Colchester

 

(kōl'chĭstər, –chĕs'tər) , city (1991 pop. 87,476) and district, Essex, SE England, on the Colne River. The city is a grain and cattle market. The oyster fisheries of the Colne are important; an annual event is the October oyster feast. Other industries are flour milling, malting, and the making of boilers, gas engines, shoes, clothing, and farm machinery. Colchester was one of the great cities of pre-Roman Britain, the capital of the ruler Cunobelin (Shakespeare's Cymbeline). It became an important Roman colony and was the particular object of attack (A.D. 61) by Boadicea. To the Anglo-Saxons the place was known as Colneceaster. The witenagemot met there in 931. During the English civil war, the town was taken (1648) after a long siege by parliamentarians under Baron Fairfax of Cameron. Of interest are the preserved Roman walls and the massive Norman castle, part of which houses a museum of Roman antiquities. Colchester has a military base.

Colchester
Colchester shown within Essex
Population	104,390 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	TL997254
District	Colchester
Shire county	Essex
Region	East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	COLCHESTER
Postcode district	CO1 - CO7
Dialling code	01206
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Colchester
European Parliament	East of England
List of places: UK • England • Essex

Coordinates: 51°′″N 0°′″E / 51.8917, 0.903

Colchester is a town, and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester, in Essex, England.

It has a population of 104,390.^[1] As the oldest recorded Roman town, Colchester claims to be the oldest town in Britain. It also claims to have the United Kingdom's oldest recorded market.

Colchester is 56 miles (90 km) northeast of London. It is connected to the capital by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line.

History

Main article: History of Colchester

Roman Colchester

Main article: Camulodunum

Colchester is claimed to be the oldest recorded town in Britain on the grounds that it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in AD77. Its Celtic name was Camulodunon, meaning 'the fortress of (the war god) Camulos'. Following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, a Roman legionary fortress was established and the name Camulodunon was modified to the Roman spelling of 'Camulodunum'. Camulodunum served as the first Roman capital of Britain, but was attacked and destroyed during Boudica's rebellion in AD 61. Sometime after the destruction, London became the capital of the province of Britannia but it would seem that the council of the provincial natives still met at Colchester, where the Temple to the Divine Claudius served as the seat of this council. Later, when the Roman frontier moved north (c. AD 49), Camulodunum became a colonia known as Colonia Claudia Victricensis.

Sub-Roman and Saxon Colchester

There is evidence of hasty re-organisation of Colchester's defences around 400AD, including the blocking of the Balkerne Gate. Archaeological excavations have shown that public buildings were abandoned, although the 8th-century chronicler Nennius mentioned the town, which he called Caer Colun, in his list of the 30 most important cities in Britain. The archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler was the first to propose that the lack of early Anglo-Saxon finds in a triangle between London, Colchester and St Albans could indicate a 'sub-Roman triangle' where British rule continued after the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. Since then however, excavations have revealed some early Saxon occupation, including a 5th-century wooden hut built on the ruins of a Roman house in present-day Lion Walk. The Saxons called the town Colne ceaster, the Roman fortress of 'Colonia'. The tower of Holy Trinity Church is late Saxon work. Vikings from East Anglia overran Colchester and most of Essex in the late 9th century; the town remained in Viking hands until 920 when it was besieged and recaptured by the army of Edward the Elder.

Medieval Colchester

Medieval Colchester's main landmark is Colchester Castle, which is an 11th century Norman keep, and built atop the vaults of the old Roman temple. There are notable medieval ruins in Colchester, including the surviving gateway of the Benedictine abbey of St. John the Baptist (know locally as "St. John's Abbey”), and the ruins of the Augustinian priory of St. Botolph (known locally as “St. Botolph's Priory").

Royal charter

In 1189, Colchester was granted its first Royal Charter by King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart.) The charter was granted at Dover with the King about to embark on one of his many journeys away from England. The borough celebrated the 800th anniversary of its charter in 1989 [1].

Tudor Colchester “The Dutch Quarter”

Between 1550 and 1600, a large number of weavers and clothmakers from Flanders emigrated to Colchester and the surrounding areas. They were famed for the production of Bays and Says cloth. An area in Colchester town centre is still known as the Dutch Quarter and many buildings there date from the Tudor period. During this period Colchester was one of the most prosperous wool towns in England. The old Roman wall runs along Northgate Street in the Dutch Quarter.

English Civil War “The Siege of Colchester”

Main article: Siege of Colchester

In 1648, during the Second English Civil War, a Royalist army led by Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle entered the town. A pursuing Parliamentary army led by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Henry Ireton besieged the town for eleven and a half weeks. The Royalists surrendered in the late summer and their leaders Lucas and Lisle were executed in the grounds of Colchester Castle. A small obelisk marks the spot where they fell.

