Colchester churches
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Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
in
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, England, has a number of notable
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
es.


Early churches


Butt Road Roman Church

Excavations in the 1980s for a new police station near the Maldon Road roundabout unearthed 371
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
graves and a long narrow building. The building was built between AD 320 and 340. Oriented east to west, an
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
was added to the east end in a later phase. The building was divided by a wooden screen and two rows of posts ran down the eastern half forming
aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
s. The building has been interpreted on strong circumstantial evidence as an
early Christian church Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...
. If this is correct, it is probably the earliest known Christian church in Britain. The remains have been preserved and are visible from the public footpath.


St Helen's Chapel

Dedicated to
Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
, the 14th-century ''Chronicle of Colchester'' states that the chapel was founded by the saint herself and refounded by
Eudo Dapifer Eudo Dapifer (sometimes Eudo fitzHerbertBarlow ''William Rufus'' p. 474 and Eudo de Rie); (died 1120), was a Norman aristocrat who served as a steward (server, Latin 'dapifer') under William the Conqueror, William II Rufus, and Henry I. Life Eud ...
in 1076. Most of the present building dates from the 12th and 13th centuries, incorporating Roman brick. Excavations in 1981 and 1984 in Maidenburgh Street, have shown that the Roman stone and brickwork under the north and east walls were part of a
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
. In the 14th century,
chantries A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...
were established in the chapel, but it was closed in 1539 after the
Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...
of St John's Abbey and it went into secular use. It became a house, a school, a library, a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
meeting-house and a warehouse. In the 1880s, the Round family who owned the castle, had the chapel
restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...
by
William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...
. After use as a clergy meeting-room and a parish hall, it was used by the Castle Museum as a store. Since 2000, it has again been used as a place of worship by the
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
Parish of St Helen.


Medieval churches


All Saints

This church in High Street was declared a
redundant church A redundant church, now referred to as a "closed church", is a church building that is no longer used for Christian worship. The term most frequently refers to former Anglican churches in the United Kingdom, but may also be used for disused churc ...
in 1953 and is now a Natural History Museum. It is situated opposite
Colchester Castle Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, due to its being bui ...
at MapRef TL 999252. The church has a fine flint-built tower of the 15th century, while the rest of the building was extensively rebuilt in the mid 19th century.


St. Botolph's Priory

The
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
of St Botolph, generally called "St Botolph's Priory", was also established in the 11th century. This adopted the Augustinian Order in around 1200 and became the mother church of the order in Britain. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries the priory church of St Botolph became the parish church. It was also used by the Corporation on civic occasions until the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
. In 1650 the church was described as burnt and ruined after the
Siege of Colchester The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise suppo ...
, and it has been left in ruins. Until the construction of a new church in 1837, parishioners attended All Saints church instead, although burials continued in the churchyard.


St Giles, St John's Green

Originally built on part of St John's Abbey cemetery around AD 1150, contains work from every century since. It was declared redundant in 1956 and then used as a St. John Ambulance depot until 1975 when it was converted into a
masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
centre.


Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity is the oldest surviving church building in Colchester. It is on Trinity Street in the city centre. Parts of the church tower are
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
, believed to date from about 1020. The Saxon doorway in the west side of the tower has a triangular head: a feature common in Anglo-Saxon windows but unusual in a doorway. An earlier church building may have existed on the site. The churchyard includes the graves of William Gilberd, discoverer of
electromagnetism In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
and physician to
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
, and the composer
John Wilbye John Wilbye (baptized 7 March 1574September 1638) was an English madrigal composer. Early life and education The son of a tanner, he was born at Brome, Suffolk, England. (Brome is near Diss.) Career Wilbye received the patronage of the Cornwa ...
. The Church is now a café and youth venue for arts and music.


St James the Great

St James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...
is a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
church on East Hill in Colchester. The oldest part of the church is
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
, dating from the 12th century. The nave, tower, and two aisles were built between the 13th and 15th centuries. The chancel and the Chapels of Our Lady and
Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
and
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
were added around 1500. The radical priest John Ball, a leader of the
Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...
of 1381 preached at the church.


St John's Abbey

The
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...
of St
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, generally known as "St John's Abbey," founded in 1096, had a late 11th-century
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
until the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the execution of its
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
in 1539. Now all that remains is the gatehouse on St John's Green, which dates from the 15th century, and the church of St Giles, used as the parish church of the abbey.


St Martin's

St Martin's is a 12th-century church that survives in its original Norman form. The church is on West Stockwell Street in the old Dutch Quarter. Its tower was damaged in the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
and was never repaired. Today the church building is in the care of The
Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...
and is used as a community venue. The key is available from the
Colchester Borough Council Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colchest ...
museum service.


