Nobody could deny that Colchester Castle and its associated museums at Hollytrees and All Saints Church, are the No.1 attractions in Colchester for visitors who are looking to find out about our history. However, to get a wider view of our heritage, visitors must go further afield.

• The Town Wall - Our town wall, the oldest town wall in Britain,
• Balkerne Gate - The most complete Roman gateway in Britain,
• St Botolph's Church and Priory - Priory Street, ruined nave of the first Augustinian priory in Britain. Built c1100 - 1170. Norman Revival parish church by William Mason, 1836. Priory ruins in care of English Heritage. In the town centre, off St Botolph's Street.
• Earliest Christian church - The oldest Christian church in Britain with surviving remains above ground. Excavations have shown that it was built in c330. S of town centre, off Southway, adjacent to Police Station.
• Iron Age Dyke System - The largest Iron Age defensive dyke system in Britain, massive earthworks created to protect the area of Camulodunum. A vast area mainly to the south of the town centre.
• Gosbecks Archaeological Park - Over 2000 years of pre-Roman history and the probable site of King Cunobelin's homestead. On the Maldon Road, near to the zoo.
• The Folly - 74 High Street (The Minories), Grade II listed summerhouse built in 1730 initially as a background for 'medieval' plays. Recently restored. In the grounds of a contemporary art gallery. Town centre, adjacent to bus station.
• Tymperleys Clock Museum - Trinity Street, Grade II* listed timber framed building associated with William Gilberd, scientist and physician to Elizabeth I. Interior with original ceilings and staircase. In the town centre S of High Street adjacent to public library.

• Audley Chapel - 16th century family chapel with fine hammerbeam roof and monuments to the Audleys and other families. Off Berechurch Hall Rd 2m S of town centre via Mersea Rd - TL 993219.
• Peake's House - East Stockwell Street, a timber framed house. Originally three buildings, the earliest dating from the late 14th century. In the care of the Landmark Trust. N of Colchester High St in the Dutch quarter.
• Roman Theatre Remains - Maidenburgh Street, theatre features in the destruction of Colchester by Boudica in AD60/1. Originally housed 3000 people. Small area of foundations visible. Off Colchester High St in the Dutch corner.
• St Helen's Chapel - St Helen's Lane, medieval chapel, first mentioned in 1076. Present building dates from 13th century. Restoration of 1883-6 by William Butterfield. Now used as a Greek Orthodox Church. Off High Street at junction of Maidenburgh Street & St Helen's Lane in the Dutch quarter.
• St John's Abbey Gatehouse - St John's Green, early 15th century gatehouse. Flint flushwork, vaulted roof and battlements flanked by pinnacled corner turrets. Historical associations with Richard III and the English Civil War. In the care of English Heritage. S of town centre, off Southway.
• St Leonard-at-the-Hythe - Hythe Hill, stately 14th-16th century former church of the Port of Colchester. Notable 19th and 20th century glass and fittings. Fine medieval roofs. Medieval door bears scars of the Siege of Colchester. About 1 m E of town centre - TL 013247.
• St Martin's Church - West Stockwell Street, down-town church with re-used Roman bricks in its massive truncated tower. Mostly 14th and 15th century work in this interesting building which has not been used as a church since 1953. Major repairs and conservation by TCCT this year. Near the Town Hall - TL 996255.
• St Mary at the Walls (Colchester Arts Centre), periodically open to the public.
• St Peter's Church - North Hill, open most days to worshippers and visitors alike.
• St Giles Church - St Johns Green, the burial place of Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle and now the headquarters of a branch of the Freemasons, periodically open to the public.
• Garrison Church of St Alban the Martyr - Military Road, in regular use but not generally open to the public.
• Lexden Tumulus - Lexden, site of the burial of a very important person from the 1st century AD. Not generally open to the public.

If you were to ask that question of anybody outside of East Anglia, what would they say? A Roman town? Where the glasshouse is? Oysters perhaps?