Victorian Colchester

Colchester is noted for its Victorian architecture. Significant landmarks include the Colchester Town Hall and the Jumbo Water Tower. In 1884, Colchester suffered an earthquake that is estimated to have been 5.2 on the Richter Scale.

Colchester Army Garrison

Main article: Colchester Garrison

Colchester has been an important military garrison since the Roman era. The Colchester Garrison is currently home to 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Colchester Town Watch

Colchester Town Watch [2] was founded in 2001 to provide a ceremonial guard for the Mayor of Colchester and for civic events such as the Oyster Feast. The historic re-enactors wear a livery based on late Elizabethan dress. Colchester Town Watch is accompanied by the musicians of the Colchester Town Waits [3] - a musical tradition dating back to the 14th century.

Paxman Diesels

The Paxman diesels business has been associated with Colchester since 1865 when James Noah Paxman founded a partnership with the brothers Henry and Charles Davey ('Davey, Paxman, and Davey') and opened the Standard Ironworks. In 1925 Paxman produced its first spring injection oil engine and joined the English Electric Diesel Group in 1966 - later becoming part of the GEC Group. Since the 1930s the Paxman company's main business has been the production of diesel engines.

Recent history

The £22.7m eight-mile A120 Colchester Eastern Bypass opened in June 1982.

Governance

Main articles: Colchester Politics, Mayor of Colchester, and Colchester (UK Parliament constituency)

The Member of Parliament for the Colchester is Bob Russell (LibDem). The Mayor of Colchester is Councillor Ray Gamble (Liberal Democrat).

Colchester Borough Council is the local authority. Control of the borough council has passed between Tories and LibDems in recent years. The political composition of the council is (2007 election results):

• Conservative – 32 seats
• Liberal Democrats – 19 seats
• Labour – 6 seats
• Others – 3 seats

The town is also represented on Essex County Council. Individual villages within the borough boundaries are also represented by parish councils.

Culture

Main article: History of Colchester

Colchester has a vibrant culture and attracts many visitors because of its history and its architecture.

Museums

• Colchester Castle Museum: located in the Colchester Castle, features an extensive exhibit on Roman Colchester.
• Hollytrees Museum: located close to the castle, formerly the home of Charles Gray, currently a social history museum with children's exhibits.
• Natural History Museum: located across from the Castle Park gates and Hollytrees, the museum is located in the former All Saints Church.
• Tymperleys Clock Museum: located in the historic town centre, in a 15th Century timber-framed house, once home to William Gilbert, now houses the Bernard Mason clock collection.
• East Anglian Railway Museum: located roughly 4 miles to the north east of Colchester, located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station.

Arts

• Mercury Theatre: opened in 1972, the Mercury Theatre is one the region's leading repertory theatres. [4]
• Headgate Theatre - Colchester's most central theatre
• Colchester Arts Centre: multi-function arts venue located in the former St Mary-at-the-Walls church, home of the Colchester Beer Festival. [5]
• Firstsite: the town's main art gallery, Firstsite is thought by some to be one of the leading contemporary art venues in the country.

Music

• Colchester Arts Centre - The largest music and performing arts centre in Colchester
• The Twist - A live music venue
• Charter Hall - larger music venue next to Colchester Leisure World

Sports

• Colchester United: the Layer Road ground is home to Colchester United football club, who have been Football League members for all but two seasons since 1950, and currently play in the Football League Championship.
• Colchester Rugby Football Club: the largest rugby club in the borough providing community rugby for adults, women and children from age 6 up.
• Colchester Leisure World: swimming & fitness facilities, exhibition hall.
• Athletics Stadium: the Colchester Garrison Athletics Stadium is a co-operative facility jointly used by the Army and the Town.
• Colchester Cricket: the Colchester & East Essex Cricket Club has its grounds near the Castle Park. The Essex County Cricket Club plays a series of games at Colchester during the summer.
• Colchester Skatepark Facilities for extreme sports.
• Colchester Gladiators American Football Club play at Broad Lane Stadium, home of Wivenhoe Town FC.

Nearby attractions

• Constable Country: villages in the Dedham Vale painted by John Constable.
• Lovejoy Country: towns and villages featured in the Lovejoy novels of John Grant (also the TV series of the same name), such as West Mersea and Long Melford.
• Munnings Museum: at the house of the painter Alfred Munnings.
• Clacton-on-Sea: traditional British seaside resort with a pleasure pier.
• Essex & Suffolk "wool towns": villages with architecture dating to the 16th and 17th century wool trade, such as Coggeshall and Lavenham.
• Mersea Island: the most eastern inhabited island in the UK. Link to the Mersea Island community website

Twin towns

Colchester competes in the Twin Town Games against Wetzlar, Avignon, Orleans, Tarragona, and Siena.

