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Top Attractions in Colchester

Camulodunum

Camulodunum, the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important town in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. It is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain. Originally the site of the Celtic oppidum of Camulodunon, capital of the Trinovantes and later the Catuvellauni tribes, it was first mentioned by name on coinage minted by the chieftain Tasciovanus sometime between 20 and 10BC. The Roman town began life as a Roman Legionary base constructed in the AD40s on the site of the Celtic fortress following its conquest by the Emperor Claudius. After the early town was destroyed during the Iceni rebellion in 60/1AD it was rebuilt, reaching its zenith in the Second and Third Centuries. During this time it was known by its official name Colonia Claudia Victricensis, often shortened to Colonia Victricensis, and as Camulodunum, a Latinised version of its original Celtic name. The town was home to a large classical Temple, two theatres, several Romano-British temples, Britains only known chariot circus, Britains first town walls, several large cemeteries and over 50 known mosaics and tessallated pavements. It may have reached a population of 30,000 at its height. It wasnt until the late Eighteenth Century that historians realised that Colchesters physical Celtic and Roman remains were the city mentioned in ancient literature as "Camulodunum".

Mersea Island

Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word meresig, meaning "island of the pool". The island is split into two main areas, West Mersea and East Mersea, and connected to the mainland by the Strood, a causeway that can flood at high tide. The island has been inhabited since pre-Roman times. It was used as a holiday destination in Roman Britain for occupants of Camulodunum (Colchester). Fishing has been a key industry on the island since then, particularly oysters, and along with tourism makes up a significant part of the island's economy. The Church of St Peter & St Paul in West Mersea is thought to have existed since the 7th century, while the Church of St Edmund in East Mersea dates from around the 12th or 13th centuries. The island became popular with smugglers from the 16th to the 19th century. It became a focal point for troops in both world wars, and a number of observation posts can still be found on the island. Tourism remains popular, and there are a number of beach huts and holiday parks on the island. A week-long festival of boat racing, Mersea Week, takes place every summer.

East Anglian Railway Museum

The East Anglian Railway Museum is located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, England, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. Services on the Sudbury Branch Line are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. The museum has a wide collection of locomotives and rolling stock, some of which are fully restored, two are converted into Thomas and Toby replicas while others are undergoing repair and restoration. The Restoration Shed was built in 1983–4, before which most work had to take place in the Goods Shed or in the open. On event days, steam or diesel train rides are operated over a short demonstration track. The museum also plays host to three popular annual events: the Winter Beer Festival held each February the Cider Festival held each June, and the Summer Beer Festival held each September. During the festivals, additional late-evening trains on the Sudbury Branch Line allow festival-goers to return home by train subject to provision by the train operation companies. There are no moving exhibits during the festivals, although train carriages are usually open to sit in and enjoy a drink, with one wagon doubling up as The Shunters Arms at the summer festival.

Hollytrees Museum

Hollytrees Museum is a free to visit, publicly owned museum in the centre of Colchester and close to Colchester Castle. It is situated in an eighteenth-century house, which was used as a private residence until 1929, when it became a museum. The first house on the site, known as "Symnells" after its owner, was later bought by the Shaw family, and passed from John Shaw to John Shaw III and John Shaw IV. When he died a minor, the house passed into chancery; his mother Jane Lessingham bought it but soon died. The modern house was constructed in for Elizabeth Cornelisen, who had bought the site from Lessinghams executors and promptly tore down the existing structure in poor condition. Construction commenced on 10 May 1718 at a cost of £630 plus brickwork and tiling; the total refurbishment was estimated to have cost £2000. She died soon after, bequeathing the house to her niece, Sarah Creffeild, who left it to her second husband Charles Gray. It was, at that time, known as "Esqr Creffields ". Possession of the house reverted back to the Creffeilds; through Thamer Creffeild to James Round, who left to his brother Charles, who left it to his son Charles Gray Round, who left to it to his nephew James Round. The Rounds finally sold it to the Corporation of Colchester in 1922, a purchase paid for privately by Viscount Cowdray and his wife. It became a museum in 1929. The house is known as Hollytrees after two holly trees planted in the grounds by Charles Gray in 1729 and is now a free to visit museum serving the centre of Colchester and specialising in local history. It is a grade I listed building.

UK Data Archive

The UK Data Archive is a national centre of expertise in data archiving in the United Kingdom . It houses the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the UK. It is certified under the Data Seal of Approval as a trusted digital repository. It is also certified under the international ISO 27001 standard for information security. Located in Colchester, the UK Data Archive is a specialist department of the University of Essex, co-located with the Institute for Social and Economic Research . It is primarily funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the University of Essex. Many of the data services formerly hosted by the UK Data Archive joined the ESRC-funded UK Data Service, established 1 October 2012. The UK Data Archive is listed in the Registry of Research Data Repositories re3data.org.

Colchester Community Stadium

The Colchester Community Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as the Weston Homes Community Stadium, is a football stadium in Colchester, England. It is the home of Colchester United Football Club. It has a capacity of 10,105 and opened in August 2008 in time for the 2008–09 season. A stadium working party was first set up by Colchester Borough Council in 1976 in order to assess the feasibility and possible location for a new stadium for Colchester United. After 30 years of discussions and various site suggestions, a location in the north of Colchester called Cuckoo Farm on land owned by Colchester Borough Council was settled on. Detailed planning permission was fully granted in June 2007 on the stadium which would cost £14 million, replacing the clubs Layer Road ground, which had been their home since Colchester Uniteds foundation in 1937. Work began in July 2007 and construction was completed in August 2008 ahead of Colchester Uniteds first match at the stadium.

