Colchester Museums

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We're renowned for Romans, cuckoo about clocks and wild for animals! Custodians of Colchester Castle, Hollytrees Museum and Colchester's Natural History Museum.

Extreme close-up of gold braided cord from a military uniform, with a small, embroidered badge showing a crown design in blue thread with red and green details placed on top of the gold braid.

Front view of a navy-blue military dress uniform jacket with symmetrical rows of gold braid loops and gold buttons running down the centre. The collar features red panels with gold detailing, and gold cords drape diagonally across the chest with two woven tassels.

Close-up of a navy blue military dress jacket with elaborate gold cord braiding across the chest, fastened with round gold buttons. Two tasselled gold cord toggles shaped like pine cones hang at the front. The collar has red bands with gold embroidery and small winged insignia.

Three smiling children in space-themed dress — a wizard in a gold star hat and red cape, a girl with pink glasses, and a child holding a toy telescope — promoting "Cosmic Kids Club, 30–31 July" at Colchester Castle.

NASA Artemis rocket on its launch tower with a large glowing full moon rising behind, highlighting the mission to return humans to the Moon.

Colchester Museums poster announcing "What's on this week — 20–25 July" over a purple-tinted photograph of Colchester Castle.

Decorative black wooden corbel and narrow vertical beam supporting a white window surround, set against pale rectangular brickwork with a small painted emblem near the top.

Ornate wooden scroll-shaped corbel and layered trim on a building façade, set against rough stucco and featuring a small, embossed panel marked 1680 as an architectural support and decorative detail.

Ornate carved wooden corbel with a prominent spiraled scroll and small embossed plaque, mounted on a textured stucco wall next to painted window trim, showing weathered paint and close-up architectural detail.

A black-and-white soccer ball lodged in an aqua-tinted, embossed glass jar decorated with raised human figures and partial lettering, pairing a modern sports object with antique-style glassware.

Child looking into a Natural History Museum display case containing a large fossil. Text reads “Fossil Fun Worksheets, 25 to 26 July.”

Large illuminated Moon installation filling the space, with silhouetted visitors standing beneath it with raised arms. Text reads “Museum of the Moon, Opens 24 July.”

Visitors inside a dimly lit museum space, with a person reading near an information sign. Text reads “Relaxed Opening, 22 July.”

Visitor looking closely into a museum display case inside Colchester Castle. Text reads “Discover More Trail, 21 July to 1 September.”

The entrance walkway to Colchester Castle at dusktime. Text reads “Mystical Moon Trail, 21 July to 1 September.”

Three children standing in Hollytrees Museum beneath a large dinosaur skeleton display. Text reads “Hollytrees Dino Trail, 21 July to 1 September.”

Museum session with children and adults seated on mats while a staff member holds up a storybook. Text reads “Mini Museum Explorers, 21 July.”

Victorian copper and brass coffee pot with a domed lid, tall curved spout, and a woven rattan handle, standing on a small round base against a plain background.

A weathered earthenware jar with a carved stylized face and loop handles centered on a red poster-style background, layered over a pinned polaroid frame and labeled on a blue banner reading "THE TACTICAL GENIUS."

Promotional graphic showing a beige clay jar with a stylized human face and open mouth, framed like a pinned photo on a red background and captioned "THE MOTIVATOR" on a blue ribbon.

Dark clay urn with a carved solemn face presented as "THE SERIOUS ONE" on a blue banner over a playful red background, conveying a stoic or serious personality.

Earthenware vessel with a simple modeled human face, shown on a red-themed graphic card with decorative stars and a blue banner reading "THE TEAM PLAYER," presented as a playful employee-recognition style badge.

Lloyds Bank branch with a stone neoclassical façade and tall multi‑paned windows on a city street, two pedestrians walking past the entrance and a glass phone booth with a colorful ad in the foreground.

Two-storey stuccoed terrace showing the closed "Henry S. Horwood" linen draper and milliner shop with empty bay display windows and multiple "SOLD" notices pasted to the glass, flanked by upper sash windows and a neighbouring restaurant sign.

Early 20th-century commercial building: Henry S. Horwood linen-draper and milliner storefront with empty display windows bearing "SOLD" notices, two bay windows and decorative window corbels above.

