Ancestors lost in the crowd?
New to family history research?
Perhaps these articles on our website may help:
Census 1841 - 1911
Birth, Death and Marriage Registration
The London Gazette
Newspaper archives
Trade Directories
History of Colchester
Colchester, High Street 1891
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.
Welcome to the home page for the History of Colchester and its inhabitants.
Below you find links to a range of sources transcribed by History House. Further below under 'more local history sources' you will find to links to other places on the web where you can continue your research.
For other locations in Essex see our alphabetical list of Essex towns and villages.
Pigot's Directory of Essex 1823
Pigot's Directory of Essex 1823 - list of inhabitants.
Poll of Voters 1826
Colchester inhabitants who voted in the 1826 general election held in the Borough of Maldon.
Freemen admitted between 1845 and 1866
Colchester inhabitants who were admitted as Freemen of the Borough between 1845 and 1866.
Poll of Voters 1847
Colchester inhabitants who voted in the 1847 general election.
White's Directory of Essex 1848
White's Directory of Essex 1848 - list of inhabitants.
Essex Almanac 1866
Essex Almanac of 1866 - a description of Colchester.
Colchester Criminal Cases
Court cases involving Colchester residents - ongoing project >>more.
Education in Colchester
Reports and returns on schools and education in Colchester.
Places to visit
Colchester Castle - 2000 years of history.
Feature articles
How Colchester was hit by the strongest earthquake in England's history.>>more
An account of the siege of Colchester during the English Civil War, from Daniel Defoe's tour of Essex.
Images and Maps
Photograph of Trinity House contributed by a History House reader.
Images and maps of Colchester supplied by Francis Frith.
Colchester Poor
Under the Poor Law of 1834, Colchester became part of the Colchester Union. See our article on researching your workhouse and pauper ancestors.
My Colchester Ancestors
Are your ancestors from Colchester? Why not tell us their story: My Ancestors.
More local history sources
Ebay is now a great source for old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these. Link already formatted for Essex. Browse through or type the name of the location in the Ebay search box. >>
Also on Ebay are legal documents on vellum. This link is formatted for Essex. (Sometimes I think these should be in an archive.) >>
Books featuring Colchester from Abebooks. Just click the logo. The search terms are already formatted for Colchester.
Search for Colchester census returns at ancestry.co.uk.
1841 England Census | 1851 England Census
| 1861 England Census
1871 England Census | 1881 England Census
| 1891 England Census
1901 England Census
Colchester Castle
print published 1834
The Essex Record Office: an excellent starting point for research. The ERO has an online catalogue by the name of SEAX and a database of Parish Records held in the ERO. Access to both via their home page.
Excellent detailed information on the history of Colchester appears in the Victorian Counties History on the British History Online web site: The Borough of Colchester, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9: The Borough of Colchester (1994).
Colchester has several museums. Find out more on the Colchester Museums web site.
Colchester Archaeological Trust newspaper with archaeological news in the Colchester area and across Essex.
Council web site with a history of Colchester.
History of Medieval Colchester.
Colchester in the 15th century.
Web site on the history of Colchester Workhouse.
History and Description of the Ancient Town and Borough of Colchester, in Essex By Thomas Cromwell (published 1826). Download from Google Book Search.
WW2: A Civilian in the Second World War. The war-time diaries of Eric J Rudsdale who was at the time the Curator's Assistant at Colchester Castle Museum. Published daily in blog format.
1881 Ordnance Survey Map from the British History Online web site (Essex: 027, Ordnance Survey 1:10,560: Epoch 1.0).
Ordnance Survey - type the place name in the gazetteer search box to view detailed map of Colchester.
Heritage Gateway. Database of national and local records of England's historic sites and buildings. Includes records and photographs of all listed buildings, and historical and archaeological information on locations throughout England.