St Mary-at-the-Walls

On Church Street, to the east of Balkerne Hill is St Mary-at-the-Walls, built against the Roman walls and overlooking the western suburbs of the city. First recorded in 1206, the church has a notable history. It is the site where 23
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
s were executed by burning in the reign of the
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...
. In the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
a
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
army used the church tower as a gun emplacement, which resulted in its destruction by
New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...
siege batteries. The theory that the tower gave rise to the rhyme
Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...
is now probably disproved. The lower part of the tower is Norman; the upper parts were rebuilt in 1729 and the top in 1911. The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1872 to designs by Arthur Blomfield.
Philip Morant Philip Morant (6 October 1700 – 25 November 1770) was an English clergyman, author and historian. Education He was educated at John Roysse's Free School in Abingdon (now Abingdon School) and Pembroke College, Oxford, eventually taking his m ...
, the Essex historian, was Rector 1737–70. There was a further major rebuild in 1872 In 1978 the parish was united with Christ Church in a new building in Ireton Road. The old church was made redundant; the bell was moved to St Leonard's in
Lexden Lexden is a suburb of Colchester and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Colchester, in the Colchester district, in the county of Essex, England. It was formerly a village, and has previously been called Lessendon, Lassendene and ...
and the organ to
Brentwood Cathedral The Cathedral of St Mary and St Helen is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Brentwood, Essex, England. It is the seat of the Diocese of Brentwood. History Brentwood Cathedral began in 1861 as a parish church built in a Gothic style. This relatively sm ...
. In 1980 the building was reopened as Colchester Arts Centre.


St Nicholas

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...
' church formerly stood on the High Street. The original church was 12th century and the church was rebuilt in the 14th century, and
restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...
again between 1875-76 to designs by Sir
George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
. The church had the highest
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
in Colchester. The
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
had the church demolished in 1955 and sold the site for commercial redevelopment. The Colchester Co-operative Society built a department store ("St Nicholas House") on the site. The building has retail at the ground floor and permission for residential development on the upper floors.


St Runwald's

St Runwald's church is one of only three churches were ever dedicated to the Saint in Britain. The church in Colchester formerly stood as part of "middle row" in the High Street. It was demolished, along with other buildings in the row, in the 1860s. The church graveyard is in West Stockwell Street, behind
Colchester Town Hall Colchester Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Colchester, Essex, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Borough of Colchester, Colchester Borough Council, is a Grade I listed building. History The first buil ...
.


St Peter's

In origin a Medieval church, St Peter's is on North Hill and largely consists of later Georgian material due to a major remodelling in 1758, but the building retains mediaeval fabric and underwent a further remodelling in 1895–96. During the Medieval period the church yard contained a large stone cross from which gospels were read during the
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...
procession.Ashdown-Hill, John (2009) Mediaeval Colchester's Lost Landmarks. Published by Breedon Books. () The churchyard also contained a large marker stone on its northern side into the 1500s. The Medieval church also contained a large
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...
with a rood loft. The bells are rung every Thursday. Details of its history are available at the church.


St Leonard's-at-the-Hythe

St Leonard's-at-the-Hythe is a large Medieval church at Colchester's Hythe river port. Along with St John's Abbey it was one of the two ecclesiastical buildings in Colchester which contained clocks. The church was the site of a battle during the 1648
Siege of Colchester The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise suppo ...
, and its south door still contains firing loops for muskets.


Georgian churches


Baptist Church

In Eld Lane, built in 1834 on the site of Colchester's first purpose-built Baptist chapel of 1711.


Strict Baptist Chapel

Formerly in Stanwell Street, demolished in 1971 to make way for Colchester's Inner Ring Road. The chapel was built in 1811 or 1812 for a new congregation, some of whom had seceded from the Baptists in Eld Lane. Colchester
Elim Pentecostal Church The Elim Pentecostal Church is a UK-based Pentecostal Christian denomination. History George Jeffreys (1889–1962), a Welshman, founded the ''Elim Pentecostal Church'' in Monaghan, Ireland in 1915. Jeffreys was an evangelist with a Welsh Co ...
(see below) used the chapel 1957–71.


Congregational Chapel

This red-brick chapel in East Stockwell Street was built in 1816–17. The chapel was built for Congregational minister Rev. Joseph Herrick, who was expelled from his previous meeting house in St Helen's Lane by the Unitarians in the congregation. It was refronted in 1834 with a
pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...
and Tuscan columns. After Herrick's death, his successor, Rev. Thomas Batty (father of Colchester artist
Dora Batty Dora Margaret Batty (12 January 1891 – 10 July 1966) was a British designer, working in illustration, poster design, pottery and textiles. Biography Batty was born in Colchester, Essex, the youngest of three daughters of Rev. Thomas Batty and E ...
), added new schoolrooms in 1868 and remodelled the chapel in 1875. It has been a Grade II-listed building since 1971.