Ask the same question about York or Bath or Canterbury, what would they say? The answers would probably be very positive, perhaps mentioning York's Minster, the Jorvik Centre, the Shambles, the pedestrianised streets; or Bath's Roman baths, the Georgian crescents, the delightful shopping areas, Canterbury's Chaucer Experience, etc. So.........

How long have you got? Apart from the preservation and display of the several heritage sites already mentioned, the story takes a turn for the worse. I will mention a few examples from recent history of what we have already done with our heritage; things that nobody should be proud of.

 

• In 1956, we destroyed St Nicholas Church in the High Street, a grand Gothic revival building by Sir George Gilbert Scott, but which dated back through the centuries to Norman times; the graves desecrated and the whole replaced with a department store of no architectural merit whatsoever (in our opinion). One could argue this church to have been one the most beautiful of Colchester's churches. In the words of Mr J Watling, writing in November 2009, 'the Church Commissioners declared the church surplus to requirements in the mid 1950's and marketed the site for redevelopment. Colchester Borough Council had nothing to do with its demise but it was the local planning authority in regard to considering the planning application for the building which still stands on the site. Although it may fairly be described as bland the design received the utmost consideration as befitted such a prominent site. The Royal Fine Arts Commission were consulted and the building you see today is the result of their input. Have in mind that the church was not listed and therefore the Commissioners had a free hand in what it did with the building and site. Remember that this took place over 55 years ago and attitudes have changed and the protection afforded to such buildings is quite different today. It was not the council's fault'.
• In 1968, without having learned anything from the destruction of St Nicholas church, we destroyed the Cups Hotel, one of the most magnificent and historic buildings in Colchester. The work was carried out in a most despicable manner, with great haste to beat the implementation of a preservation order that was being prepared to save the building from the property speculator. During this time, the Southway route was being constructed, which led to the loss of many of our old buildings and which included ancient hostlries such as the Essex Arms in Essex Street, the Carpenter's Arms in Chapel Street, the Woolpack on St Boltolph's Street, the Plough Hotel on Magdalen Street, the Horse and Groom on Crouch Street, the Colchester Arms on Balkerne Lane, as well as the destruction of other historic hostelries such as the Fleece Hotel on Head Street, the Market Tavern at Middleborough, the Barley Mow on Barrack Street, etc.etc.

