Colchester

Colchester is a city in north-eastern Essex, England. At the 2021 census its built up area had a population of 130,245, making it the second-largest settlement in Essex after Southend-on-Sea, and it gives its name to the wider Colchester local government district. Its people are called Colcestrians. The city occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital, and so claims to be Britain's first city. It has been an important military base since Roman times and the Colchester Garrison now houses the 16th Air Assault Brigade. Colchester stands on the River Colne, 50 miles north-east of London, linked to the capital by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line railway. Colchester Castle, built in the eleventh century on Roman foundations, now contains a museum, and the University of Essex has its main campus between Colchester and Wivenhoe.