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Colchester has a very long history.
It is the oldest recorded town in English history,
and was the first Roman town in Great Britain.
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Although it had existed as a Celtic community before, the history of Colchester really begins with the arrival of the Romans in 43 A.D. Colchester was their first settlement in Great Britain - before London, York, Bath, etc.
In 61 A.D., the Celtic warrior Queen, Boudicca, attacked the town (then called Camulodunum) and completely destroyed it. As a result, after they defeated her, the Romans built a wall around the town. This wall is now the oldest surviving intact Roman wall in the U.K., and includes the Balkerne Gate.
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, Colchester Castle was built. It remains as one of the finest surviving Norman castles in Great Britain. |
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THE ROMANS ARRIVE
The Romans came to Colchester in A.D. 43, invited by the Celtic Atrebates tribe to help them in their conflict against the Catuvellauni. The Roman Emperor Claudius himself led the attack on the Catuvellauni. He defeated their king, Caratacus, and built a fortress on the site of their town of Camulodunon. This grew into the Roman town of Camulodunum (present-day Colchester). A triumphal arch was built in the west of the city (part of which, pictured, survives today). A temple was also built and dedicated to the Emperor Claudius - the Temple of Claudius. Thus, Colchester became the Romans' first town in England. In A.D.61, the queen of the Iceni tribe, Boudica, attacked Camulodunum, destroying most of the town, as well as the temple. After she was defeated, the Romans built a wall around the re-built town, which still survives today. By then, however, they had decided to re-locate their capital to the nearby Londinium... |
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NORMAN COLCHESTER
After the Norman invasion in A.D. 1066, King William the Conqueror ordered a castle to be built on the site of the old Temple of Claudius (see above). It had the largest keep (prison and accommodation area) of any castle in Europe. It still stands, and is one of the best preserved Norman castles in Great Britain (see picture). Behind it, Castle Park is a beautiful 24-acre park, which has a lake and a children's play area, as well as plenty of space to relax and enjoy the open air (see picture below). St Botolph's Priory was also built in the Norman era: it was the first Augustinian priory in Great Britain. It also still stands. |
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THE CIVIL WAR IN COLCHESTER, SUMMER 1648
Colchester played a very important role in the English Civil War. The Siege of Colchester, in the summer of 1648, was one of the most important battles of the Civil War. The Royalist Army (which supported King Charles I) was trapped for 11 weeks inside the walls of the town by the Parliamentarian Army, led by Thomas Fairfax. The Royalist soldiers and the citizens of Colchester were so hungry that, by the later stages of the siege, they were eating dogs, cats, horses, and even soap and candles! Eventually, the Royalist army surrendered, and the Parliamentarian army took the town. The leaders of the Royalists were shot behind Colchester Castle.
According to legend, the siege of Colchester was the origin of the Humpty Dumpty children's rhyme [more]. It is said that "Humpty Dumpty" was the nickname of a Royalist cannon, which was put on top of St Mary's Church (see picture, left). When the Parliamentarians fired on the cannon, it fell and broke, and "all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again". |
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VICTORIAN COLCHESTER
A lot of the architecture in Colchester today (including Colchester English Study Centre) dates back to the Victorian era (1837-1901). Walking around the town centre , it is immediately clear that many of the houses and the buildings are Victorian.
The best-known Victorian-era buildings in the centre of Colchester are the Town Hall, in the High Street (built 1898-1902), and the "Jumbo" water tower (pictured), which dominates Colchester's skyline. Completed in 1883, "Jumbo" is the largest surviving Victorian-era water tower in England and Wales. It was named after an elephant at London Zoo, sold to the American circus tycoon, P.T. Barnum.
On April 22, 1884, Colchester was hit by the strongest earthquake ever to hit Great Britain. Many of the buildings in the town, including "Jumbo" were damaged. |
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USEFUL LINKS
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