  St Nicholas Church destroyed in 1956

  The Cups destroyed in 1968

• In 1971, our town wall was made a Scheduled Ancient Monument, although this failed to prevent the subsequent destruction that was to follow to sections of the wall and the ongoing neglect of the east section especially. To our knowledge, no updated study or amendment has been made to that record since that first grant, despite much depreciation and damage occurring. The wall is seriously neglected today with no sign of any change of thinking as to its preservation and promotion as a major tourism asset.
• In the 1970's and 1980's, we allowed the partial destruction of our ancient town centre to take place to enable the construction of two shopping precincts, namely Culver and Lion Walk. Whilst extensive archaeological excavations preceded the construction work and much was discovered about the town's earliest history, nothing was preserved of even the most important features. As part of the work, two huge sections of our Roman wall were destroyed, to give vehicular access to the shopping precincts.
• In 1979, the livestock market at Middleborough was destroyed to make way for the Royal London building (now known as the Octagon, since that company's demise in 2003). Among the incredible archaeological finds there, was found the remains of a large Roman house with spectacular mosaic floors. The public were assured that the mosaics would be lifted and subsequently preserved in the foyer of the new building. However, Royal London went back on the promise and the mosaics ended their days in the Norman castle.
• During 1976 - 9, an area of Butt Road was destroyed to make way for our new Police Station. During the course of this the burial ground associated with the earliest Christian church in Britain was desecrated. Hundreds of graves were destroyed in the name of progress.
• In the 1990's, St Mary Magdalen church (associated with the medieval leper hospital) in Magdalen Street and St Pauls church near North Station, were demolished. The graves (many from quite recent times) in the churchyard were desecrated so that housing could be built on the site.
• In the 1990's the borough council closed our Social History Museum in Trinity Street. The interior of Holy Trinity Church with its Saxon period tower (the oldest building in Colchester) was thus denied to visitors indefinitely. Whilst no destruction was done, access to this wonderful piece of our heritage has been denied to our visitors. Please visit the website of the new occupants here.
• In 2000, our old Post Office in Head Street was demolished to make way for a cinema and yet another licensed premises. It was known in advance what the archaeologists expected to find. It was not the loss of the Post Office that was so bad but the loss of what was discovered beneath it. In York, they had the vision to preserve their archaeology, to build above it rather than on it. What they did in York brought them a priceless asset that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors (and revenue) every year. Where York created their Jorvik Centre, we could have had our Camulos (or some such name) Centre, a recreation of life in Roman Colchester in AD200 (or thereabouts). By this one short sighted development we swept away the last evidence of the Roman features that included the AD43 fortress, the burnt remains of buildings from when Boadicea came, a Roman water feature, high status Roman building foundations, tessellated pavements, road surfaces, etc. and many later features from medieval periods. How easy it would have been at the initial planning stage to allow for the preservation of these remains instead of allowing the faceless profit driven developer to send his bulldozers in and to destroy so much of our unique heritage.
• In 2002, we destroyed St Mary's Hospital, a hugely important early Victorian building that started life as Colchester's workhouse. Extensive finds were made from the Roman occupation period in the general area.
• In 2003, we cleared a vast tract of land to the south of the town centre to make way for redevelopment of the garrison. Again, extensive finds were made from the Iron Age period (c500 BC to AD43). All destined to be obliterated in the name of progress.
• In 2004, the last remains of a medieval timber framed building in Middleborough removed to make way for new building works. A small example of the destruction of yet another piece of Colchester's heritage - but worthy of mention, surely?
• In 2005, the 1885 built Salisbury Hotel was demolished to make way for 17 two bedroomed rabbit hutches, totally out of keeping with the surrounding area, an area already overwhelmed by parked cars.
• In 2006, once the biggest employer in Colchester, Paxman Diesels, razed to the ground. Bought out by German competition with the obvious intention of closing it down, removing the competition and building far more profitable housing on the site. Our once proud industrial heritage reduced to rubble. This was followed by the destruction of the Woods of Colchester site, later in the year. Whilst there were no buildings of any particular heritage interest at the Woods site, this destruction demonstrates how our local government has its head in the sand over matching proper traffic control, schooling, sewerage, public services, etc. with the massive population increase and short term wealth creation that new housing brings. In October we lost Diamond Place as expected, and a large house in Oxford Road. The replacement buildings are completed so we can see what our planners saw as fitting replacements for our old buildings.
• In 2007, we learned of threats to several heritage sites in Colchester.
  • The state of the third century Roman Balkerne Gate was (and still is) deplorable. Great chunks are being knocked out; presumably by customers of the nearby pub. The pieces are soon swept up and, meanwhile, the gateway gradually erodes away until, one day, it will fall down.
  • 
  • The Grade 2 listed Garrison Church was made redundant but has (thankfrully) found a new occupant. The fear was that the building was in danger of being lost. The developers said that they had no plans to build on the site, although they had funded an archaeological survey to see what was there. They cannot have done that out of pure curiosity - can they?
  • The Roman Circus was under attack from property developers who would happily dig it up and build on it.
  • The old Black Boy public House in Stanwell Street was destined for demolition to make way for new building works.
  • This year saw the closing of our records office and the winding down of Greyfriars College. The asset strippers in the Town Hall were busy selling off our property and it appeared that nobody could stop them.
• In 2008 - We saw the destruction of the medieval building in Barrack Street that, over 200 years ago, became the Bugle Horn public house. Built to serve the soldiers from our Napoleonic period barracks, the property speculators saw their chance to give us more flats (with no parking for cars!). We also saw the emergence of a threat to the starting gate area of the Roman circus whereby the land owners sought to exclude the public from the area, thus preventing any future interpretation of the gates. In May 2008 the local elections brought about a change in control of the borough council. With it came a change of thinking about heritage. It is early days yet but the signs are good.
• The Future? Lined up for future attack. Alderman Blaxill School? Who cares about schools and children's education when they could be used instead for building blocks of flats? Also, the Victorian buildings, with their unique architectural frontages, at the foot of St Botolphs Street are destined for destruction. Watch this space.
• Fighting Back! - In August 2009, a group of concerned persons formed themselves into the Colchester Historic Buildings Forum. The most significant of Colchester's buildings are protected by being 'listed'. There are also buildings which do not appear in the official lists but are of local architectural or historical significance. The group of specialists came together and offered to draw up a draft 'local list' for Colchester on a purely voluntary basis, which they would present to the borough council for its consideration. The adoption of a local list by the council (if that happens) will represent an important statement to the effect that the council recognises that the town's built heritage plays a key role in defining and shaping modern Colchester and needs to be safeguarded for the people of Colchester. Please visit their website at the link above.
• Here are some pictures of Queen Street and St Botolph's Street. Note how we have already destroyed so many of our old buildings and how many of our Victorian frontages deserve to be preserved. How can we prevent such wholeslae destruction of our heritage?

