South Woodham Ferrers Local History Society

Britain’s oldest town...?

The Local History Society in the newest town in Essex, South Woodham Ferrers, will learn something about the county’s and probably Britain’s oldest town at the Society’s next meeting on 4th March.

Every time new building excavation work takes place in Colchester, a preliminary archaeological investigation is required and almost invariably this adds something new to our understanding of the town’s Roman past.

The Roman town of Colchester, called Camulodunum, was capital of the new Roman province of Britainnia and had a theatre, at least 8 temples, a public water supply, over 40 pottery kilns, together with glass and metal manufacturers in a major industrial complex. Large town houses have also been uncovered with under-floor heating and many fine decorated mosaic floors. As recently as 2004, the remains of the only known Roman chariot racing arena in Britain, that could have provided seating for 8,000 people, was discovered to the south of the town - one of the most important Roman discoveries in the UK.

The invited speaker, Dennis Shepherd will certainly have his work cut out to cover Colchester’s rich Roman past in the hour or so allocated for the talk...