The Naze has been vulnerable to erosion for as long as it has existed and continues to be so.

The earliest records of sea flooding inland are found in mediaeval records from 1099. In the 17th century groynes were built there to protect Harwich, then the most important naval base in the UK. In 1798, the church east of Walton town was lost after a storm surge. The remains lie a few miles out to see and legend says the church bell can be heard clanging during particularly low tides. A dangerous surge took place in January 1953. The North Sea flood of 1953 caused sea walls to breach in 1,200 places, including the defences at the end of The Naze known as the Tamarisk Wall, named from the shrub that grew along it. The remains can still be seen at low tide today.

In 1974 major works south of the Naze Tower below Sunny Point to Hipkins breakwater regraded the cliffs, and huge mahogany piles about 8 metres in length were driven into the ground for stability as well as huge drainage tunnels to take away rainwater.

In 1998 Tendring Council paid £167,000 for 300 tonnes of granite to be placed around the Tower breakwater. This slowed down erosion, but was a piecemeal effort. The beach in front of the cliffs at the northern part of the coastline was replenished in 1999 with sand and gravel which had been dredged from Harwich Harbour.

However, the majority of this material had been washed away by 2003. In 2011 a £1.2million coastal erosion project to preserve an area below the Naze Tower was completed. The resulting 110m Crag Walk has been built to help protect the Site of Special Scientific Interest and Naze Tower from the sea. More storm surges in 2013 and 2017 caused emergency alerts to be issued along the Tendring Coast.

A new sea wall has just been built to protect a water treatment plant and the John Weston Nature Reserve, as well as farm land and the Naze itself. Made of clay from the nearby Naze, the 260 metre long and 17 metre wide wall is designed to protect land behind it. It is also in place to become a new sea wall when the existing section fails as it inevitably will, and eventually the sea will engulf the Naze completely. So make the most of this special location.