So OK! We could do with tidying up some of the street. Pedestrianisation would help. Get rid of street furniture that spoils the look of the place. Demolish that horrible bus garage. Which of these building will disappear - unless we fight to save them?	(These pictures were taken on Sunday 9th August 2009, hence so many being closed and a lack of traffic.)

 

 

 

 

Currently Under Threat

In December 2004, the only known Roman circus in Britain was discovered by archaeologists, here in Colchester. Details of this may be found here. We must wait to see how Colchester will treat this latest treasure. Currently, the town hall mandarins and the property speculators are working out a deal on just how many multi storey properties will surround it. Bob Russell, MP for Colchester, is on the case, so that can only be a good thing.

Diamond Place, 11 Maldon Road. This 140 year old Victorian house was to be replaced by a five storey block of 12 one bedroom flats. The house was built by Edwin Nunn in 1867, who also owned the Theatre Royal (since demolished). It was called Diamond Place because the rooms were diamond shaped. The garage to the left was once a stable. It also had a ghost. Harding Homes, the instigator of this selfish and ghastly plan, took another of our old buildings from us.

29th October 2006 - Another one of our historic buildings gone for good! The trees will be next for the chop.

 

21st October 2007 - The edifice under construction. It looks ghastly in our opinion.

.....and another example of the developer's greed and the council's complicity?

Corner of Oxford and Ireton Roads. Knocked down and replaced by a block of nine flats. This 1940's fine family home deserved our protection against the likes of Harding Homes whose only interest is profit and whose least interest is the feelings of local people.

....and the same view below on 21st October 2007 

So.....

What else are we about to do to Colchester's heritage?

Colchester is embarking on its redevelopment of St Botolphs area of the town.

Nobody knows what lies beneath the site; although, being inside the town walls, it is a fair guess that there is a wealth of archaeology there that will be discovered as part of the construction process.

If we do as we have done before, what we will then do is record the archaeology, take photographs, lament the fact that the archaeology and our old buildings are being destroyed and then send in the bulldozers to remove any record of our past. Looking at the proposed plans for what is to be built there, the future for Colchester is bland indeed!

Now is the time to act, to stop this destruction of our heritage! So...........

In short, the people who are allowing this destruction of our heritage to take place are people who have little interest in Colchester's heritage - but a great interest in the short term wealth creation that comes with asset stripping by selling-off publicly owned land to the private sector. The faceless property developer then takes over to destroy the old and create the new.

The people who allow this to happen from the beginning are Colchester Borough Council, the very people who should be protecting our heritage where possible, rather than allowing it to be destroyed. The simple fact of the matter is that heritage has been way down the list of priorities in this town. So.........

What consideration is being given to our heritage? Colchester Castle Museum is a superb example of what is good in Colchester. Together with Hollytrees Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Clock Museum at Tymperleys, these museums are an inspiration to us all and leave a lasting impression on all that visit them. However, it is estimated that 98% of our artefacts are hidden from view, there being no space or facility to display them. The Essex County Standard of 16th April 1999 reported on the extensive collection of historic paintings and drawings that are buried in the bowels of the museum's store rooms rather than being put on display. How can this be allowed to happen?

