CLACTON (GREAT), a parish in the hundred of TENDRING, county of ESSEX, 14 miles (S..E. by E.) from Colchester, containing 1075 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, with Little Holland, in the archdeaconry of Colchester, and diocese of London, rated in the king's books at £10, and in the patronage of F.Nassau, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. The bishops of London had formerly a palace here. This parish is bounded on the south by the North sea, and contains three Martello towers and a battery for the defence of the coast. A fair for toys is held on the 29th of June.