Hi ,sorry for the delay in getting back to you.I have been working night shifts ,so have not had the chance to reply.
Anne ,I see your Grimwoods were living St Osyth Road in 1871 .This is now part of St Johns Road (St Osyth Road of now was not in existence then ,nowadays it is down nearer the town ).In 1871 they were living near Smokey House Farm(which was near the roundabout that is on the St Johns Road /London Road juntion) ,which is now demolished ,but I remember playing in the barns there when I was a child.On one of the walls was a slogan written 'Vote for Round' it was there for at least 90 years.There was also a pond nearby that the children avoided as it was supposedly haunted by a lady on a white horse who would come out the water late at night.I was born about 100 yards from Smokey House Farm so know the area well.Just up the road is an area called Potash which part of still stands ,that is where my family were in 1871.
The area around where your ancestors lived was developed when the council put London Road in around 1920's.It now sports a huge roundabout and fire station there.Only a few cottages remain .
Did you know there was a large shop in Clacton for a long while called Grimwade and Clarkes ?.I spent many happy hours in there watching the money tubes zip along the wires to the cashiers office ,it's now MacDonalds.
I am also aware of the Beer(e) family as they stayed in the area but are found in Little Clacton and Toosey(St Osyth).I shall have to look at them a little more closely.
I have raided all I can from the library (Local History dept) and have amassed quite a lot of material .I shall spend today sifting through it and see what I can find.
Dob ,I will PM you later as I have ,hopefully sorted out how to send you the bits that are relevant to you.
Right ,off to take over the lounge floor with hundreds of bits of paper and try to sort them into some kind of order.I shall put up names of people I discover things about ,I have a death which looks interesting but sad ,and lots on various buildings ect.Then I must get the Parish Records for the area as I now have a micro fiche machine (Hurrah).
Thank You for your interest ,I have the feeling that this project is going to be bigger than I thought.
Lin