Jaywick first enters the history books some time during the Glacial period,of about 500,000 BC. This is when the first settlements at Great Clacton and Lion Point, Jaywick are first mentioned. There has been identified a Palaeolithic culture co-eval with the mammoth, people who fashioned their tools and weapons by a flaking technique. Among artifacts that have been recovered are scrappers, pointed tools made on anvils of stone, spear tips and rough chopping implements. For some reason the Clacton tribes hadn't devised a hand axe.

In 1966 Tendring council comissioned Mr Kenneth Walker to write a history of the area as a permanent record. This takes us back to the Stone age where it was found a New Stone Age Tribe lived in Jaywick, producing a distinctive kind of pottery now known as Ringo-Clacton.

In saxon times Jaywick appears to have been a dairy farm, getting it's name along the lines of: Clacton-inga-wick. Which became Clacton-jewick in turn was shortened to Jaywick.

As time went on Jaywick was sold by the lords of the manor to pay off their debts.Lady Elizabeth Savage was on of the owners who sold to a new type of business man from London, a Mr John Langham.During the time of the Commonwealth it came to a succession of land owners and tenant farmers. The sea defences were at that time inadequate to protect the low lying marshlands, and the only way into Jaywick from Clacton was via what is now known as Rush Green road. As time went on the wars came and coastal defences were needed. these came to the east coast in the shape of Martello towers. some of which are still standing today. The towers were built inbetween 1804 and 1808 at a cost of £5,000 each. Hundreds of men were involved in the building of them.

In 1928 a business man called Frank Stedman made a purchase that was to change the face of Jaywick for good. He bought the marshlands and had dreams of a seaside center and village.

The first thing he did was extend what is now known as West road to join Clacton. Then his first 5 chalets were built in Golf Green road. which was and still is above the high water line as yet no sewerage was built in as they were to be holiday chalets for the people of London. They opened with a lot of publicity and an unofficial air service but there were still prolems he had to face.
Stedman now proceeded to build the beach hut section at the lower end of Meadow way,which at that time was an old track that led to the shore and to the abandoned shooting butts.

1931. Although the Clacton directory listed only 6 permanent residence many of the two thousand chalets were fast becoming homes and the council were not happy.
In the same year Stedman began the building of what was to become a thorn in the councils side Brooklands with Grasslands being built after a couple of years later. Thse esates were built in front of the sea wall on the former saltings.
Jaywick had become a town. Complete with it's own life boat, buses, shops, amusements and sportsgrounds. Then for 3 years a miniture railway united Crossways with the coast.

Meanwhile Stedman hadn't stopped dreaming, this time his vision was a tudor village complete with a large green. This was to be built a little further inland. But this plan was interupted and then abandon because of the war. The are bungalows and houses on the estate now that would remind one of this plan but no green.

Jaywick's bus terminal of the 50's no longer in existance.
The Broadway Jaywick's main street shown here in it's hey day of the 50's
The 50's Beach Londoners flocked to the sunshine coast.