Editing Colchester (section)

===Medieval and Tudor periods===
[[File:Colchester castle 800.jpg|thumb|Colchester Castle, completed c. 1100 AD]]
Medieval Colchester's main landmark is [[Colchester Castle]], which is an 11th-century Norman keep and built on top of the vaults of the old [[Roman temple]]. There are notable medieval ruins in Colchester, including the surviving gateway of the [[Benedictine]] [[St. John's Abbey, Colchester|abbey of St John the Baptist]] (known locally as "St John's Abbey"), and the ruins of the [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] [[priory]] of [[St Botolph]] (known locally as "[[St Botolph's Priory]]"). Many of [[Colchester churches|Colchester's parish churches]] date from this period.

Colchester's medieval town seal incorporated the biblical text ''Intravit ihc: in quoddam castellum et mulier quedam excepit illum'' 'Jesus entered a certain castle and a woman there welcomed him' (Luke 10.38).  This is a commonplace allegory in which a castle is likened to Mary's womb and explains the name of Maidenburgh St, neighbouring the castle.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Briggs|first1=Keith|title=Maidenburgh, Geoffrey of Wells and Rabanus Maurus|journal=Nomina|date=2010|volume=33|pages=121–128|url=http://snsbi.org.uk/Nomina_articles/Nomina_33_Briggs.pdf}}</ref>

In 1189, Colchester was granted its first known [[royal charter]] by King Richard I ([[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart]]), although the wording suggests that it was based on an earlier one. It granted Colchester's [[Burgess (title)|burgess]]es the right to elect [[Bailiff#Historic bailiffs|bailiffs]] and a [[Judge#England and Wales|justice]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Cooper|editor1-first=Janet|editor2-last=Elrington|editor2-first=C. R.|year=1994|title=A History of the County of Essex: The Borough of Colchester|volume=IX|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol9/pp48-57|location=London|publisher=Victoria County History|pages=48–57|isbn=978-0-19-722784-8}}</ref> The borough celebrated the 800th anniversary of its charter in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|date=27 December 2002|url=http://www.oysterfayre.flyer.co.uk/1989newsreports.html|title=Oyster Fayre{{snd}}1989 News Reports|publisher=Oysterfayre.flyer.co.uk|access-date=17 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829164600/http://www.oysterfayre.flyer.co.uk/1989newsreports.html|archive-date=29 August 2008}}</ref>

Colchester developed rapidly during the later 14th century as a centre of the woollen cloth industry and became famous in many parts of Europe for its russets (fabrics of a grey-brown colour). This allowed the population to recover exceptionally rapidly from the effects of the [[Black Death]], particularly by immigration into the town.<ref name="R.H. Britnell, 1986">{{cite book|first=R. H.|last=Britnell|title=Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300–1525|publisher=Cambridge|orig-date=1986|date=2009}}</ref>
Rovers Tye Farm, now a pub on [[Ipswich Road, Colchester|Ipswich Road]], has been documented as being established by 1353.<ref name=comms>{{cite journal|title=Communications|journal=A History of the County of Essex|volume=9, the Borough of Colchester|editor1-first=Janet|editor1-last=Cooper|editor2-first=C R|editor2-last=Elrington|location=London|year=1994|pages=233–237|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol9/pp233-237|access-date=29 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919055317/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol9/pp233-237|archive-date=19 September 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Colchester Map 1500AD.png|thumb|left|Colchester in 1500 AD]]
By the 'New Constitutions' of 1372, a borough council was instituted; the two [[bailiff]]s who represented the borough to the king were now expected to consult sixteen ordinary councillors and eight auditors (later called aldermen). Even though Colchester's fortunes were more mixed during the 15th century, it was still a more important place by the 16th century than it had been in the 13th. In 1334 it would not have ranked among England's wealthiest fifty towns, to judge from the taxation levied that year. By 1524, however, it ranked twelfth, as measured by its assessment to a lay subsidy.<ref name="R.H. Britnell, 1986"/>

[[File:Peake's House Colchester 01.jpg|thumb|Peake's House, one of the Elizabethan houses in the Dutch Quarter]]
Between 1550 and 1600, a large number of [[weaver (occupation)|weaver]]s and clothmakers from [[Flanders]] emigrated to Colchester and the surrounding areas.<ref name=Cooper>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=21968&strquery=colchester|title=The Borough of Colchester|editor1=Janet Cooper|editor2=C R Elrington|author1=A P Baggs|author2=Beryl Board|author3=Philip Crummy|author4=Claude Dove|author5=Shirley Durgan|author6=N R Goose|author7=R B Pugh|author8=Pamela Studd|author9=C C Thornton|work=A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9: The Borough of Colchester|publisher=Institute of Historical Research|year=1994|access-date=28 July 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102061859/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=21968&strquery=colchester|archive-date=2 November 2012}}</ref> They were famed for the production of "Bays and Says" cloths which were woven from [[wool]] and are normally associated with [[baize]] and [[serge (fabric)|serge]] although surviving examples show that they were rather different from their modern equivalents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cat.essex.ac.uk/reports/EAS-report-0030.pdf|title=Colchester Archaeological Trust Online Report Library – Colchester Bays, Says and Perpetuanas by Eliot Howard|publisher=University of Essex|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20121212020626/http://cat.essex.ac.uk/reports/EAS-report-0030.pdf|archive-date=12 December 2012}}</ref> An area in Colchester town centre is still known as the Dutch Quarter and many buildings there date from the [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] period. During this period Colchester was one of the most prosperous wool towns in England and was also famed for its [[oyster]]s.<ref name=Cooper/> Flemish refugees in the 1560s brought innovations that revived the local cloth trade, establishing the Dutch Bay Hall for quality control of the textiles for which Colchester became famous.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britainsfirstcity.com/heritage.html|title=Heritage|website=Colchester: Britain's First City|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209063510/https://www.britainsfirstcity.com/heritage.html|archive-date=9 February 2018}}</ref> The old Roman wall runs along Northgate Street in the Dutch Quarter.

In the reign of "Bloody Mary" (1553–1558) Colchester became a centre of Protestant "heresy" and in consequence at least 19 local people were burned at the stake at the castle, at first in front, later within the walls. They are commemorated on a tablet near the altar of St Peter's Church.
(Sources: John Foxe, Book of Martyrs; Mark Byford, The Process of Reformation in a Tudor Town)