Clacton 150

2021 is the year Clacton-on-Sea celebrates its 150^th anniversary and there are many projects and celebratory events planned for later in the year to commemorate this occasion.

The Clacton Heritage Trail

The Clacton Heritage Trail celebrates Clacton-on-Sea’s 150th Birthday. The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) using money raised through the National Lottery, have funded this new seafront heritage trail in Tendring, from Jaywick Sands to Holland Haven and incorporating Clacton town centre, to celebrate the milestone. The trail covers more than five miles of beautiful coastline and engages with local schools, elder care settings and the wider community; encouraging them to be active and promote health and wellbeing, whilst learning about the local history and enjoying what the area has to offer. It includes interactive technology to bring the history to life in a fun and engaging way to convey Clacton’s story and the town’s heritage.

Find out more on the Clacton Heritage Trail web page.

Find out more on the Yelloly Woods web page.

Dovercourt Leading Lighthouses

Clacton heritage trail (node/15381)

Audio Posts and Bench

Audio posts and a bench have been installed to engage the local residents and tourist into conversations about the local community. These three audio devices will form part of the Clacton Heritage Trail, to connect with the history and people memories of the area.

Find out more on the Audio Posts and Bench web page.

Clacton 150 Black Tie Dinner Dance

To celebrate Clacton’s landmark 150^th Anniversary, a black tie dinner dance was held at the Princes Theatre on 6 November 2021. This event was open to the public to purchase tickets (at the cost of £40) to enjoy a three course meal, variety entertainment from vintage singing group The Harmonettes and soul band Wully Bully, to magician Danny Lee Grew and comedy ventriloquist Steve Hewlett. Upon arrival on the red carpet, guests were greeted with a welcome drink to celebrate and a photographer was on hand to take memento photos. Pianist Simon Smith-Daye played to welcome guests, who could also peruse an exhibition of vintage Princes Theatre posters and memorabilia through the decades. A photo booth was freely available to guests and set with a backdrop taking them back to the 1800’s and offered as a souvenir keepsake. The tables were named after poignant buildings and places with information on them and decorated in sea side décor. The event was a huge success with great reviews.

Clacton 150 Coat Of Arms Competition

The Clacton 150 Coat of Arms competition is a fun way of engaging with Tendring primary schools and creating a lasting legacy for Clacton's 150^th Birthday. Every primary school was invited to take part and the children were asked to create an item that they felt symbolises Clacton to them but also how a Coat of Arms is relate to the community of which they represent.

View the winning designs on our Coat Of Arms Competition webpage

Street Tag

Tendring District Council has partnered with Street Tag to turn Clacton in to a virtual tag playground.

Virtual tags will be placed along popular walking routes and areas with green space from Jaywick Sands through to Holland-on-Sea, along the seafront and in Clacton town centre to encourage physical activity and in turn good mental health.

Families and other users will be encouraged to walk, run or cycle to the virtual tags and the digital monument which are placed on the Street Tag app map.

Those taking part in Street Tag collect points assigned to virtual tags, once they are within 40-metre radius of them, and steps can also be synced and converted into Street Tag points. These points add up in real time on the leader board, with prizes to be won at the end of each season.

Along the way you can experience the local heritage and history of Clacton through audio, video, pictures, and text on the augmented reality Monument Tours in the Street Tag App.

How to get involved

Install the app, create a team and join a leader board.

Earn points from physical activities indoor and outdoor walking, running, cycling to collect virtual tags + convert your steps into points.

Get Rewards/Win prizes such as sports equipment, amazon vouchers and more.

Find out more on the Street Tag web page

Octopus AHoy

Tendring District Council and NLHF worked in partnership to deliver a fun and exciting dynamic trail of octopuses around Tendring.

Find out more on the Octopus AHoy page.

Contacts and Credits

Roger Kennell, Clacton Victoria County History Group

Kenneth Walker, Clacton Historian

Norman Jacobs, Clacton and District Local History Society

Narrow Gauge Railway Society

Jaywick Local History Society

Princes Theatre

West Cliff Theatre

Thank you to;

Graham Cole, OBE and Ruthie Henshall, for taking the time to record some audio for our Listening posts and bench.

To contact the Clacton 150 project team please email: clacton150@tendringdc.gov.uk