Coordinates: 51°49′58″N 1°14′43″E / 51.8327°N 1.2452°E
| Frinton-on-Sea | |
.jpg) The seafront at Frinton-on-Sea |
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  Frinton-on-Sea
Frinton-on-Sea shown within Essex |
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| Population | 5,500 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Tendring |
| Shire county | Essex |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Colchester |
| Postcode district | CO13 |
| Dialling code | 01255 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Harwich |
| List of places: UK • England • Essex | |
Frinton-on-Sea is a small seaside town in the Tendring District of Essex, England. It is part of the Parish of Frinton and Walton.
Contents |
History
Until late Victorian times Frinton was a church, several farms and a handful of cottages. In the 1890s, the original developer of the town, Peter Bruff, was bought out by R Powell Cooper, who had already laid out the golf course.[1] Powell Cooper rejected Bruff's plans for a pier, stipulated the quality of housing to be built and prohibited boarding houses and pubs.[1] The Sea Defence Act 1903 established a project to stabilise the cliffs, with the Greensward, which separates the Esplanade from the sea, put in place to stabilise the land further.[1]
In the first half of the 20th century, the town attracted visitors from high society with a lido complete with palm trees, shopping with, Connaught Avenue, named after the Duke of Connaught and opened by his wife, being dubbed East Anglia's Bond Street, high class hotels along the Esplanade, a tennis tournament second only to Wimbledon; the Prince of Wales frequented the golf club and Winston Churchill rented a house.[1] Frinton was the last target in England attacked by the Luftwaffe, in 1944.[citation needed]
The town has a reputation for a conservative nature (although it was in a Labour constituency from 1997 to 2005). Until recently there were no pubs, although there have long been bars in seafront hotels and at the golf and War Memorial clubs. The first pub, the Lock and Barrell, opened in 2000.[2]
In 2008 the town was the subject of a BBC Wonderland documentary, which focused on the campaign to 'save' Frinton gates and on a number of elderly residents.[3]
At 2am on Saturday 18 April 2009, Network Rail replaced the old wooden gates on the level crossing at the entrance to Frinton with remotely operated lifting barriers. Network Rail did this, in spite of a three-year-long campaign by the town's people to save the gates, in order to improve performance and safety, and to reduce costs.[4] The morning following the gates' removal, around a hundred people gathered to protest over the decision. [4][5]
Geography
Frinton has three points of entry by road: an unadopted road from Walton-on-the-Naze in the north, a residential road, and the manual level crossing of railway station. Frinton was once geographically distinct, but housing estates now line the roads between Frinton and Walton-on-the-Naze, Kirby Cross and Kirby-Le-Soken.
The town has a sandy beach, more than a mile (1,600 m) long, with wardens in season, and an area of sea zoned for swimming, sailing and windsurfing. The shore is lined by a promenade with several hundred beach huts. Landward from the promenade is a long greensward stretching from the boundary with Walton-on-Naze to the golf club in the south.
Religion
There are two Anglican parish churches: St Mary the Virgin is Norman in parts and once the smallest church in England[citation needed]. The church of St Mary Magdalene was built in 1928 to accommodate worshippers from St Mary the Virgin. Across the road from St Mary Magadalene is the Evangelical Gospel Chapel. Frinton has a Methodist church, a Free church; a hall of Christian Scientists and a Roman Catholic church (the Church of the Sacred Heart), the last occupying a converted cinema. There is a small convent of nuns who founded the independent St Philomena's day school for 4-to-11-year-olds[citation needed][citation needed].
Frinton in popular culture
Frinton's old-fashioned nature made it the butt of music hall jokes, such as: "Harwich for the Continent, Frinton for the incontinent"[6]
Notable residents
The actor Ross Davidson was living in Frinton-on-Sea at the time of his death in October 2006. The actor James McKenna, who plays Jack Osborne in Hollyoaks, resides there.
Disc jockeys Mike Read, Adrian John and David Hamilton lived in the town whilst broadcasting on Big L.[7]
David Evans, co-founder of AOL UK and AOL Canada grew up in Frinton-on-Sea while attending The Boys High School (Colchester).
References
- ^ a b c d Peers, Deborah (September 2008). "Once upon a time in... Frinton". Essex Life (Archant): pp. 88-89. http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=&refresh=Xx310Ki2Lg80&EID=ae1ff680-f48b-4a38-9931-2ac69df9011d&skip=true. Retrieved 2009-01-18. (Registration required).
- ^ Burkeman, Oliver (September 15, 2000). "There goes the neighbourhood". The Guardian (Guardian News and Media Limited). http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,368560,00.html. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ "The Curious World of Frinton-on-Sea". BBC Two. BBC. 12 March 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009f3bh. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ a b "Frinton-on-Sea's historic railway gates removed 'under cover of darkness". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/20/frinton-on-sea-railway-gates. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ ""Ungated Community"". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/5183431/Ungated-community.html. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ Michael Collins Frinton-on-Sea: last outpost of a long-forgotten Empire The Independent 5 June 2004
- ^ Martin Kelner Why Mike Read is saying L to the playlist The Guardian 16 June 2008
External links
- Unofficial Frinton on sea website
- Frinton Golf Club website
- Essex Photos
- BIGL Radio has studios in Frinton
- Joke's over for the last resort (Ross Clark, Daily Telegraph, 19 July 2003)
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