Walton-on-the-Naze
Encyclopedia
Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex
, England
, on the North Sea
coast in the Tendring
district. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich
. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea
to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton
. It is a resort town
, with a permanent population of about 6,000. It attracts many visitors, the Naze being the main attraction. There is also a pier.
The parish was earlier known as Walton-le-Soken. The name 'Walton' is a common one meaning a 'farmstead or village of the Britons', while 'Soken' denotes the soke
(an area of special jurisdiction) that included Thorpe, Kirby and Walton
.
Walton has an HM Coastguard
team and houses Thames MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre), organising rescues from Southwold
to Herne Bay
.
Walton-on-the-Naze railway station is on a branch of the Sunshine Coast Line.
næss "ness
, promontory
, headland". In 1722 Daniel Defoe
mentions the town calling it "Walton, under the Nase".
The Naze is a peninsula north of the town. It is important for migrating birds
and has a small nature reserve
. The marshes of Hamford Water behind the town are also of ornithological interest, with wintering duck
s and brent geese
. Many Bird watchers
visit at migration times.
The Hanoverian tower (more commonly known as the Naze Tower) at the start of the open area of the Naze was a sea mark
to assist ships on this otherwise fairly featureless coast.
The Naze is eroding rapidly (at a rate of approximately 2 metres per year) and threatening the tower and the wildlife. The Naze Protection Society was formed to campaign for erosion controls. The Naze has become popular for school fieldwork into erosion and methods to protect the coast. Protection includes a sea wall, a riprap
, groynes and a permeable groyne as well as drainage. Millions of tons of sand have been added to the beach to replenish it and stop the cliff eroding. However, the cliff
near Naze Tower is greatly eroded. The cliff is receding fast and within 50 years Naze Tower may have tumbled into the sea like the pill boxes
that can be seen on the beach.
The cliffs themselves are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the base of which is London Clay
(54 million years old) which is overlaid with a 2 Million years old sandy deposit of Red Crag
. This sandy deposit contains a large number of fossils including bivalve and gastropod shells, sharks teeth and whale bones. The clay base is considered one of the best sites for pyritised fossils (mainly wood) and for bird bones (which are very rare.)
was built in 1830, one of the earliest in the country. It was built for landing goods and passengers from steamers and was 300 ft (91.4 m). The pier was badly damaged in a storm in the 1890s. In 1895, the Walton-on-the-Naze hotel and pier company (then owners of the pier) opened a replacement pier 500 ft (152.4 m) than the original. Several extensions have increased the pier's length to 2600 ft (792.5 m), the third longest in the UK.
When the new pier opened in 1895, an electric tram
way was installed to take passengers from the steamers to the front of the pier. This was in use until 1935 when it was upgraded to a battery-powered carriage. In 1945 fire damaged the pier, and the carriage was replaced by a diesel locomotive
train. This was removed during the 1970s.
Today, the pier remains a popular attraction, with amusements and fun-fair rides in a hangar
-type building. Beyond this, the pier extends into a promenade popular with anglers.
crew which all died when they crashed on the Naze. It also has a tribute to Herbert George Columbine
,who won the VC
and after whom the local leisure centre is named, and a tribute to those lost in World War I
in HMS Conquest.
's Swallows and Amazons series book, Secret Water
.
Walton features as a turning point in the song "Tracy Jacks" from the album Parklife
by Blur
. The song's character, Tracy Jacks, takes "the first train to Walton" and stands "on the seafront". (Three of the band's members grew up in Colchester from where it is possible to take a train to Walton-on-the-Naze.)
The town is referred to in the episode 'General Hospital
' of the 'Blackadder Goes Forth
' series. When Lieutenant George is injured and sent to the military infirmary, Captain Blackadder visits him with the ulterior motive of getting his hands on the food sent to George by his family, whom Blackadder refers to as a "collection of inbred mutants". When George retorts that his family are not inbred, Blackadder replies, "Come on, somewhere outside Saffron Walden
there's an uncle who's seven feet tall with no chin and an Adam's apple that makes him look as though he's constantly trying to swallow a ballcock", to which George replies, "I have not got any uncles like that! Anyway, he lives in Walton-on-the-Naze".
