| Frinton-on-Sea | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Frinton-on-Sea | |
  Frinton-on-Sea Location withinEssex | |
| Area | 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi) |
| Population | 4,951 (Built up area, 2021)[1] |
| • Density | 2,501/km2 (6,480/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 in thecivil parish ofFrinton and Walton, in theTendring district ofEssex, England. At the2021 census the built up area as defined by theOffice for National Statistics had a population of 4,951.
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]
Frinton was historically a small village comprising a church, several farms and a handful of cottages. In the early 1870s the village was said to comprise just six houses and have a population of 29, and it was noted that "...the sea has washed away a great part of the parish, and is still making encroachment."[3] The oldest parts of the original parish church, dedicated to St Mary, date from the from 14th century.[4]
TheTendring Hundred Railway was opened in 1867, skirting the northern edge of Frinton parish, but there was no station at Frinton initially; the nearest stations were atKirby Cross andWalton-on-the-Naze.[5] Much of the land around Frinton was subsequently bought by developers in the 1880s with the intention of laying out a new resort.[6]Frinton railway station opened in 1888 to serve the new town.[7]
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.[8] Powell Cooper rejected Bruff's plans for a pier, stipulated the quality of housing to be built and prohibited boarding houses and pubs.[8] 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.[8]
In the first half of the 20th century the town attracted visitors from high society. A new main shopping street was built linking the railway station to the esplanade. The street was formally opened in 1904 byLouise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught, and named Connaught Avenue in her honour.[9] 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.[8] Frinton was the last target in England attacked by theLuftwaffe, in 1944.[10]
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.[11]
There are three tiers of local government covering Frinton, atparish (town),district, andcounty level: Frinton and Walton Town Council,Tendring District Council, andEssex County Council. The town council is based at the Council House in the Triangle Shopping Centre, in the suburbs of Frinton.[12]
Frinton was anancient parish in theTendring hundred of Essex. When elected parish and district councils were established under theLocal Government Act 1894, Frinton was given aparish council and included in theTendring Rural District.[13] In 1901 the parish was removed from Tendring Rural District and made its ownurban district. Whereas the name of the parish remained officially just Frinton, the urban district was named Frinton-on-Sea.[14][7]
Frinton-on-Sea Urban District was abolished in 1934, merging with the neighbouring urban district ofWalton-on-the-Naze and the parishes ofGreat Holland andKirby-le-Soken to form a new urban district called Frinton and Walton.[15] At the 1931 census (the last before the abolition of the civil parish), Frinton had a population of 2,196.[16]
Frinton and Walton Urban District was in turn abolished in 1974, becoming part of the new district of Tendring.[17][18] Asuccessor parish called Frinton and Walton was created covering the area of the former urban district, with its parish council taking the name Frinton and Walton Town Council.[19]
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.[20]
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.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]
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