Colchester is reputed to be the oldest recorded Roman town in England and was known as Camulodunum before the Roman conquest.
It was the capital of King Cunobelinus (or "Cunobelin") (Cymbeline in Shakespeare's play and "Old King Cole" of the nursery rhyme) when the Romans invaded Britain in 43 A.D. Later it became a colonia[?] when the Roman frontier moved north. It was completely destroyed during Boudicca's rebellion in 61 AD.
The Benedictine abbey of St John the Baptist, generally known as "Colchester Abbey" or "Colchester Priory," had a beautiful late 11th century church until the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the execution of its abbot in 1539. Now all that remains of it is its gate, which is still a tourist attraction.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump