olchester is 56 miles (90km) northeast of London and is the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester, Essex, England. The Roman historian Tacitus mentions Colchester (Camulodunum) in The Annals of Imperial Rome, and as the oldest recorded Roman town, therefore lays claim to being the oldest town in Britain with the oldest recorded market.

The name Colchester is from Old English: the place-name suffixes chester, cester, and caster derive from the Latin word castrum (fortified place). The Saxons called the town Colne ceaster, the Roman fortress of 'Colonia'. The tower of Holy Trinity Church is late Saxon work.

Vikings from East Anglia overran Colchester and most of Essex in the late 9th century and the town remained in Viking hands until 917 when it was besieged and recaptured by the army of King Edward the Elder. *(The Danish invasion of neighbouring East Anglia had begun in 865).

Colchester, which was granted its first Royal Charter by King Richard I in 1189, has several notable medieval landmarks: Colchester Castle, an 11th century Norman keep which is built atop the vaults of the old Roman Temple, the surviving gateway of St John's Abbey, and the ruins of St Botolph's Priory.

Folkfore:
In folk etymology the name Colchester was thought of as meaning Cole's Castle. In the legend Helena, the daughter of Cole, married the Roman senator Constantius Chlorus, who had been sent by Rome as an ambassador and was named as Cole's successor. Helena's son became Emperor Constantine I. Helena was canonised as Saint Helena of Constantinople and is credited with finding the true cross and the remains of the Magi. She is now the patron saint of Colchester. This is recognised in the emblem of Colchester: a cross and three crowns.