Lee-over-Sands is a small coastal hamlet in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

St Osyth St Osyth is an English village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Tendring District of north-east Essex, about west of Clacton-on-Sea and southeast of Colchester. It lies on the B1027, Colchester–Clacton road. The village is ...

, in the

Tendring Tendring is a village and civil parish in Essex. It gives its name to the Tendring District and before that the Tendring Hundred. Its name was given to the larger groupings because it was at the centre, not because it was larger than the othe ...

district of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. It is located close to the mouth of the River Colne into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. A sandspit called Colne Point is offshore from the hamlet. Colne Point Nature Reserve, a shingle ridge enclosing a

saltmarsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It ...

, is to the west of the hamlet on the site of a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

gravel works.

Jaywick Martello Tower Jaywick Martello Tower is a renovated Martello tower at Jaywick, south-west of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. It now functions as an arts, heritage and community venue. It is a Grade II listed building and a scheduled monument. History The tower was o ...

is east of Lee-over-Sands. The area is subject to flooding, and was severely affected by the

North Sea flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood () was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, resulting in extensive flooding. The ...

, when the seawall was breached in many locations near the village. Thirty-seven people died in nearby

Jaywick Jaywick is a coastal village in the Tendring District, Tendring district of Essex, England, west of Clacton-on-Sea. It lies on the North Sea coast of England, from London and from Colchester. It was constructed in the 1930s as a Seaside reso ...

, east of Lee-over-Sands. In January 2017 following a threat of

coastal flooding Coastal flooding occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged (flooded) by seawater. The range of a coastal Flood, flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coas ...

, an evacuation of 2,500 homes in Lee-over-Sands and nearby

was planned, but in the event not required. A number of houses are on the seaward side of the

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation, ...

, on Beach Road. One house on Beach Road won the

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

East Award 2017 and the RIBA East Small Project Award 2017, and was long-listed for the national RIBA House of the Year award.

References

External links

{{Commons category
Blog for residents of Lee-Over-Sands, St Osyth, Essex
Hamlets in Essex Populated coastal places in Essex St Osyth