Roman circus

From the Essex County Standard, Friday 18th December 2009 by Wendy Brading (wendy.brading@nqe.com) TV presenter: “I am totally behind this campaign.” CELEBRITIES are backing a bid to buy a piece of Colchester’s Roman heritage. A consortium, made up of Colchester Archaeological Trust and community group Destination Colchester, is trying to [read more…]

A DONATION of £5,000 has been made by Colchester Council leader Anne Turrell from the leader’s fund. Mrs Turrell said: “We don’t have the money to save it outright, but we are 100 per cent behind it and want to support it in any way we can.” Lyn Barton, the [read more…]

THE appeal to buy the Sergeants’ Mess has won support from a national archaeological body. The Association of Roman Archaeology described the campaign as “probably the most exciting venture in the conservation of our national heritage.” The association appeals to developers Taylor Wimpey for more time. In a letter to [read more…]

WE URGENTLY NEED in excess of £200,000 to buy the former Sergeants’ Mess and secure the site of the starting gates of the only known Roman circus in Britain. We have only until the end of January to purchase the building as part of an overall plan to turn the [read more…]

Part of the site of Britain’s only known Roman chariot-racing track is up for sale. House builders Taylor Wimpey have offered a Colchester-based community consortium six months to raise the funds to buy a Victorian building known as the Sergeants’ Mess, which includes in its front garden the site of [read more…]

Last week’s failure of Colchester Borough Council’s lottery bid for a circus interpretation centre came as a considerable blow for the town. The application for a grant of £950,000 was turned down by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) at the first hurdle. The committee acknowledged the outstanding heritage importance of [read more…]