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 almost 50 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.