History

Interesting Facts About Colchester

• Colchester (Camulodunum) was Britain’s first-ever city and capital of the Roman province of Britannia.
• Colchester also claims to be Britain’s oldest recorded town with references to Camulodunon (the original Celtic settlement) on coins minted by Tasciovanus dating back to 20 BC. In 77 AD Pliny the Elder, a Roman author, naturalist, philosopher, a personal friend of the emperor Vespasian and commander of the early Roman Empire, mentions Camulodunum in his ‘Natural History’, the earliest historical reference to a British town.
• Colchester was the site of the only known Roman circus in Britain, a monumental structure which may have seated up to 8,000 for spectator sports, including chariot-racing.
• Colchester is twinned with Wetzlar in Germany, Imola in Italy and Avignon in France.
• Colchester is reputed to be the home of three of the best known English nursery rhymes
  • Old King Cole
  • Humpty Dumpty
  • Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
• Unlike much of England, Colchester is very dry. Colchester’s annual rainfall is less than Jerusalem, Beirut, the Spanish Balearic Islands of Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera and semi-arid areas of South Africa and Southern Australia – but you still need to bring your waterproof clothing.
• The Colchester Lathe Company sold lathes worldwide.
• Daniel Defoe’s novel Moll Flanders starts off in Colchester.