Colchester's twin towns are:

• - Wetzlar, Germany (1969)

• - Avignon, France (1972)

• - Imola, Italy (1997)

Education

Colchester is home to many secondary schools including two grammar schools, the Colchester Royal Grammar School for boys and Colchester County High School for girls. Both produce excellent GCSE and A-Level examination results, often in the country's top ten.

Colchester Sixth Form College offers a wide range of subjects at A-level, AS level, and GCSE or equivalent level, as well as the International Baccalaureate. This is complemented by the Colchester Institute which covers many practical and day release courses as well as some of the more academic ones.

The University of Essex is located in a parkland setting on the edge of Colchester, close to the town of Wivenhoe.

Higher education

• University of Essex - established 1964
• Colchester Sixth Form College
• Colchester Institute

Secondary schools

• Colchester Royal Grammar School - boys' grammar school, selective enrolment.
• Colchester County High School - girls' grammar school, selective enrolment.
• Alderman Blaxill School
• Gilberd School
• Sir Charles Lucas Arts College
• Philip Morant School and College
• St Helena School
• St. Benedicts College (Roman Catholic)
• The Stanway School - Comprehensive Secondary. Founded 1956.
• Thomas Lord Audley School

Independent (private) schools

• Colchester Boys High School - coed 3-11, boys 11-16, founded 1882.
• Holmwood House Prep School - coed 4-13, founded 1922.
• Oxford House School - coed 2-11, founded 1959.
• St Mary's School - girls 11-16, founded 1901.

Transport

Colchester has a bus system (run by First Essex, Network Colchester, Hedingham Omnibuses and other smaller operators) which mainly centres around Colchester Temporary Bus Station in the town centre. The temporary bus station will be replaced by a permanent one further down the street by 2010.

Colchester North station is served by 'one' services on the London - Norwich mainline and the Colchester - Clacton line.

Colchester Town railway station, still referred to by some as St Botolphs, is on a spur from the Colchester - Clacton line, and Hythe station is also on the Clacton line.

References in literature

The Roman historian Tacitus mentions Colchester (Camulodunum) in The Annals of Imperial Rome. In the Chapter Nero and his helpers he describes how '...the Roman ex-soldiers...had recently established a settlement at Camulodunum', later burned down in the Iceni rebellion. Geoffrey of Monmouth describes Colchester as the site of the legendary kingdom of Camelot, due to the similarity of its Roman name. It is the only town in Britain to have been explicitly mentioned in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four as being the target of a nuclear attack. The Atomic Wars took place during the 1950s. Colchester, England is the only city that was specifically mentioned as being bombed, but the book does say that many cities were destroyed in North America, Europe, and Russia.

Colchester in popular culture

Colchester is reputed to be the home of three of the best known English nursery rhymes: 'Old King Cole', 'Humpty Dumpty' and 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'.

Local legend places Colchester as the seat of King Cole (or Coel) of the rhyme Old King Cole, a legendary ancient king of Britain. The name Colchester is from Old English: the place-name suffixes chester, cester, and caster derive from the Latin word castrum (fortified place). In folk etymology the name Colchester was thought of as meaning Cole's Castle, though it actually means the Roman fort 'Colonia'. In the legend Helena, the daughter of Cole, married the Roman senator Constantius Chlorus, who had been sent by Rome as an ambassador and was named as Cole's successor. Helena's son became Emperor Constantine I. Helena was canonised as Saint Helena of Constantinople and is credited with finding the true cross and the remains of the Magi. She is now the patron saint of Colchester. This is recognised in the emblem of Colchester: a cross and three crowns. A local secondary school – St Helena's – is named after her, and her statue is atop the town hall, although local legend is that it was originally a statue of Blessed Virgin Mary which was later fitted with a cross.

Colchester is also the most widely credited source of the rhyme Humpty Dumpty. During the siege of Colchester in the Civil War, a Royalist sniper known as One-eyed Thompson sat in the belfry of the church of St Mary-at-the-walls (Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall) and was given the nickname Humpty Dumpty, most likely because of his corpulence. Thompson was shot down (Humpty Dumpty had a great fall) and, shortly after, the town was lost to the Parliamentarians (all the king's horses and all the king's men / couldn't put Humpty together again.) Another version says that Humpty Dumpty was a cannon on the top of the church. The church of St Mary-at-the-Walls still retains its Norman tower until the top few feet, which are a Georgian repair.

