Frinton-on-Sea
developed as a seaside resort late in the 19th century. However, there was a scattered settlement
in existence many centuries before.
Frinton-on-Sea
is first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, where it appears to have been
dependent upon farming. The village
consisted of two large manors: Frietuna and Frientuna. Frietuna was part of the big estate belonging
to Count Eustace of Boulogne and the manor of Frientuna belonged first to
Geoffrey de Mandeville and was later owned by the wealthy Earl of Essex. At this time the village had a population of
approximately 20-30 people.
In
1801 Frinton-on-Sea had an area of 469 acres and a population of 31.
There
was little growth until 1871, when the population reached 54.
The
extension of the railway line from Thorpe-le-Soken to Walton-on-the-Naze in
1864 (the idea of engineer Peter Bruff), with an ‘unofficial’ halt in
Frinton-on-Sea saw an influx of new visitors and the growing reputation of
Frinton-on-Sea as a weekend resort prompted the Great Eastern Railway Company
to build a station there in 1888.
In
1885 the Marine and General Land Company bought up Frinton-on-Sea, and the
following year published its plans.
They wanted to create a town of ‘broad terraces, squares, crescents,
tree-lined avenues and roads’. This
coincided with Bruff’s idea of creating a new town called ‘Frinton Haven’. Yet the town still did not grow, and by 1891
the population had only reached 87.
The
reason for Frinton-on-Sea’s lack of growth was a viable water supply. Peter Bruff discovered a water supply at
Mistley and formed the Tendring Hundred Water Company. The supply of water arrived in 1888 and
Frinton-on-Sea’s development took off.
The
town of Frinton-on-Sea as it is known today was created by Sir Richard
Powell-Cooper. In 1893 he bought an
interest in the bulk of the land within the ‘Triangle’ and the area outside and
adjacent to The Gates, intending to follow on the development begun in 1886 by
engineer Peter Schuyler Bruff. He began
to develop the resort utilising some of Bruff’s ideas to ensure that the
settlement would be more than merely ‘another’ new town.
At
this time Sir Richard Powell-Cooper also owned part of the Greensward and the
Seafront. This prevented the type of
development which would have been undesirable to the upper-middle class of the
period.
One
of Sir Richard Powell-Cooper’s first achievements was to lay out the golf
course on the marshland at the west end of what is now known as the
Greensward. The Golf Club opened in
1895 and became one of the most fashionable in England. This was followed in 1896 by The Grand Hotel
and in 1899 by the Lawn Tennis Club, which was established on land from the
Cooper estate. In the early days,
international stars played at a post-Wimbledon tournament at the club. Now there is an International Veterans
Tournament post Wimbledon which attracts top class veterans.
The progressive development of Frinton-on-Sea was initially
centred on Station Road, which ran from ‘Frinton Gates’ to the seafront, and by
1904 many new commercial premises were being opened. Frinton-on-Sea’s new status dictated that this main thoroughfare
be upgraded and the Duchess of Connaught renamed it Connaught Avenue in
September of that year. It was
transformed into a high-class shopping street, affectionately known as ‘The
Bond Street of East Anglia’. Connaught
Avenue still retains a higher proportion of locally-owned family businesses
than most other High Streets.
In 1902 the town’s residents raised £179-12 shillings
towards the cost of the Drinking Fountain to commemorate the Coronation of King
Edward VII. It was also decided to
upgrade the public garden known as Jubilee Garden and this is still in
existence at the seaward end of Connaught Avenue. The Drinking Fountain was dismantled early in the 1960s to make
way for the screening of the new public convenience on The Greensward and over
the years it was not replaced and subsequently ‘lost’.
Frinton-on-Sea’s
famous ‘Greensward’ was created out of former pastureland as part of the 1903
Frinton Sea Defences Act.
Frinton-on-Sea’s golden years occurred between the wars;
they were dubbed the ‘Royal Years’.
The town became the exclusive place to be and anyone who ‘was anyone’
spent the summer season here.
This
trend was started by Edward, Prince of Wales, who came to visit and returned
many times.
In
the late 1920s and early 1930s the motor car gave mobility, and a house by the
sea within easy reach of London became attractive to the upper classes. Large detached houses were built in the
tree-lined avenues leading to the sea.
The Homestead was designed by Voysey, the famous London architect, in
1905/06. One of the best known of the
grand houses also built in Holland Road, is ‘Maryland’ which was famous for its
guests, who included Prince Edward and Mrs Simpson, and Sir Winston Churchill.
