Originally ( 1920s and '30s ) a huddle of self-builds and kit-houses in a bleak field dangerously close to mean sea level , and in places still little more than a shanty town , Jaywick nevertheless has its admirers as ' folk-architecture ' . It was badly damaged by the floods of 1953 , when several residents died . In recent years it has begun to acquire facilities which the developed world widely regards as indispensable , such as metalled roads , and a sewage system . The Martello Tower is used as an art space
floods of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
Clacton-on-Sea