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Colchester, Essex

Historical Description

Colchester, a municipal and parliamentary borough, port, market-town, head of a county court district, and military depot in Essex. The town stands on the river Colne, 52 miles NE from London by rail and 16½ SW from Ipswich. It is a principal station on the G.E.R., by means of which line it has communication with London and also with Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Yarmouth, Norwich, and with Harwich, Walton-on-the-Naze, Clacton-on-Sea, &c.

The river Colne, which is here crossed by three bridges, is navigable to the Hythe, a suburb of the town, from whence it flows in a south-easterly direction about 15 miles to the North Sea.

History. —Colchester, which is the oldest town in the county, and one of the most ancient in the kingdom, was the capital of the British Trinobantes, and figures particularly as the seat of their king Cunobiline, the " Cymbeline" of Shakespeare. It was taken in the year 44 by Claudius Caesar, retaken in a few years by the Iceni under Boadicea, taken again by the Romans, and made the seat in the third century of Constantius Chlorus. It was called Caer-Colun by the Britons, Camulodunum by the Romans, and afterwards Colun-ceaster or Colne-ceaster by the Saxons. British or Roman roads went from it to London, Verulam, Cambridge, and Caistor. A temple was built in it to Claudius; materials of Roman masonry are seen in the walls of its old public buildings, and multitudes of Roman relics, including coins, vases, urns, rings, utensils, pavements, and vestiges of baths have been found. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, is associated with its topography, and Constantine himself is often, though erroneously, regarded as a native. The town declined under the Saxons, fell into the possession of the Danes, was taken in 921 by Edward the Elder; belonged at Domesday to Eudo Dapifer, the Conqueror's steward, who built a castle at it on the site of a previous one, and founded an abbey; was occupied in 1215 by the Earl of Winchester, and in 1218 by Louis the Dauphin; sent five ships in the time of Edward III. to the siege of Calais; was ravaged by the plague in 1348,1360, and 1665; was visited by Henry VI. in 1445, by Mary in 1553, by Elizabeth in 1579; was taken in 1648 by Lord Goring for Charles I., but retaken after a siege of three months by Fairfax, when Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle were shot, and the castle and fortifications were dismantled.

Walls and Streets. —The town includes the summit and the northern and eastern sides of a fine eminence rising from the Colne. It anciently occupied not more than 110 acres, with a circuit of 1½ mile, and was engirt by walls. These were pierced by four gates and three posterns, strengthened by several bastions, and defended on the west by a small ancient fort, and on the east and the north by deep ditches. The walls have been mostly destroyed, but portions are kept in repair by private owners, and these consist of stone and Roman brick, with a strong cement, and are usually from 7 to 8 feet thick. The principal street within the ancient area runs nearly east and west, and contains many fine shops and respectable houses, while other streets there show a large amount of antique character. The portions beyond the line of the walls are very irregularly disposed. A long suburban street to the east leads to the Hythe and the quay, and a large modern extension, including many fine detached residences, goes off to the west.