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast in the Tendring
Tendring
Tendring is a local government district in North East Essex, England. It extends from the River Stour in the north, to the coast and the River Colne in the south, with the coast to the East and the town of Colchester to the west. Its council is based in Clacton-on-Sea. Towns in the district...
district. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea
Frinton-on-Sea
Frinton-on-Sea is a small seaside town in the Tendring District of Essex, England. It is part of the Parish of Frinton and Walton.-History:...
to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton
Frinton and Walton
Frinton and Walton is a civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England.It had a population of 19,039 according to the 2001 census. The parish consists of the towns of Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze, together with the villages of Kirby-le-Soken, Kirby Cross and Great...
. It is a resort town
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
, with a permanent population of about 6,000. It attracts many visitors, the Naze being the main attraction. There is also a pier.
The parish was earlier known as Walton-le-Soken. The name 'Walton' is a common one meaning a 'farmstead or village of the Britons', while 'Soken' denotes the soke
Soke (legal)
The term soke ), at the time of the Norman Conquest of England generally denoted "jurisdiction", but due to vague usage probably lacks a single precise definition....
(an area of special jurisdiction) that included Thorpe, Kirby and Walton
The Sokens
The Sokens is a name often used to describe the area containing the traditional parishes of Thorpe, Kirby and Walton, which now lie in Tendring district in the Naze area of northeast Essex. The significance of this grouping is now mostly historical.-History:...
.
Walton has an HM Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
team and houses Thames MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre), organising rescues from Southwold
Southwold
Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...
to Herne Bay
Herne Bay, Kent
Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England, with a population of 35,188. On the south coast of the Thames Estuary, it is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district...
.
Walton-on-the-Naze railway station is on a branch of the Sunshine Coast Line.
The Naze
"Naze" derives from Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
næss "ness
Ness
- Places :* The Germanic word for promontory, found in Northern European placenames* Loch Ness, a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands** Loch Ness Monster, a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness...
, promontory
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
, headland". In 1722 Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
mentions the town calling it "Walton, under the Nase".
The Naze is a peninsula north of the town. It is important for migrating birds
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
and has a small nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
. The marshes of Hamford Water behind the town are also of ornithological interest, with wintering duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s and brent geese
Brent Goose
The Brant or Brent Goose, Branta bernicla, is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The Black Brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in Barnacle Goose, which looks similar but is not a close relation.-Appearance:The Brant Goose is...
. Many Bird watchers
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
visit at migration times.
The Hanoverian tower (more commonly known as the Naze Tower) at the start of the open area of the Naze was a sea mark
Sea mark
A sea mark, also seamark and navigation mark, is a form of aid to navigation and pilotage aid which identifies the approximate position of a maritime channel, hazard and administrative area to allow boats, ships and seaplanes to navigate safely....
to assist ships on this otherwise fairly featureless coast.
The Naze is eroding rapidly (at a rate of approximately 2 metres per year) and threatening the tower and the wildlife. The Naze Protection Society was formed to campaign for erosion controls. The Naze has become popular for school fieldwork into erosion and methods to protect the coast. Protection includes a sea wall, a riprap
Riprap
Riprap — also known as rip rap, rubble, shot rock or rock armour or "Rip-rap" — is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour, water or ice erosion.It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite or...
, groynes and a permeable groyne as well as drainage. Millions of tons of sand have been added to the beach to replenish it and stop the cliff eroding. However, the cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
near Naze Tower is greatly eroded. The cliff is receding fast and within 50 years Naze Tower may have tumbled into the sea like the pill boxes
British hardened field defences of World War II
British hardened field defences of World War II were small fortified structures constructed as a part of British anti-invasion preparations. They were popularly known as pillboxes by reference to their shape.-Design and development:...
that can be seen on the beach.