Church of St Leonard at the Hythe

The Church of St Leonard at the Hythe is a redundant Anglican church in Hythe, Colchester, Essex, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands on the north side of Hythe Hill, in the Hythe area of Colchester. For many years St Leonard's served as the church of the port of Colchester. Its earliest fabric dates from the 14th century. Additions and alterations were made in the following century, and the hammerbeam roof of the nave dates from the early 16th century. During the Siege of Colchester in the Civil War, Royalist soldiers took refuge in the church. Bullet holes from this incident survive in the door. In the earthquake of 1884 the tower was damaged and its top stage was replaced. The screens and furnishings date from the 19th and 20th centuries. Over the chancel arch is a mural dated 1901. Stained glass windows depict various saints. Over the centuries the church has required repeated restoration due to subsidence, or to inadequacies in the earlier construction.

University of Essex

The University of Essex is a British public research university in Colchester, Essex. It was established in 1963 and received its Royal Charter in 1965. The university's largest campus is located within Wivenhoe Park in the English county of Essex, less than a mile from the town of Wivenhoe & 2 miles from the town of Colchester. Apart from the Wivenhoe Park campus, there is a rapidly developing campus in Southend-on-Sea , and the East 15 Acting School is based in Loughton. The University's motto, Thought the harder, heart the keener, is adapted from the Anglo-Saxon poem The Battle of Maldon. The university enjoys collaborative partnerships with a number of institutions across the eastern region. These are University Campus Suffolk, Colchester Institute, Kaplan Open Learning , South Essex College and Writtle College. The university exhibits an international character with 132 countries represented in its student body. The Research Excellence Framework in 2014 ranked Essex in the top 20 universities in the UK for the quality of its research and the top 5 for social science. The university is referenced by QS World University Rankings as being in the top 2% of universities in the world, and as a world leader in social sciences and management, with internationally recognised strengths in the arts and humanities . The QS statistics ranked Essex the 5th most international university in the UK for staff and the 11th most international student body.

Copford Hall

Copford Hall is a manorial seat and Grade II listed country house, with gardens by Capability Brown, in the village of Copford, Essex, England, 46 miles from London. According to The Times, “Once a manor held by the bishops of London, its beautiful grounds are described in Pevsner as almost the beau idéal of what to the foreigner is an English landscape scene.” The present house is a large, square red-brick building with stone dressing and ornamentation, the façade the result of alterations in the early 1800s. However, the majority of the structure dates back to 1720, and parts of the inside to the early 1600s. The extensive grounds include canals, fishponds and water features. On the lowest pool is a classical boathouse. Part of the possessions of the bishopric See of London before the Norman conquest of England, it came into the possession of the Crown and was sold by King James I of England to the Mountjoy family. It was purchased from them by John Haynes in 1626, who was then in the Americas as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and then as the first governor of Connecticut. His son, Cromwells Major General Hezekiah Haynes, took it over in 1657. It passed to a cousin by marriage, Major John Haynes Harrison of the Essex Militia, who married the heiress daughter of Reverend John Fiske and his wife Sarah in 1783. Their children included Fiske Goodeve Fiske-Harrison. It was later owned by his descendant A. B. C. Harrison, Lord of the Manor of Copford, former High Sheriff and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex and, former MP for Maldon in Essex, and cousin of Clive Fiske Harrison, chairman of City of London investment bank Fiske plc.

Tiptree Priory

Tiptree Priory was a small Augustinian priory in Great Braxted, Essex, England and afterwards the name of the 16th century house built on the ruins. The priory was founded in the 12th century by the local Tregoz family as a community of Augustinian Canons Regular. The priory church was dedicated to Saints Mary and Nicholas. The priory was suppressed in 1525 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII and granted initially to Cardinal Wolsey. In 1526 he granted it to Cardinals College, Oxford and then to his college at Ipswich. On Wolsey's downfall in 1530 it reverted to the Crown, who granted it to Edward Huddlestone. It was acquired in 1547 by Thomas Darcy, whose grandson Brian built the present house c.1570. This house was built in red brick in two storeys. The priory church was demolished. After passing down in the Darcy family for several generations, the property was sold and afterwards passed through a succession of unrelated hands.

Jumbo Water Tower

Jumbo Water Tower is a local name for the water tower at the Balkerne Gate in Colchester, Essex. The tower was nicknamed "Jumbo" after the London Zoo elephant as a term of derision in 1882 by Reverend John Irvine who was annoyed that the tower dwarfed his nearby rectory at St. Mary-at-the-Walls. Construction took around 20 months and was completed in 1883. 1,200,000 bricks and 819 tons of stone and cement were used in the construction of the tower. The tank is constructed of cast-iron bolted panels and when it was in use could hold 1069 cubic metres of water. Jumbo was claimed at the time to be the second largest water tower in England. Inside the central pier are 157 steps to a cupola which at 35.37 metres above ground offers views a long way over Colchester and the surrounding area. After a century of service the water tower became superfluous to the water supply system and was sold off by Anglian Water in 1987. It has had multiple owners since. In 2001 after prolonged controversy permission was granted on appeal to replace the tank with a glass walled penthouse, but work on this never started and permission expired. In 2006 at the height of the UK property boom, Jumbo was sold at auction for £330,000 to a local developer. In 2008 a local charity was formed with the aim of restoring the Grade II* listed tower and making it a heritage attraction with guided public access. In September 2011 a subsequent planning application to convert the tower into a penthouse, flats and restaurant was rejected by Colchester Borough Council by 7 votes to 5. Further planning applications in 2013 were also refused, and the building was put up for sale in May 2014, selling for £190,000 at auction, to local poultry farmer Paul Flatman
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