Colchester, the first Roman capital of Britain

Colchester claims the title of Britain's oldest town: once the capital of a powerful Celtic king, it became the first capital of the Roman province of Britannia, where Emperor Claudius made a triumphal entry in AD 43, accompanied even by elephants. From that past survive the oldest Roman walls in the country, the largest surviving Roman gateway in Britain and the only Roman chariot-racing circus ever discovered on the island. On the foundations of the temple of Claudius the Normans built a gigantic castle, now a fascinating museum. In 2022 Colchester was officially granted city status, to mark Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. Less than an hour by train from London, in Essex, it is a perfect destination for lovers of ancient history and of the countryside made famous by the painter John Constable.

Colchester at a glance

The city has about 130,000 inhabitants, almost 200,000 including the wider borough, and stands on a hill above the River Colne, a few kilometres from its estuary on the North Sea. It is a garrison town, with one of the largest army bases in Britain, and home to the University of Essex, in Wivenhoe Park. Its territory also includes Mersea Island, famous for oysters.

The history of Colchester

Before the Romans this was Camulodunum, the "fortress of the god Camulos", capital of Cunobelinus, the most powerful Celtic king in southern Britain, whom Shakespeare turned into the title character of Cymbeline. In AD 43 the Roman invasion made it its main target: Emperor Claudius came in person to receive the surrender of the British chieftains, and the town became the first Roman colony and the first capital of the province, with a great temple dedicated to the deified emperor. In AD 60 or 61 Boudica, queen of the Iceni, leading a great revolt, destroyed the town and massacred the inhabitants who had taken refuge in the temple. Colchester was rebuilt and surrounded by mighty walls, but the capital moved to Londinium, today's London.

After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror had the castle built, using the foundations of the temple of Claudius and Roman bricks. In the Middle Ages the town prospered from the cloth trade, and in the 16th century it welcomed Protestant Flemish weavers, who settled in the area still called the Dutch Quarter. In 1648, during the Second Civil War, the town, held by the Royalists, endured a harsh eleven-week siege by Parliamentary troops; according to popular tradition, the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty recalls a great cannon placed on a church tower that fell during the siege. In 1806 Jane Taylor, who lived in the town, wrote the poem that became the famous lullaby Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

What to see in Colchester

The castle and Castle Park

Colchester Castle is the largest keep ever built by the Normans in Europe, even larger than the White Tower of the Tower of London. Inside, a modern museum tells the town's story from the Iron Age to the Civil War, with extraordinary Roman finds such as the tombstone of the centurion Marcus Favonius Facilis, mosaics, jewellery and objects burned during Boudica's revolt. You can visit the vaults built on the foundations of the temple of Claudius and go up onto the roof for a view over the city. Around the castle stretches Castle Park, a large park with gardens, lawns and a stretch of the Roman walls.

The walls and the Roman town

The Roman walls, built after Boudica's revolt, are the oldest town walls in Britain and still survive along much of their circuit of almost three kilometres. The Balkerne Gate, on the western side, is the largest surviving Roman gateway in the country. Next to it rises Jumbo, a huge Victorian brick water tower of 1883, nicknamed after London Zoo's famous elephant. South of the centre, in the garrison area, archaeologists discovered the Roman circus in 2004, the only one so far known in Britain, about 450 metres long; a visitor centre and a reconstruction show how it must have looked during chariot races.

The historic centre

The ruins of St Botolph's Priory, built with Roman bricks, are among the first Augustinian monasteries in England. The Dutch Quarter, with its quiet lanes and weavers' houses, is the most picturesque corner of the centre. Hollytrees Museum, in a Georgian house in Castle Park, tells the story of everyday life over the last three centuries, while Firstsite, a curving golden modern building, is the city's contemporary art gallery. The Mercury Theatre offers a rich programme of shows.

Food, events and surroundings

Colchester has been the home of oysters for two thousand years: the Romans already prized them, and today the native oysters of the Colne estuary and Mersea Island are among the finest in the country. In October the city celebrates the season with the traditional Oyster Feast, an official banquet given by the mayor. On Mersea Island you can eat oysters and fish in small restaurants overlooking the boats. Colchester Zoo, one of the largest in the country, is much loved by families. About ten kilometres away opens Dedham Vale, the valley of the River Stour immortalised in the paintings of John Constable, with Flatford Mill, the setting of his famous The Hay Wain, and the villages of Dedham and East Bergholt. A little further afield you can visit the medieval village of Lavenham, the Suffolk coast and the town of Harwich.

Practical information

• Getting there: from London Liverpool Street the train takes about 50 minutes; the nearest airport is Stansted, about 40 minutes away by car or coach.
• Getting around: the centre, the castle and the walls can be visited on foot; for Dedham Vale and Mersea Island buses or a car are useful.
• When to go: from April to October; in autumn for the oyster season.

See also the Roman conquest, the history of the United Kingdom and British cities.

Colchester on the map

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