Colchester transport policy is always controversial and decisions can take
years. A hundred years ago things were
different. In February 1903 the council voted to proceed with proposals for a
tramway and just eighteen months later, in July 1904, the first tram set off from
the town hall. Driven by the mayoress Mrs Gertrude Barrett it made its way to
North Station via Lexden. On the first Saturday the trams had 10,000 passengers.
At 1 in 12, North
Hill was the steepest section of the route and trams sometimes struggled to get
up when the rails were slippery. Rather more worrying was the danger that they
might not be able to stop on the way down and so speed was limited to 4 mph.
the faster, quieter, more comfortable motorbuses took over and in 1929 the
trams were sold off for £5 each, becoming garden sheds, summer houses and even
This book celebrates the short period in Colchester’s history when trams ruled the roads.
Middleton Press hardback £18.95
call it Britain’s oldest recorded town or its first city, there is no doubt
that Colchester has a long and fascinating history and has enjoyed national and
international prominence in many fields. Most well-known is probably its
importance for the wool trade which dates right back to the thirteenth century
when surnames like dyer, weaver and fuller became common.
eighteenth-century Colchester was one of the most important provincial
clockmaking centres in the country with over a hundred watch and clockmakers
working in the town. More recently in the mid 1860’s James Paxman set up an
engineering works manufacturing steam engines and boilers which were delivered
all over the world.
From the manufacture of pottery in the Iron Age and Roman periods to the closure of the Hythe as a port in 2001, here is a book that explores Colchester’s history through the occupations and industries that people have worked in through the years.
Amberley Publishing, paperback £14.99