Quaker Meeting House

A Grade II listed building in Church Street dating from 1803.


Victorian churches


All Saints, Shrub End

The parish church of Shrub End; formerly part of
Lexden Lexden is a suburb of Colchester and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Colchester, in the Colchester district, in the county of Essex, England. It was formerly a village, and has previously been called Lessendon, Lassendene and ...
, it became a separate parish in 1845. Designed in a Gothic Revival architecture, revival of Decorated Gothic by D. R. French, the red-brick church has a tower with a slated spire. MapRef TL 970232. A more detailed look at the church can be found on the church's website on www.shrubendparish.co.uk


St Botolph's

The current church building was dedicated in 1837. It is built in the style of the old Norman building, with semicircular arches and Norman ornamentation and was designed by William Mason of
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
. The Church was nearly destroyed by fire in the 1943 air raids. It had its own team of fire watchers which dealt with several
incendiary bombs Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
.


Garrison Church

Built in Military Road in 1855 to hold services for soldiers going to the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, this large Grade II* listed timber church has space for a congregation of 500. It is now the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
. of St. John the Wonderworker.


St James the Less

This
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
of St James the Less and St Helen in Priory Street was designed by JJ Scoles, built in 1837 and enlarged in 1909–10. It is a Norman revival building with an
apsidal In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
.


St John the Evangelist

The Church of St John the Evangelist Colchester was built in 1863 by Arthur Blomfield in the Decorated style. It is principally of red brick with yellow and blue brick and stone window tracery. It consists of a chancel and nave surmounted by a small bellcot at the west end. The chancel and its fittings and part of the nave were built with money collected in memory of J.T. Round. It has a boarded and tiled roof. In the late 1960s and into the 1970s, the modern housing estate of St John’s was built and a further estate of Highwoods was developed in the 1980s. From 1980 under the leadership of Rev Brian Nicholson, the numbers of the congregation steadily grew. Mainly through the generous giving from the church family, the church was significantly extended in 1987. Following continuing growth in church membership, St Luke’s was planted, meeting weekly in the community centre on Highwoods. In 2012 the church undertook a million pound plus building project, replacing our old pre-fab church hall with a new multi purpose Community Centre.


United Reformed Church

In Lion Walk, this Gothic Revival church was designed in a Geometrical Decorated Gothic style and built in 1863 for a Congregational community that had been meeting in Colchester since the 17th century. The
1884 Colchester earthquake Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price attemp ...
damaged its steeple. The church became part of the new
United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...
in 1972.


Modern churches


St Barnabas' Church, Old Heath

Built on the site of a Victorian church, St
Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...
was built in 1949 to replace the original church which was in a state of disrepair. A small and friendly church, it has various services and masses during the week including a Parish Sung Mass on a Sunday Morning at 10am.


Castle Methodist Church

In Maidenburgh Street next to
Colchester Castle Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, due to its being bui ...
, this 20th-century building was opened in 1970 on the site of the "great round meeting house" where
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
preached in the 18th century. A wooden pulpit that he used is preserved in the new church.


Colchester New Church

Colchester New Church Colchester New Church is a Christian New Church in Colchester, England which has as its theological basis the Old and New Testaments and the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Colchester New Church is part of the General Church of the ...
at 175 Maldon Road was built in 1924. In 1967 the church building was expanded. The sanctuary was extended two metres in length, a new school room, and a new entrance porch were added. The designer of the new additions was architect Geoff P. Dawson.


Elim Pentecostal Church

Colchester's Elim Pentecostal congregation formed in 1930. A temporary tabernacle was built in Fairfax Road in 1931 and served until 1957, when the congregation moved to the former Strict Baptist Chapel in Stanwell Street (see above). When that chapel was demolished in 1971 to make way for a new road, the congregation had a new church built in Walsingham Road. The congregation now meets in a newer building on Clematis Way.


Greenstead Evangelical Free Church

Greenstead Evangelical Free Church is on Magnolia Drive on the Greenstead estate. It was built in 1963, making it almost as old as the estate itself. It is affiliated with the
Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is a network of 639 independent, evangelical churches mainly in the United Kingdom that preach an evangelical faith. History The FIEC was formed in 1922 under the name ''A Fellowship ...
.Greenstead Evangelical Free Church
/ref>


References


Sources

*{{cite book , last1=Pevsner , first1=Nikolaus , author-link1=Nikolaus Pevsner , last2=Radcliffe , first2=Enid , orig-year=1954 , year=1965 , series=
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, title=Essex , location=Harmondsworth , publisher=
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.132–137
, url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/londonicitiesof00pevs/page/132