.jpg "Colchester Castle - by Rodger Tamblyn")
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you are a local resident or a visitor, you will find the information you need here! The links below cover everything from where to find souvenirs of Colchester and how to promote an arts event to how much Colchester tourism is worth and whether Hollytrees Museum has a ghost!
If you need to find out additional information on any of the subjects below please contact:
Email: vic@colchester.gov.uk
Telephone: 01206 282920
"Visitor Information"
"Colchester: Did You Know?"
"Colchester Today & the Colchester Crest"
"How Colchester Tourism is Performing"
"Promoting Colchester"
"Colchester Museums"
Colchester's Famous People
When in comes to people who have made their mark on history, Colchester actually has quite a few that orginate or have strong associations with it. From famous painters, musicians, warriors and kings to nursery rhyme writers, television presenters, scientists and Baptist Pastors. Click on the 'Famous People from the Past' or 'Famous People from the Present' links below to see who they are!
Famous People From The Past
The Emperor Claudius
This famous Roman Emperor spent just 16 days in Britain, long enough to lead his troops into Camulodunum (the Britons' name for Colchester) and receive the submission of several British kings. Elephants accompanied him - animals the Britons would never have seen before.
Cunobelin (Shakespeare's Cymbeline)
Recognised by the Romans as the King of the Britons, he ruled from about AD5 to AD40. His wealth and status are illustrated by the gold coins which have been found in Colchester and locally and which carry the CVNO of his name and CAMV of Camulodunum. You can see these coins today in Colchester Castle Museum.
Boudica (Boadicea)
Roman Colchester was virtually destroyed in AD60 by Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, a native tribe living in the Norfolk area. Boudica led a major rebellion against Roman rule. Her husband, Prasutagus, had been one of the British rulers who submitted to the Emperor Claudius in AD43. After Prasutagus' death, the Romans assaulted his widow Boudica and her daughters, refusing to accept the women as the king's heirs. A revolt erupted and the Iceni joined forces with the Trinovantes to attack and burn Camulodunum. More than 60,000 people lost their lives.
William Gilberd
Born in Colchester in 1544, he became Chief Physician to Queen Elizabeth I. However, he is best known as a pioneer investigator of electricity. He discovered the earth's magnetism and was the first person to coin the word ‘electricity', conducting some of the first real experiments in electromagnetism. He died in 1603.
Old King Cole
The nursery rhyme Old King Cole is based on a medieval story which tried to explain how Colchester got its name and why there are Roman ruins in the town. In the legend, a King called Coel ruled Colchester and had a daughter called Helena who was the mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great. The legend is also the reason why St. Helena is the Patron Saint of Colchester.
John Constable RA
This quintessentially English landscape painter was born at East Bergholt (a village north east of the town) in 1776. His world famous scenes of the Essex/Suffolk border are epitomised in The Haywain which can now be seen in the National Gallery.
Jane and Ann Taylor, authors of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'
The nursery rhyme 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' was actually composed rather than handed down in folklore as most people believe. Author Jane Taylor (1783 - 1824) and her sister Ann wrote it in 1806 as part of the book 'Rhymes for the Nursery'. At the time they lived in Colchester having moved here from Lavenham with their father Isaac Taylor, an engraver and Preacher, in 1793. The house where they lived in West Stockwell Street is marked with a blue plaque as is the one on Shilling Street in Lavenham. To find out more about the Taylors and see their Colchester house, take a guided tour available from the Visitor Information Centre. The National Trust also has a permananet exhibition (including paintings, books and personal belongings) on the Taylor family in the Lavenham Guildhall.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
The famous Baptist Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. He was born in Kelvedon on June 19th, 1834. His parents were strict Congregationalists. His father, John Spurgeon was in business and settled in Colchester around 1840. His mother was a Colchester woman (youngest sister of Mr C P Jervis of Colchester). The Rev C H Spurgeon, who early left the sect to which his parents belonged and joined the Baptists, became a preacher whose name is of world wide reputation. He frequently visited his native town of Colchester. After a lingering illness, he died at Mentone on January 31st, 1892.
Famous People In The Present
Blur
Colchester is famously the home town to Britpop group Blur. Damon Albarn, the group's lead singer and guitarist Graham Coxon went to Stanway School. They formed Blur with Alex James and Dave Rowntree whilst studying together at Goldsmith's College, London. Originally known as ‘Seymour' they performed at venues across the town, later moving to London and changing their name to Blur in the process.