Public Buildings. —The castle occupies an elevated spot to the north of the High Street, and commands a fine view of the Colne's valley. The walls were too massive to be seriously injured by the dismantling at the Civil War. They consist of a mixture of stone, flint, and Roman bricks; they have a thickness of nearly 11 feet, increasing downward to 12, and resting on very broad foundations, and they are still nearly perfect. The east and the west sides measure 140 feet each, the north and the south sides measure 102 feet each, the north-east and the north-west angles have projecting square towers, and two other parts have respectively a square tower and a semicircular one. The interior contains a large room with a very ancient mantelpiece, a library founded by Archbishop Harsnett, an ancient chapel, now a museum, and some curious strong apartments and vaults. Another and perhaps still more interesting relic of the past is to be found in the ruins of St Botolph's Church, formerly the chapel of St Botolph's Priory, situate without the south walls just outside St Botolph's gate. The priory was founded about 1116 by the monk Ernulph for canons of the Augustinian order, became the first house of its order in England, and was given at the dissolution of the monasteries to Lord Chancellor Audley. The ruins show interesting features of Norman arch and brick decorations. The Town-hall, on north side of High Street, was built in 1844, and has a Roman Doric front with bold central archway and six pilasters. Here are held the quarter and petty sessions and meetings of the borough justices. The Corn Exchange, which was opened in 1884, is a large building facing the High Street, and when used as a place of public assembly will seat 1900 people. The old Corn Market, erected in 1820 and enlarged in 1846, is now occupied by a fire office and a school of art and science, founded in 1885. The Eastern Counties Idiot Asylum is a large building originally erected as an hotel. It can accommodate about 220 patients, which are drawn for the most part from the counties of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. Other public buildings are the Essex and Colchester General Hospital, the custom house, union workhouse, theatre, and volunteer drill hall. The town is the headquarters of the eastern military district, and there are extensive barracks with officers' quarters, stores, and offices, and a parade ground. The Castle Park, which is skilfully laid out, was opened in 1892. In acquiring it the corporation preserved a memorial of the locality associated with the incidents of the siege of the town in 1648. The park has very handsome gates, made entirely of wrought or hammered iron.

Ecclesiastical Affairs. —The municipal borough is divided into three wards, and comprises 16 parishes. Of these there are 8 of which the churches stand within the walls, and 8 without the walls and in the suburbs. Of the churches within the walls that of All Saints is a building of brick and stone in the Perpendicular style, with a handsome embattled western tower of flint. The living is a rectory; net yearly value, £190 with residence, in the gift of Balliol College, Oxford. Holy Trinity Church is a building of stone in the Pependicular style, dating from the 14th century, but with a western tower of much earlier date. It has a monument to Dr Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth, and one of the earliest experimenters in magnetism. The living is a rectory; net yearly value, £251, in the gift of Balliol College, Oxford. St James's is a building of stone and Roman bricks in the Decorated style of the time of Edward II., and has a marble monument to Arthur Winsley, a benefactor of the town, and two brasses of the Maynards. It was restored in 1871. The living is a rectory; value, £178, in the gift of the Bishop of St Albans. St Martin's Church, a building in the Decorated style, was built in 1327 partly of Roman brick, but was greatly injured at the siege of 1648. It has two very ancient brasses and a fine Perpendicular font. The living is a rectory of the gross yearly value of £207, in the gift of the Bishop of St Albans. St Mary's at the Walls was destroyed at the siege and rebuilt in 1713, and againt rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in 1871. The present church is a building of brick in the Early Decorated style. The living is a rectory; net yearly value, £213 with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of St Albans. St Peter's Church is a building of stone, erected in the 17th century, and has some ancient brasses. The living is a vicarage; gross yearly value, £210 with residence, in the gift of Simeon's trustees. The parishes of St Nicholas and St Runwald were, for ecclesiastical purposes, amalgamated in 1873. The church of St Runwald, which was a small Norman edifice, was entirely removed in 1873. The church of St Nicholas and St Runwald is a building of Kentish rag stone in the Decorated style. It was restored and greatly enlarged in 1876 from designs by the late Sir G. Gilbert Scott. The living is a rectory; yearly value, £100, at present in the gift of a private patron. Among the other churches may be mentioned St Giles's, which is an ancient building of stone, consisting of a nave, chancel, and north aisle. Here lie the remains of Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle. The living is a rectory; net value, £188 with residence. There is a chapel of ease at Old Heath. St Botolph's Church adjoins the ruined church of the priory, and is a large modern structure of white brick designed to correspond with that edifice. The living is a vicarage; net yearly value, £275 with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of St Albans. The church of St Leonard-at-the-Hythe is an ancient building of stone in the Perpendicular style with some good architectural features, including a fine open carved roof and some curious frescoes and niches in the tower. The living is a rectory; net yearly value, £142, in the gift of Balliol College, Oxford. St Mary Mag-dalene is a modern building of flint and stone in the Decorated style. The living is a rectory; value, £356 with residence, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor. The church of St Paul is a modern building erected in 1869. The living is a vicarage; gross yearly value, £223, in the gift of the Bishop of St Albans. The church of the ecclesiastical parish of St John the Evangelist is a building of red brick in the Decorated style. The living is a vicarage; net yearly value, £240 with residence, in the gift of the Archdeacon of Colchester. Among the suburban churches that of Berechurch is a building of brick and stone in the Perpendicular style. The living-is a vicarage; gross yearly value, £144, in the gift of a private patron. The parish church of Greenstead is an ancient edifice of stone in the Norman style. The living is a rectory; value, £224 with residence, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor. The church at Mile End is a modern building of stone in the Early English style. The living is a rectory; net yearly value, £300 with residence, in the gift of Earl Cowper. The living of the parish of Lexden is a rectory; gross yearly value, £567 with residence, in the gift of a private patron. Of other places of worship there are a Roman Catholic church, three Baptist chapels, three Congregational chapels, four Primitive Methodist, and two Wesleyan Methodist chapels, meeting-houses for the Friends and the Brethren, a Gospel hall, and a Salvation Army Barracks.