A weathered brick wall in a museum setting with bold yellow text overlaid reading "CHILL WITH THE ROMANS", suggesting a playful, relaxed invitation to explore Roman history.

Black-and-white Victorian-style illustration of a person in a long dress standing outdoors near a building and trees, with a small object hanging from the side of the dress indicated by a large yellow arrow.

Close-up of a small brass folding tool with a circular ring at the top, engraved with decorative patterns and the words “THE EUREKA” and “REGISTERED JUNE 1877,” along with a diamond-shaped mark containing the letters “R & F.”

Detail of the support: a cracked green globe sitting above a bell‑shaped bronze base decorated with silver inlay in scrolling motifs. The rim is uneven with corrosion along the edge. White studio backdrop.

Close‑up of the bronze bust of Caligula showing head and shoulders. Short Tiberio‑Claudian curls, straight nose and small mouth; toga folds visible at the right shoulder. Surface shows green patina and pitting.

Small bronze bust of Emperor Caligula shown from the front, mounted on a globe above a bell‑shaped base with silver inlay. Youthful face with short Tiberio‑Claudian curls and a toga draped over the shoulders.

Illuminated manuscript page showing a small framed scene of multiple figures gathered around a baby on a table, with Latin text below beginning “Eus in adiutorium…”, surrounded by red guide lines and decorative columns.

Illuminated manuscript page showing a small framed scene of multiple figures gathered around a baby on a table, with Latin text below beginning “Eus in adiutorium…”, surrounded by red guide lines and decorative columns.

Illuminated manuscript page featuring a circular miniature of a seated figure holding a musical instrument, surrounded by a blue and gold border, above Latin text beginning “Hore intemerate virginis dei genitricis Marie…”.

Illuminated manuscript page showing a framed scene of two figures leaning over a baby lying on a surface, set within a gold border with haloed heads, above Latin text beginning “Eus in adiutorium…”, with part of a gloved hand visible at the bottom edge.

Downtown street scene with a Five Guys restaurant beneath a multi-story stone building, a black bus shelter on the sidewalk, and a pedestrian traffic light showing a red "don't walk" figure.

Historic streetscape showing the Corn Exchange entrance with wrought-iron balcony and hanging lamps, flanked by the Bedford Family Hotel, and a group of men gathered on the sidewalk outside.

Victorian street scene showing the Corn Exchange entrance with its balcony and hanging lamps and several men standing outside, adjacent to the Bedford Family Hotel and other town buildings along a cobbled road.

Smiling woman wearing a purple Roman-style tunic and gold headband poses against a decorative red backdrop promoting Colchester Castle's Costumed Characters event on 28 and 30 July.

Children seated on a colorful carpet listening to an adult read Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar during a Mini Museum Explorers storytime at the Natural History Museum. It's advertising the next event on 21 July.

Hands braiding cord into a witches’ ladder on a wooden table beside a potted plant, coffee cup, and spare rope; poster text reads "Discover Witchcraft: Witches’ Ladder — 18 July" promoting a Hollytrees Museum event.

Promotional museum scene showing pottery in glass cases and a visitor using an interactive kiosk, advertising Colchester Castle’s First Thursdays relaxed opening on 2 July.

Medieval-era stone museum building with a round tower and trees, overlaid headline "What's on this month" and a small "Colchester Museums" label promoting upcoming museum events.

Photograph of a small reddish-brown Roman ceramic vessel with a rounded body, narrow neck and short side spout, shown against a plain background. Text above reads: “Some scholars suggest they were used to fill lamps, or even to feed the sick.”

Photograph of a reddish ceramic vessel with a rounded body, small spout and a broken neck or rim, shown against a plain background. Text above reads: “They have been thought of as feeding bottles for infants.”

Photograph of a darker brown Roman ceramic vessel with a bulbous body, narrow neck, small side spout and handle, shown against a plain background. Text above reads: “They are often discovered in children’s graves.”

Photograph of a pale beige Roman ceramic vessel with a rounded body, short spout and single handle, shown against a plain background. Text above reads: “Among the more curious Roman burial finds are vessels known as tettinae.”