Temple of Claudius, Colchester

Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, due to its being built on the foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius, Colchester. The castle endured a three-month siege in 1216, but had fallen into disrepair by the seventeenth century when the curtain walls and some of the keep's upper parts were demolished; its original height is debated. The remaining structure was used as a prison and was partially restored as a large garden pavilion, but was purchased by Colchester Borough Council in 1922. The castle has since 1860 housed Colchester Museum, which has an important collection of Roman exhibits. It is a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building.

Colchester ( KOHL-cheh-stər) is a city in Essex, England. It is the third-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 Census. The demonym is Colcestrian.Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colchester therefore claims to be Britain's first city. It has been an important military base since the Roman era, with Colchester Garrison currently housing the 16th Air Assault Brigade. On the River Colne, Colchester is 50 miles (80 kilometres) northeast of London. It is connected to London by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line railway. Colchester is less than 30 miles (50 km) from London Stansted Airport and 20 miles (30 km) from the port of Harwich. Attractions in and around the city include St Botolph's Priory, Colchester Zoo, and several art galleries. Colchester Castle was constructed in the eleventh century on earlier Roman foundations; it now contains a museum. The main campus of the University of Essex is located between Colchester and Wivenhoe. Local government is the responsibility of the City of Colchester and Essex County Council.

Hollytrees Museum is a free to visit, publicly owned museum in the centre of Colchester and close to Colchester Castle. It is situated in an eighteenth-century house ("Hollytrees"), which was used as a private residence until 1929, when it became a museum.The first house on the site, known as "Symnells" after its owner, was later bought by the Shaw family, and passed from John Shaw to John Shaw III and John Shaw IV. When he died a minor, the house passed into chancery; his mother Jane Lessingham bought it but soon died. The modern house was constructed in for Elizabeth Cornelisen, who had bought the site from Lessingham's executors and promptly tore down the existing structure in poor condition. Construction commenced on 10 May 1718 at a cost of £630 plus brickwork and tiling; the total refurbishment was estimated to have cost £2,000. She died soon after, bequeathing the house to her niece, Sarah Creffeild (née Webster), who left it to her second husband Charles Gray. It was, at that time, known as "Esqr Creffield's [sic]". Possession of the house reverted to the Creffeilds; through Thamer Creffeild to James Round, who left to his brother Charles, who left it to his son Charles Gray Round, who left to it to his nephew James Round. The Rounds finally sold it to the Corporation of Colchester in 1922, a purchase paid for privately by Viscount Cowdray and his wife. It became a museum in 1929.The house is known as Hollytrees after two holly trees planted in the grounds by Charles Gray in 1729 and is now a free to visit museum serving the centre of Colchester and specialising in local history. It is a grade I listed building.

The City of Colchester is a local government district with city status in Essex, England, named after its main settlement, Colchester. The district also includes the towns of West Mersea and Wivenhoe and the surrounding rural areas stretching from Dedham Vale on the Suffolk border in the north to Mersea Island in the Colne Estuary in the south. The neighbouring districts are Maldon, Braintree, Babergh, and Tendring.

St Helen's Chapel is an Eastern Orthodox church in Colchester, Essex, under the jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland, headed by Metropolitan Silouan Oner.

Colchester Art Society was founded in 1946 by a group of artists who lived in Colchester and the nearby areas, many of whom were also linked to the Colchester School of Art, which is part of Colchester Institute. The aim of the society was and still is the promotion of the visual arts.

The Minories is a Grade II listed building and gardens situated at the east end of High Street in Colchester, Essex, England, near Hollytrees, Gate House and Colchester Castle. It currently houses The Minories Galleries which are no longer run by Colchester School of Art, part of Colchester Institute.

Colchester in Essex, England, has a number of notable churches.

Colchester Greyfriars, otherwise the Franciscan Friary, Colchester, was a Franciscan friary in Colchester, Essex, England, situated to the north of the town's east gate. It was founded sometime before 1237. In 1309 the friars received a grant of half an acre of land from Robert Fitzwalter, Lord Fitzwalter, on which he built their church. According to John Weever, the antiquarian, in his Ancient Funerall Monuments, Fitzwalter became a friar here himself in 1325, and was buried here.The friary was dissolved in 1538. The site was described the following year as "[the] site of the house, the hall called 'le olde halle,' the house called 'le fermerye,' the chambers called 'Syr Thomas Tyrrells lodgynge,' the kitchen, the bakehouse, the brewhouse, two little gardens and four acres of land." There are no visible remains.

St Martin's Church is an active Orthodox church, in the Antiochian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland, in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The church stands in the centre of the city, near the town hall.

Colchester Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Colchester, Essex, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Colchester City Council, is a Grade I listed building.

The Church of St James the Great is a Church of England parish church in Colchester, Essex. The church is a grade II* listed building.