Schools and Charities. —A handsome public library was opened in 1893, and the town is well supplied with educational advantages, its institutions including a Royal Free Grammar School, originally founded in the time of Henry VIII., a Blue-coat School, which is partly endowed, a school of art and science founded in 1875, about twenty elementary schools belonging chiefly to the Church of England, Wes-leyans, and Roman Catholics, and a small industrial school for training girls for domestic service. The charities include Finch's and Goodwin's almshouses for 8 widows, Kendall's almshouses for 16 poor women, Winnock's almshouses for 18 poor women, and Winsley's almshouses for 24 aged couples.

Trade and Commerce. —The limits of the port of Colchester commence at the southern limit of the port of Harwich, and extend as far as the eastern boundaries of the port of London, and there are many merchants and shipowners included in its population. The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port in 1893 was 182 (5243 tons). The entries and clearances each average 3000 (170,000 tons) per annum. The annual customs revenue amounts to about £11,000. The oyster fishery of Colchester has always formed a valuable part of its trade, no finer oysters being found in the waters of Great Britain than the famous " Colchester natives." The fishery is managed by a company under a lease from the corporation, its board consisting of six members of the corporation and six members of the company, who are appointed annually. The oysters are taken in the river Colne and fattened on layings at Wivenhoe and Brightlingsea. The exclusive right to the fishery is held by the town under a charter of Richard I. The annual oyster feast is one of the ancient municipal feasts which has survived to the present day. The town has a head post office, with numerous branch offices, a custom house, an inland revenue office, three banks, a savings bank, and two newspaper offices. Other industries are brewing and malting, iron and brass founding, and the manufacture of clothing and boots and shoes. There is an excellent supply of water derived from springs at the base of Balkeme Hill. The principal market day is Saturday, and there is a fair on Oct. 20.

The Borough. —The town was incorporated by Richard I., is governed by a mayor, eight aldermen, and 24 councillors, the corporation also acting as the urban sanitary authority. The municipal and parliamentary boroughs are co-extensive. The borough returned two members to Parliament from the time of Edward I. until the passing of the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, by which the representation was reduced to one. The area of the borough is 11,331 acres; population, 34,559. The town gave the title of baron in 1817 to the Right Hon. Charles Abbot. Bishops were twice appointed to Colchester as the seat of a diocese in 1536 and 1592, but on neither occasion was there any successor. The town is now included in the diocese of St Albans, and in 1882 it was made the see of a suffragan bishop to the diocese.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyEssex 
HundredLexden 
Poor Law unionColchester 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Colchester from the following:


Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Essex is available to browse.

The Essex pages from the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 is online.


Maps

Online maps of Colchester are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering Essex online:

DistrictColchester
CountyEssex
RegionEastern
CountryEngland
Postal districtCO1
Post TownColchester

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