sea. The arrival of the railway in 1882 caused an explosion in coastal development and the transformation into one of nation's major seaside resorts, here aimed solidly at the working and lower middle class markets with amusement parks, a pier and eventually a Butlins Holiday Camp. Today almost 5 miles of coastal strip has been subsumed into the resort from Holland Haven almost to Jaywick whilst the urban area has spread inland for over 2 miles almost to engulf Little Clacton. Throughout all of this growth Great Clacton has retained its village feel with its high street still retaining its businesses as a thriving shopping area. Drainage of the parish is a simple affair, in early times sundry creeks and man-made channels funneled water to the adjacent North Sea, today much has been managed sub-surface. Great Clacton is sited at around 10 metres above the sea with the entire parish lying between sea level and 20 metres in generally flattish terrain. Great Clacton parish was a large one for its county covering almost 4,300 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1,300 parishioners, a contrast with the current population of the area which stands at almost 56,000. In Domesday Book both Great Clacton and its neighbour Little Clacton were recorded as a single entity held by the Bishops of London and with a population comfortably in the top 20% of settlements, assets of 32 ploughs, meadows, pasture & woodland together with a mill and a fishery indicate a highly profitable holding for the Bishops.

The Church

St John's church stands a short distance east of the A133 at the eastern end of the village of Great Clacton at the sharp bend made by today's B1027. The foundation of St John came in the early 12th century, Bishop Belmeis enclosed a park within the embryonic village and the church was a part of that asset and was created to be impressive in its height and width in contrast to most 12th century churches. Due to later rebuilding only the core of the nave remains of the Norman Romanesque era today. The chancel was rebuilt in the 14th century in the Decorated style and the western tower in the 15th in the Perpendicular style. This theme of constant rebuilding has continued into the 19th century with a series of changes made, in 1810 the western tower was modified to take its wooden belfry and short octagonal spire, in 1866 a thorough Victorian restoration not only rebuilt the eastern wall of the chancel but also added a 2-bay northern chancel aisle, in 1913 the Perpendicular styled battlementation of the tower was replaced with simple parapet and between 1997 & 2000 the church was re-floored. Given the urban nature of the area this is a church to visit after finding a car park or some quiet side-street, whilst the churchyard is quite extensive views of the church are limited by knots of tree cover, the photographer will have to scout around to find adequate angles for the best views.