Point Clear is a village in the civil parish of

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 ...

, south-west of the village of St Osyth and on the other side of St Osyth Creek, a branch of the Colne Estuary in the

Tendring district Tendring District is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in north-east Essex, England. Its council is based in Clacton-on-Sea, the largest town. Other towns are Brightlingsea, Harwich, Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze. T ...

, in the county 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. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 1674.

History

It first appeared on a map in 1880. From Point Clear, it is possible to see the now much expanded town of Brightlingsea. Further in the distance, visitors will be able to see Mersea Island. Although Point Clear is located on the coast, there is no boating tradition. There are many elderly bungalows and chalets, which can only be used as holiday homes, due to the risk of flooding during the winter months. A track before you reach Point Clear takes visitors down to the village of Lee-over-Sands. There is a pub housed in the Martello Tower and a small cafe in Point Clear. Two

Martello Towers Martello towers are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up to high (with two floors) and typica ...

, the first on the east coast, were built against a possible invasion by Napoleon in 1809. The southern one, level with the roundabout and bus stop, was used as a naturalist's holiday home, and later an amateur radio station and test site for Marconi's. It was pulled down in the 1960s and bungalows now stand on the site. The northern tower was used by the Navy in both world wars, and the minefield control and signals bunker added in 1940 can still be seen on top. For many years a tea shop was attached. It is now the East Essex Aviation Museum. In the Second World War the whole area was strongly fortified, and was a Royal Navy and Marines landing craft training base. The present Orchards Caravan Park is a much expanded version of a smaller camp and houses touring caravans and mobile homes. Until 1940, a line of beach huts ran right down to the tip of the Peninsula at St Osyth Stone – nowadays that area is open. but many new houses have been added on the road back towards St Osyth village.

References

ADM 199 and 208 series documents at the National Archives, Kew. J P Fpynes "Battle of the East Coast 1939-1945" and "Under the White Ensign", East Essex Aviation Museum.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110709090507/http://www.stosyth.gov.uk/default.asp?calltype=about Villages in Essex St Osyth {{Essex-geo-stub