The cliffs themselves are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the base of which is London Clay
London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for the fossils it contains. The fossils from the Lower Eocene indicate a moderately warm climate, the flora being tropical or subtropical...
(54 million years old) which is overlaid with a 2 Million years old sandy deposit of Red Crag
Red Crag Formation
The Red Crag Formation is a series of marine deposits at the base of the Pleistocene in Suffolk and Essex. This material rests on an erosion surface of Cretaceous to Palaeogene rocks...
. This sandy deposit contains a large number of fossils including bivalve and gastropod shells, sharks teeth and whale bones. The clay base is considered one of the best sites for pyritised fossils (mainly wood) and for bird bones (which are very rare.)
Walton Pier
The original pierPier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
was built in 1830, one of the earliest in the country. It was built for landing goods and passengers from steamers and was 300 ft (91.4 m). The pier was badly damaged in a storm in the 1890s. In 1895, the Walton-on-the-Naze hotel and pier company (then owners of the pier) opened a replacement pier 500 ft (152.4 m) than the original. Several extensions have increased the pier's length to 2600 ft (792.5 m), the third longest in the UK.
When the new pier opened in 1895, an electric tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way was installed to take passengers from the steamers to the front of the pier. This was in use until 1935 when it was upgraded to a battery-powered carriage. In 1945 fire damaged the pier, and the carriage was replaced by a diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
train. This was removed during the 1970s.
Today, the pier remains a popular attraction, with amusements and fun-fair rides in a hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
-type building. Beyond this, the pier extends into a promenade popular with anglers.
War memorial
The unusual war memorial commemorates a HalifaxHandley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
crew which all died when they crashed on the Naze. It also has a tribute to Herbert George Columbine
Herbert George Columbine
Herbert George Columbine VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
,who won the VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
and after whom the local leisure centre is named, and a tribute to those lost in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in HMS Conquest.
Notable residents
- Frank PatonFrank PatonFrank Paton was an English artist of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, best known for his paintings of animals and scenes of rural life. He was a successful artist during his lifetime and could even count Queen Victoria as an admirer of his work...
, artist, moved to Walton-on-the-Naze shortly before his death in 1909
Cultural references
Walton was inspiration for the fictional Balford-le-Nez in Elizabeth George's "Deception on His Mind." Hamford Water and the town of Walton-on-the-Naze are the location of Arthur RansomeArthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
's Swallows and Amazons series book, Secret Water
Secret Water
Secret Water is the eighth book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1939.This book is set in and around Hamford Water in Essex, close to the resort town of Walton-on-the-Naze. It brings the Swallows and the Amazons together and introduces a new...
.
Walton features as a turning point in the song "Tracy Jacks" from the album Parklife
Parklife
Parklife is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish , Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a...
by Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
. The song's character, Tracy Jacks, takes "the first train to Walton" and stands "on the seafront". (Three of the band's members grew up in Colchester from where it is possible to take a train to Walton-on-the-Naze.)
The town is referred to in the episode 'General Hospital
General Hospital (Blackadder)
"General Hospital" is the fifth episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Plot:The episode opens with George and Baldrick playing "I spy", to Blackadder's great annoyance and boredom...
' of the 'Blackadder Goes Forth
Blackadder Goes Forth
Blackadder Goes Forth is the fourth and final series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One....
' series. When Lieutenant George is injured and sent to the military infirmary, Captain Blackadder visits him with the ulterior motive of getting his hands on the food sent to George by his family, whom Blackadder refers to as a "collection of inbred mutants". When George retorts that his family are not inbred, Blackadder replies, "Come on, somewhere outside Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
there's an uncle who's seven feet tall with no chin and an Adam's apple that makes him look as though he's constantly trying to swallow a ballcock", to which George replies, "I have not got any uncles like that! Anyway, he lives in Walton-on-the-Naze".