Whilst our museum services have proved what an excellent job they do, they could do so much more if they hadn't been hamstrung by a seemingly heritage complacent council. So.........

We at Camulos believe that Colchester should do the following at the very least to put Colchester on the heritage and tourism map:

1. Appointing a person, a heritage champion, who is publicly accountable to the general public with responsibility (and power to act) for our heritage. This person should be somebody who is knowledgeable about our heritage and not somebody who has it as part of other equally important but unrelated responsibilities - as is the case at the moment. NB. It was noticeable there were currently no members of the council cabinet who took an active interest in Colchester's history.
2. Embark on a public relations exercise to inform and educate local people about heritage issues. Part of this being a scheme whereby local council tax payers get concessionary rates for entry to Colchester Castle Museum during off peak times and winter months. It is believed that the current financial income would increase rather than decrease, with the added benefit of a greater public awareness of Colchester's heritage ensuing. St Albans operates a scheme like this, upon production of a current Council Tax bill.
3. Make all of our museums 'pay to enter' with one ticket admitting the bearer to all museums. The Social History Museum at Holy Trinity Church in Trinity Street has been given away for other use so is lost to us. The museums in question would include the castle, Hollytrees, Tymperleys, the Natural History Museum. By issuing a multi-museum ticket, it is only natural that people will want to get the full benefit of the value of the ticket. Portsmouth Dockyard does this and it certainly works.
4. The Town Wall, a scheduled ancient monument, is in a very sorry state. As it is the responsibility of English Heritage to ensure it is maintained in good order, they should be bombarded with information about its condition. The wall should then be made into a unique heritage site with a dedicated route and interpretation boards and exhibition centre provided. An obvious location for the centre would be at Duncan's Gate, which is crying out for some sort of public access to show its important features. A heritage grant should be applied for to enable the work to be carried out.
5. We should be taking our place with the other walled towns (over 130 Europe wide in all) such as Canterbury, Chester, Chichester, Londonderry, Ludlow, Southampton, Tenby, Great Yarmouth, etc. by becoming members of international organisation known as the Walled Town Friendship Circle. This organisation believes that and seeks to promote the sustainable development of walled towns, walled cities and fortified historic towns. The benefit to our tourism of such international circulation can only be immense and by not taking membership, we neglect the fact that our town wall is the oldest in Britain.
6. All future permissions for developments within the town wall (and in areas where Roman occupation archaeology is expected to be in evidence) should be granted on the basis of the possibility of raising any new structures on piles (or legs), such that the archaeological features can be preserved and made accessible to future generations. This will provide an ideal opportunity to create a themed exhibition centre along the lines of Bath's Roman baths or York's Jorvik Centre - A Roman Experience perhaps. The benefit to the town of such a financially lucrative facility or facilities can easily be imagined and will greatly add to Colchester's prestige through the country and beyond. The cost of the piled structures to be incorporated into the development costs. This has been done in York and in Bath, to great effect, and their experience and guidance should be sought.
7. Gosbecks Archaeological Park should be provided with an interpretation centre to explain its significance and to display the archaeological artefacts found there. An extensive study has already been carried out on this and a lottery grant applied for - unsuccessfully. What are we waiting for? Apply again and keep applying until we get it. Look what has been done at Sutton Hoo. Gosbecks has so much to offer to visitors to Colchester, far more interesting than Sutton Hoo in our opinion.
8. Our ultimate goal should be to work towards gaining World Heritage Site status, in recognition of our unique status as the oldest recorded town in Britain and the wealth of archaeology that should be, by then, on show for the world to see. Please go here to see what is possible.

Apart from silence on the issue or the buck being passed, the people who influence Colchester's heritage have ensured that it remained to be an issue where Colchester rested on its laurels rather than capitalised on its assets.

Currently, Councillor Lyn Barton has responsibility for heritage issues as a cabinet member for Colchester Borough Council. She is instrumental in getting our heritage sites maintained and repaired. Funding is always the issue and Colchester needs to make itself heard in Whitehall to attract the funding it needs.

We welcome your views below.