In
1934 a new scheme was prepared by the architect Oliver Hill and the management
company Frinton Park Estate Ltd. This
was to be called Frinton Park and was to be a ‘showcase of modern
architecture’. The best land, near the
sea, was set aside for the most modern design, in a style that was to become
known as Art Deco. Frinton Park was
unsuccessful because the house designs and concept were too modern, but ironically
it is only the most ‘modern’ Art Deco style that was actually built and remains
today.
Frinton-on-Sea
as a town was reasonably complete by 1935.
By the early 1930s, Frinton-on-Sea’s Seafront Gardens and
Greensward had developed into much-used public open spaces.
The
Gun Garden, which is situated at the junction of the seaward end of Connaught
Avenue and Old Road, was created c.
1918.
Between
1923 and 1940 a Clock Tower was sited on the Greensward. However, because of poorly constructed
foundations and subsidence it had to be demolished.
The Crescent Garden
and the Rock Garden were clearly established by 1935.
The
outline of the Crescent Garden actually appears on an 1899 plan of
Frinton-on-Sea.
The
Rock Garden was a feature situated at the southern end of the Greensward
adjacent to the public conveniences. It
was removed in the 1950-60s.
The
Second, Third and Fourth ‘Avenues’ of Frinton were lined with trees in the
early 1930s.
After
the Second World war Frinton-on-Sea again took up its place as a select seaside
resort.
In subsequent years the outlook of the town has evolved,
although the atmosphere of an Edwardian resort has remained. The resident population of the town has
continued to grow since the mid-1950s, possibly due to the electrification of
the railway in 1958. Frinton-on-Sea
still retains its reputation as a popular, quality resort. Its appeal is perhaps more geared to the
visitor who enjoys the features of the town, the Greensward and its safe
beaches, without the introduction of amusements, street trading and other
lively attractions.
The Walton & Frinton Guide Book described
Frinton-on-Sea in 1951 as the most exclusive seaside resort in Great Britain.
Frinton’s history is relatively recent with its creation
resulting in the dramatic transformation of a scattered development being part
of a highly focused vision by Peter Bruff and Sir Richard Powell-Cooper. This has largely been sustained for a
century.
A determined resistance to the introduction of formal
gardens and amusements has made Frinton unusual or even unique.
Many years before the 1998/99 historic landscape survey and
restoration plan for Frinton-on-Sea, it was noted with concern by those that
lived and worked within The Gates (south of the railway gates crossing), that
over the years
there had been a steady slow but ongoing decline in the features of the
environment.
Connaught Avenue
and The Jubilee Gardens
It is considered that Connaught Avenue still remains the gateway
to Frinton as was envisaged by the original founders of the town. The access to Frinton’s shopping centre and
seafront is through the railway gates at one extremity of Connaught Avenue. This creates a focused view along the
Greensward and the seafront. The
importance of enhancing the Avenue cannot therefore be over-emphasised as it
forms the central focus for visitors and residents alike entering or leaving
the town.
At the seaward end of Connaught Avenue the Jubilee Gardens
form the junction with The Esplanade.
The gardens form a link between the central shopping area and the
seafront.
Frinton
is now regarded as an important heritage resort because it has managed to
retain its own particular character and style.
The
town has resisted many commercial pressures; the resort has maintained an air
of serenity and communal pride. It has
not succumbed to the desire to follow trends.
Consequently many of the original features still exist and can be
restored rather than replaced.
Frinton-on-Sea,
south of the railway gates, although of mature appearance is a relatively
recent residential and marine resort, mostly comprising Edwardian and inter-war
development. From its beginning
covenants of the highest standards were insisted upon, generally ensuring the
preservation of its distinctive local identity as a high quality residential
area with substantial houses set in good sized gardens.
All proposals within Frinton-on-Sea’s designated
Conservation Area 1982 therefore require detailed consultations.
The 1960s, onwards to the late 1990s, saw the creation of a new township
with modern housing of a more modest design with a precinct of shops, in an
area north of the railway gates known as The Triangle which formed part of the
Frietuna Estate.
Henceforth
Frinton-on-Sea was known by the endearing term for the division of the older
part against the new as being Inside the Gates; and this is how it is still
spoken of locally.
Special Note: The Frinton Residents’
Association would like to thank David Foster for contributing the above
information.
Further
information on the history of Frinton-on-Sea can be found on www.frinton.org/history/