a city in Great Britain, on the Colne River in Essex. Population, 72,600 (1968).
Colchester has machine building, printing, and sewn-goods industries. It has the remains of a pre-Roman settlement (belonging to the Celtic tribe of the Trinovantes) and of Camulodunum, a city dating from Roman times. Under the Roman emperor Claudius, Colchester was turned into a settlement for Roman veterans and enjoyed the rights of a municipality (Colonia Victricensis). In A.D. 61, during the rebellion of Boadicea, the city was almost destroyed by fire. However, it was soon restored and became one of the main cities of Roman Britain. Excavations carried out since the 1880’s have uncovered the largest complex of antiquities found anywhere in Britain. A Norman castle, church buildings, and the grain exchange are among the medieval monuments that have been preserved.