Frank Stedman the Early Years
Frank Christopher Stedman may have been a child of the Nineteenth century, but his vision was to extend through the 20th and into the 21st.
Frank Stedman, known to his friends as Foff or F.C., was a man with a great sense of humour, 'the eternal cockeyed optimist', a man with a winning and persuasive personality, interested in painting, reading and local history and devoted to his family.
Plan as at 1929
By the time he first saw Jaywick in 1928, he was already in his early 50's, working as a land agent and surveyor for a large London Company.
In the 1920's he developed 13 other estates comprising some 1500 hectares and 84 miles of roads. On purchasing Elmer on the south coast he became Lord of the Manor. he would divide the estates into building plots and sell them, and whilst not getting directly involved with the building he would impose restrictive covenants regarding the size of the plots and houses.
It was a cold frosty January morning when Stedman drove the 90 minutes from London to view the Farm that was to become the Jaywick Sands Estate.
Also at Crossways was a small petrol station, owned and managed by the Harris family.
In the village there were already existing three shops, one, Dot's Tuck Shop, owned and managed by Mr. Frank Allum. This was the part of Jaywick which had already been laid out and accomodated about 100 residents, living permanently in the area.
Frank Stedman 1934
An 18th Century Farmhouse at the rear of Crossways stood close to a farm workers cottage and was later turned into a cafe. Close by were two cottages 'Seaspray' and 'Sunnyside' owned by Mrs. P. Farrant, Stedman later purchased both of them to make way for his new development.
The oldest building in the area was a cottage called 'Seabright', it was over 300 years old, and had a thatched roof. It was demolished in the 1960s to accomodate the Methodist Church, some Elizabethan wall paintings beneath the plaster were found during the demolition. The rubble of the cottage was used in the foundations of the church.
Golf Green Garage 1936
On that cold frosty January Morning Frank Stedman made what he later called 'The Jaywick Decision', he purchased the farm and Jaywick Sands.