The third rhyme to come from Colchester is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which was written by Jane Taylor in the town's Dutch Quarter, and published in 1806 with the title "The Star".

Colchester has also been suggested as one of the potential sites of Camelot, on account of having been the capital of Roman England and its ancient name of Camulodunon.

Notable Colcestrians

People of note that were born or have lived in Colchester include:

• Sir George Bidell Airy (1801-1892) - Astronomer Royal, attended Colchester Royal Grammar School 1814-1819.
• Damon Albarn (1968- ) - Musician, lead singer of Blur and co-creator of virtual cartoon rock band Gorillaz. Speaking about Colchester at the 2007 Latitude Festival he said that when he was growing up the best thing about the town was the A12 - the main road to London.
• Paul Allender (1970-) - Musician, lead guitarist of Cradle of Filth.
• Cub Alport - Cabinet Minister, [High Commissioner] to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, High Steward of Colchester.
• John Ball (priest) (d. 1381) - Leader of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
• Allister Carter (1979- ) - A professional snooker player.
• John Constable (1776-1837) - Landscape painter.
• Piers Courage (1942-1970) - A Formula One driver.
• Graham Coxon (1969- ) - Musician and former Blur lead guitarist (he met Damon Albarn at Stanway Comprehensive School).
• John Crackstone - Mayflower Pilgrim.
• Cunobelin - King of the Britons, Shakespeare's Cymbeline.
• Darren Day (1968- ) - Actor and television presenter.
• Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) - Author and social commentator.
• Sue Denim - Actor (The Mighty Boosh), Musician (Robots in Disguise, I AM X, The Siblings)
• Neil Foster (1962- ) - Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1988, former pupil at Philip Morant School.
• William Gilbert (1544-1603) - Scientist, pioneer in the field of magnetism and court physician to Elizabeth I and James I.
• John Grant - author of the Lovejoy stories.
• Sir William Withey Gull, 1st Baronet - Physician to Queen Victoria's household and Jack the Ripper suspect.
• Joan Hickson OBE (1906-1998) - Actress.
• Jay Kay (1969- ) - leader singer of Jamiroquai, former pupil at Holmwood House Preparatory School.
• Klaus Kinski (1926-1991) - actor, director, former German POW in Colchester during the Second World War.
• Bernard Mason - businessman, philanthropist, clock collector
• Philip Morant (18th Century)- Parish priest of St Mary at the Walls, author of The History & Antiquities of the County of Essex.
• Ralph Morse (actor) (1955 - ) and his country music alias Johnny Cashbox
• Martin Newell (1953- ) - Musician, poet, author.
• Sheila Nicholls (1970- ) - Streaker, later a musician.
• Dermot O'Leary (1973- ) - BBC Radio 2 DJ.
• Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS (8 August 1931-), mathematical physicist and controversial philosopher.
• Steven Pimlott (1953-2007) An English opera and theatre director and actor.
• Dave Rowntree (1964- ) - Musician, drummer for Blur.
• Jeremy Spake (1968- ) - TV personality, former pupil at Philip Morant School.
• Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) - Baptist preacher, minster of the Metropolitan Tabernacle.
• Jane Taylor (1783-1824) - Poet and author of the lyrics to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
• Margaret Thatcher (1925- ) - Baroness Thatcher, Conservative politician and former Prime Minister, worked in Colchester as a research chemist during 1940s. [6]
• Archibald Wavell (1883-1950) British Field-Marshal during World War II and Viceroy of India.
• Mary Whitehouse (1910-2001) - Morality campaigner.
• Rt. Hon. Sir Laming Worthington-Evans (1868-1931) - Secretary of State for War, Postmaster General, Privy Councillor.
• Richard Bartle (1960 - ) - co-author of MUD, the first multi-user dungeon

See also

• British military history of World War II
• Geology of the United Kingdom
• List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom
• Camulodunum

Footnotes

External links

• Colchester Borough Council
• Colchester - Britain's first Roman city
• Colchester - White's Directory of Essex, 1848 - Inhabitants
• Hanseatic port see Hanse - Gresham College
• Visitors' guide to Colchester
• Essex Photos

The towns, villages and places in the Colchester borough, Essex in the East of England:
Abberton • Aldham • Barrow Hill • Birch • Boxted • Colchester • Fingringhoe • Fordstreet • Marks Tey • Myland • Stanway • Tiptree • West Mersea • Wivenhoe • West Bergholt Islands: Mersea Island
The town of Colchester List of places in Essex

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