Point Clear
Point Clear is a village in the civil parish of St Osyth, south-west of the village of St Osyth and on the other side of St Osyth Creek, a branch of the Colne Estuary in the Tendring district, in the county of Essex, England. It first appears on a map in 1880.[1]
Two Martello Towers, the first on the east coast, were built against a possible invasion by Napoleon in 1809. The southern one, level with the roundabout and bus stop, was used as a naturalist's holiday home, and later an amateur radio station and test site for Marconi's. It was scandalously pulled down in the 1960s and bungalows now stand on the site. The northern tower was used by the Navy in both world wars, and the minefield control and signals bunker added in 1940 can still be seen on top. For many years a teashop was attached. It is now the East Essex Aviation Museum. In the Second World War the whole area was strongly fortified and was a Royal Navy and Marines landing craft training base.
The present Orchards trailer park is a much expanded version of a smaller caravan camp. Till 1940 a line of beach huts ran right down to the tip of the Peninsula at St Osyth Stone – nowadays that area is open but many new houses have been added on the road back towards St Osyth village.
References
ADM 199 and 208 series documents at the National Archives, Kew. J P Fpynes "Battle of the East Coast 1939-1945" and "Under the White Ensign", East Essex Aviation Museum.
External links
Coordinates: 51°47′35″N 1°02′24″E / 51.793°N 1.040°E