CLACTON-ON-SEA is, paradoxically, one of the oldest known sites of human habitation in Great Britain yet, at the same time, a comparatively new town. In 1911 a 400,000­year-old spearhead was found in the cliffs below the point where Clacton Hospital now stands. Further discoveries led to the recognition of Clacton as a very important and early archaeological site. In 1871 a new town was born close to the home of prehistoric man: the `Sun and fun showbizzy champagne sea and air resort' of Clacton-on-Sea took its name from the nearby village of Great Clacton.

Originally a Saxon settlement, Great Clacton had known long centuries of largely peaceful history, though its rural calm was shattered from time to time. Soldiers marched backwards and forwards through the village to the Martello towers on the beach during the Napoleonic wars, for example, and the farmworkers rioted in 1830. The new town, too has had its ups and downs. Between the wars it grew to be one of England's leading seaside resorts, but declined after the Second World War as people began to take their holidays abroad. There has been a noticeable revival in Clacton's fortunes in recent years, however.

In this, his twelfth book and sixth on Clacton, the town's leading local historian has traced the entire past, from prehistoric times up to the present day, of both the old village and the new resort. His well-researched and readable narrative account is richly illustrated with photographs, maps, programmes and other pictures, adding great visual impact and appeal to his absorbing story.

Illustrated

£15.99