{"id":3601,"date":"2020-02-14T12:07:12","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T12:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/?p=3601"},"modified":"2025-07-22T12:07:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T11:07:40","slug":"things-to-do-in-colchester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/things-to-do-in-colchester\/","title":{"rendered":"Things To Do in Colchester"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\nColchester, Essex<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In AD49\nColchester (then known as Camulodunum) was the first place in Britain\nto be given the status of a Roman Colonia by the Roman Emperor\nClaudius. A Colonia was a planned settlement for retired veteran\nsoldiers who became citizens of Rome upon discharge, with all the\nprivileges that Roman citizenship afforded. This meant Colchester\nacted as a focal point for “Roman-ness” in the new province\nof Britannia and a beacon for transmitting Roman civilisation and\nvalues throughout the region. It’s status and importance further\nendorsed by the attack on Colchester led by Queen Boudica in AD60 as\nher revolt against Roman rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britain’s\nFirst City<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colchester’s\nstatus as a Colonia has never been revoked. So, while it has yet to\nachieve modern city status, Colchester’s historic claim to be both\nBritain’s first city and the former capital of Britain is undisputed\nas far as any records show. Its position, close to the sea, and a\nlarge population of circa 12,000 indicated it was a large and vital\ntown by Roman standards. Its status and importance were further\nendorsed by the attack on Colchester led by Queen Boudica in AD60 as\nher revolt against Roman rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Besieged,\nRansacked and Rebuilt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town saw many\ninvasions after this starting with the Saxons who named it Colne\nCeaster (now Colchester) Ceaster was the Saxon word for a group of\nRoman buildings. The Danes came next who used the old Roman forts and\nwalls as strongholds. The English then recaptured it from the Danes\nbesieging town and fought till they overcame it and killed all the\npeople except those who fled away over the wall’. The English then\nrepaired the damage to Colchester and occupied it. The Normans came\nnext capturing Colchester and building a castle on the vaults of the\nold temple of Claudius. King John’s men then besieged the castle and\nexpelled the French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Colchester \u2013\na Fascinating Place to Explore<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National\npolitical and religious struggles were reflected in dramatic local\nevents in the 16th Century. St Botolph’s Priory & St John’s Abbey\nwere both closed down in King Henry VIII’s dissolution of the\nmonasteries in the 1530’s. In the reign of his zealous Catholic\ndaughter Queen Mary, forty Protestants from Colchester and the\nsurrounding district were burnt alive at the stake as heretics; a\nmore substantial proportion, relative to population, than in any\nother town in England. When Mary was succeeded as Queen by her sister\nElizabeth I, Colchester became a haven for Protestants fleeing from\nFlanders, where they had been defeated in a rebellion against\nCatholic Spain. Many of them were skilled weavers, and it was through\nthis Dutch community that Colchester became famous for high-quality\ncloths. Today, Colchester celebrates its long, rich history and\ninvites tourists to share in these experiences. You can find out\nmore here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activities\nBefitting Colchester’s History<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A town that has a\nlong bloody history of battles with soldiers and everyday people\nfighting for their town and their homes, it seems appropriate to\nrecommend activities in keeping with the town’s history as you tread\nupon this ancient part of the UK. So, let’s look at some of the\nactivities that fit the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The\nmedieval longbow<\/a> played a big part in the history\nof Colchester. These skilled bowmen were essential for the defence of\nthe town, as well as in the ranks of those that attacked and\noverthrew the town’s defences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combat\narchery<\/a> a modern form of archery that sees\nparticipants go into battle. Our ancestors would have approved of\nthis fast a furious team game for their leisure time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being able to\nwield an axe would have made you a top warrior in any battle. Can you\nthrow an axe and hit the target? These Axe\nthrowing experiences<\/a> will help you hone your\nskills without hurting anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clay\npigeon shooting<\/a>. Shooting skills became paramount\nduring the history of Colchester when guns became common-place in\nbattle. Together with being able to kill food, the defence of the\ntown would have benefitted from skilled shooters. Try your hand at\nthis sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Crossbows<\/a> in\nRoman times were huge weapons operated by several men. Modern\ncrossbows are handheld and are made to be lightweight and easy to\nhandle. Try your hand at this weapon made famous recently by Game of\nThrones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ability to\nscale walls and get at your enemy would have been an essential skill\nthroughout the warring history of Colchester. The climbing skills you\nlearn today will never be used like the soldiers of Rome, or the\ninvading hordes of Saxons or Danes, but it’s a great ability to have\nand 100s people can be found on climbing\nwalls<\/a> regularly every week in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By CJ<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Britain\u2019s first recorded town and former capital of Britain, Colchester. Its amazing history and what you can do in and around this famous town in Essex.… Read More Things To Do in Colchester<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,121,747,29,244,271],"tags":[845,287,138,31,265,872,117,446,89,643,873,875],"class_list":["post-3601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archery","category-axe-throwing","category-city-attractions","category-clay-pigeon-shooting","category-climbing","category-venue-reviews","tag-activities","tag-activity-reviews","tag-axe-throwing","tag-clay-pigeon-shooting","tag-climbing-wall","tag-colchester","tag-combat-archery","tag-crossbows","tag-geronigo","tag-things-to-do","tag-visit-colchester","tag-visit-essex"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3601"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3613,"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3601\/revisions\/3613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geronigo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}