| Frinton-on-Sea | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The seafront at Frinton-on-Sea | |
  Frinton-on-Sea Location withinEssex | |
| Area | 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi) |
| Population | 4,837 (2018 estimate) |
| • Density | 2,443/km2 (6,330/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TM236198 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FRINTON-ON-SEA |
| Postcode district | CO13 |
| Dialling code | 01255 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°49′58″N1°14′43″E / 51.8327°N 1.2452°E /51.8327; 1.2452 | |
Frinton-on-Sea is aseaside town and (as justFrinton) a formercivil parish, now in the parish ofFrinton and Walton, in theTendring district ofEssex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 4,837.[1]
The place-name 'Frinton' is first attested in theDomesday Book of 1086, where it appears asFrientuna. The name may mean 'fenced-in or enclosed town or settlement'.[2]
Until lateVictorian times, Frinton-on-Sea 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 the industrialistRichard Powell Cooper, who had already laid out the golf course.[3] Powell Cooper rejected Bruff's plans for a pier, stipulated the quality of housing to be built and prohibited boarding houses and pubs.[3] 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.[3]
In the first half of the 20th century the town attracted visitors from high society. Connaught Avenue, named after theDuke of Connaught and opened by his wife, was nicknamedEast Anglia's Bond Street.[citation needed] Other attractions included a lido, complete with palm trees, hotels along the Esplanade, and an amateur tennis tournament. ThePrince of Wales (later Edward VII) frequented the golf club andWinston Churchill rented a house.[3] Frinton was the last target in England attacked by theLuftwaffe, in 1944.[4]
The town has a reputation for aconservative nature (although it was in aLabour constituency from1997 to2005). Until recently, there were no pubs, although there have long been bars in seafront hotels and at thegolf and War Memorial clubs. The first pub, the Lock and Barrel, opened in 2000.[5]
Anelectoral ward in the name of Frinton exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 4,002.[6] On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished to form "Frinton and Walton".[7] In 1931 the parish had a population of 2196.[8]
Frinton has three points of entry by road: an unadopted road fromWalton-on-the-Naze in the north, a residential road, and a CCTV monitoredlevel crossing adjacent to therailway station which replaced the older gated crossing in 2009. 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 sandy and stonebeach washed daily, more than a mile (1,600 m) long, with wardens in season, and an area of sea zoned forswimming,sailing andwindsurfing. The shore is lined by apromenade with several hundredbeach huts. Landward from the promenade is a long greensward, popular with young and old alike, stretching from the boundary with Walton-on-Naze to the golf club in the south.
Six miles offshore liesGunfleet Lighthouse, constructed in 1850 but abandoned in 1921.[9]
There are twoAnglican parish churches: St Mary the Virgin isNorman in parts. The church ofSt 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'sCatholic church, the Church of the Sacred Heart and St Francis, was built in 1904, as a public hall known as Queen's Hall; the architect was William Hayne. It was acquired as a church in the 1920s.[10] There is also aMethodist church, and aFree church.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East andITV Anglia. Television signals are received from theSudbury TV transmitter.[11] Local radio stations areBBC Essex on 103.5 FM,Heart East on 96.1 FM,Greatest Hits Radio East (formerlyDream 100 FM) on 100.2 FM andActual Radio anDAB station. The town is served by the local newspaper, Clacton and Frinton Gazette which publishes on Thursdays.[12]
Frinton is home to the Frinton Summer Theatre Season at the McGrigor Hall every summer. Started in 1937, by the Cambridge Academic T. P. Hoar as an amusement whilst he studied corrosion, it quickly developed a life of its own, employing many later famous actors at the start of their career.Michael Denison,Vanessa Redgrave,Timothy West,Jane Asher,David Suchet,Gary Oldman,Owen Teale,Lynda Bellingham,Jack Klaff,Antony Sher andNeil Dudgeon all started their careers at Frinton. For many years it was run by the British actorJack Watling, and his sonGiles and son-in-law Seymour Matthews. His daughtersDebbie andDilys often appeared on stage, as did'Allo 'Allo! cast memberJohn D. Collins. It is now run by Clive Brill.[13]
Frinton's population of retirees makes it the butt of jokes, with theLNER advertising slogan "Harwich for the Continent" being appended "Frinton for the incontinent".[14] However, its genteel nature has ensured that property 'within the gates' is well sought after.
Frinton was used in a recentSubway Sandwiches commercial for the UK, although the advert was not actually filmed in Frinton.[15]
In Season 1 Episode 2 of the television seriesMinder Terry says in response to Arthur swearing on his mother's grave that he knows for a fact his mother is alive and well and living in Frinton.
The actorRoss Davidson was living in Frinton-on-Sea at the time of his death in October 2006.
T.E.B. Clarke, novelist and writer of several Ealing comedies, includingPassport To Pimlico andThe Lavender Hill Mob, lived there as a child.
Disc jockeysMike Read, Adrian John andDavid Hamilton lived in the town whilst broadcasting onBig L.[16]
Richard Cobb (1917 - 1996), Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford, was born in the town.
In the 1920s and 1930sTurret Lodge on the Esplanade was owned byFritz Dupre, the "manganese ore king", for use as his family's holiday home.
The late Group CaptainAlfred 'Ken' Gatward, who flew a mission to occupied Paris during the Second World War to drop a French Tricolour on theArc de Triomphe, lived in the town.[17]
ActressDeborah Watling, best known for her role inDoctor Who as a companion to the second Doctor, lived in the town until her death in 2017.
Famously, many of Frinton's residents are in their dotage (a phrase which gets short shrift locally is "Harwich for the Continent, Frinton for the incontinent") and adhere to a sartorial decorum and a social etiquette of a bygone age.
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