Jay Kay frontman of Jamiroquai
Jay Kay was born Jason Kay in Colchester in 1971. He attended Holmwood House Preparatory school from 1980-1983. Developing an enviable talent for performing, he was part of a school group that attended the Edinburgh Festival. In 1992 he formed the jazz-funk band Jamiroquai, signing an eight-album deal with Sony. In 1993, the band's first album ‘Emergency on Planet Earth' went straight into the charts at number one. Jay now enjoys superstar wealth, having an 11-bedroom country mansion set in 75 acres and 9 Ferrari cars.
Darren Day
The television and West End star was born in Colchester in 1968 and educated at Sir Charles Lucas School. On leaving school he became a semi-professional snooker player. His breakthrough into acting came in 1993 when he took over the lead role in Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat from Jason Donovan. He then went on to host the Children's Royal Variety show and TV's You Bet and Don' Try this at home. He appeared in the first series of ‘I'm a celebrity, get me out of here! ' and played the lead in the musical Summer Holiday. In autumn 2003 he again took the part of Joesph in the West End, taking over from Boyzone's Steven Gately.
Dermot O' Leary
Born Sean Dermot Finton O'Leary in Colchester in 1973. After attending the Colchester 6th Form College, he gained a BA degree in Media & Television and worked as a DJ for BBC Radio Essex. His first TV job was as a runner. Dermot presented Channel 4's youth programme T4 for two years, Big Brother's Little Brother and Shattered amongst other prime time television such as Comic Relief. He currently presents BBC Radio 2's Saturday afternoon slot.
Colchester: Did You Know?
- It was the capital of Roman Britain when London was just a trading post
- It has the largest surviving Roman gateway in Britain.
- It has 1½ miles (2½ km) of Roman wall, the oldest town wall in Britain.
- It has a large number of ancient mosaic floorings, one of the largest concentrations for a town of its size. Some remain untouched in the ground under modern day buildings in and around the town. Others are now the responsibility of Colchester Museums and are either in storage or on display in Colchester Castle Museum, such as the Middleborough Mosaic unearthed in 1979.
- Colchester Castle is the largest surviving Norman keep in Europe.
- Colchester Castle pre-dates the Tower of London and was in fact the blueprint for it.
- Colchester Castle was the first Royal Castle outside of London.
- Colchester Castle is built on the massive foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius.
- Colchester was under siege for 11 weeks during the English Civil War in 1648.
- The town's skyline is dominated by two Victorian masterpieces - the Town Hall and ‘Jumbo' a water tower built in 1882-3. It became known as Jumbo after the famous elephant in London Zoo which had then just been sold, amid national protests, to the American circus showman, P. T. Barnum.
- Colchester was the location for a major British earthquake in 1884.
- Colchester has one of the country's few Frisbee Golf courses which has hosted the European Frisbee Golf championships. Its located at the University of Essex.
Colchester Today
...is home to around 156,000 people.
...has a thriving arts scene with 4 museums, many galleries and 4 theatres.
...is planning a contemporary visual art gallery, firstsite to be opened in Summer 2011.
...has excellent shopping combining big name stores with quiet lanes of smaller specialist shops as well as Williams and Griffin, award-winning independent department store.
...has more quality assured visitor attractions than any other English town.
...offers a balance between providing significant opportunities for new economic development whilst retaining its distinctive heritage and a special quality of life (a 1998 MORI poll showed that Colchester is one of the best places to live in the country regarding quality of life).
...is ideal for connections to the Continent, London and the rest of the region.
...boast the region's premier business centre - the Colchester Business Park, home to many internationally operating companies.
...is home to the University of Essex, Britain's most international university. It hosts students from over 125 countries and is recognised as 'the most academically distinguished university in Britain for its size'.
...is home to the Colchester Institute, part of the University of Essex. Its new call centre campus is the first of its kind in Essex and will enhance the town's inward investment portfolio by supplying skills in this high-growth employment area.
...is home to Colchester United Football Club
Colchester Museums
Find a wealth of information about Colchester Museums on their own website! In addition, the questions and answers page Q&A can answer frequently asks questions about local history, practical information if you are thinking of visiting, school visits and events and activities they regularly run.
