Colchester Essex

Approximate Population: 104,390

Colchester is noted for its Victorian architecture. Significant landmarks include the Colchester Town Hall and the Jumbo Water Tower. In 1884 the town was struck by the Colchester earthquake, estimated to have been 4.7 on the Richter Scale causing extensive regional damage.

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.

The £22.7m eight-mile A120 Colchester Eastern Bypass opened in June 1982. Colchester and the surrounding area is currently undergoing significant regeneration.

Colchester Town Watch 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 – a musical tradition dating back to the 14th century.

Rent Houses Colchester Essex

Approximate Population: 104,390

Colchester claims to be the oldest town in Britain. It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain and 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.

Colchester is claimed to be the oldest recorded town in Britain on the grounds that it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in AD 77. 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. In 2004 Colchester Archaeological Trust discovered the remains of a Roman Circus (chariot race track) underneath the Garrison in Colchester, a unique find in Britain.

The £22.7m eight-mile A120 Colchester Eastern Bypass opened in June 1982. Colchester and the surrounding area is currently undergoing significant regeneration. Colchester Town Watch 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 – a musical tradition dating back to the 14th century.