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Colchester
Colchester maps
Historic maps of Colchester and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Colchester maps
Colchester area books
Displaying 1 of 18 books about Colchester and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Colchester
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Colchester.
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Happy Summer Days at The Pool
This photo' reminded me of those carefree summer days when we would cycle from Myland to the pool, leave our bikes, unlocked, in a heap outside, pay our 6d and go to the dank, cold, changing room under the bridge.
The girls had to cross the end of the pool by a boardwalk to their changing room on the other side.
There were high diving boards so the pool was about ten feet deep at the deep end. We discovered that there was a hole in the underwater wire netting beneath the boardwalk where we could dive down to come up under the boardwalk to bang on the boards as the girls walked over,
We spent many hours sunbathing and swimming, later to retrieve our bikes, intact, from beneath the pile.
Sadly, the pool is now closed. I'm sure the modern pools are nowhere near as much fun as that outdoor pool at Colnebank.
Peter Gant.
Open Air Swimming PoolColchester
Many a happy day was spent at the open air swimming pool in the late 1950s - early 1960s. The changing rooms, under the road bridge, were not nice and always covered in water. I had swimming lessons with Mr Smith and even had a picture of a lesson in the newspaper, he pulled me in on a rope, so I didn't drown. It seemed to always be sunny and was a real sun trap. I went with my brother Ian and sister Angela, our surname was Bowis. Do you remember Mr Smith? Also the schools had the police call to tell us how to behave, and that was Sergeant White and of course the blind piano tuner, sorry no name. Shelagh
Oh But it Was Cold!
Yes, I can remember some happy sunny afternoons on the lookout for boys around the mid 1970s, we used to pool hop between the new indoor and the old outdoor, A less happy memory was doing my 50m Preliminary 2 with Heathlands Primary, as we travelled there on the coach the sky was black and we were all sure it would be cancelled, it was a FREEZING cold day. But no, we all got lined up at the edge of the pool and I have a memory literally being pushed in to do it, although it could be the product of an overactive and outraged imagination. Anyway, we did it and when I got out I literally couldn't feel my legs and waddled back to those dark dank changing rooms under the bridge, to be rasped dry by Elizabeth Gooden's mum...
The Old Centurion
My Nanna in Butt Road had a few scary stories up her sleeve to thrill us with, and one of them was about this old bit of wall, I don't remember it being fenced off when I was a girl. Anyway, she used to say that there was an old Roman Centurion who used to walk the wall and appear at this gate, it still gives me a little shudder even today! My modern children are not at all interested in this little story, needless to say!
Christmas in Crouch Street
As a child in the 1960s and 1070s my memories of Crouch Street are distinctly Christmassy, I loved the decorations they always put out, and also the trip to the butchers there to pick up the sausages and turkey on Christmas Eve, followed or preceded by a trip to Nanna in Butt Road, in of course Butt Road, I loved that street!
The Boating Lake
My siblings and I were regulars here for much of the 1950s and 1960s. Our maternal grandparents lived on Northgate Street and we often marched down to the park to go on the boats. There were five of us and my oldest brother was usually in charge of the half a crown, part of which Bill the Boatman would often press back into his hand so we could buy some sweets. I think he was married to a relative or something.... No fashion clothing or Nike trainers in those days, it was school uniform or Sunday best.
Leadership Course
We completed our Lance Bombadier Leadership training in these barracks, we referred to them as cavalry barracks (they are stables now). I was with 52 Bty 45 Fld Regt RA, stationed at Kirkee Barracks. One of my friends (Arnie Mccallion) was on stable duty but was allergic to horses, the BSM thought he was trying to pull a fast one - you should have seen his rash.
Donkey & Buskins Public House, Layer-De-La-Hay
I was the licensee of the above for an all too brief time and had some regular customers who arrived every week-day evening at opening time and were called "The Club". Among them I remember a Ken & Penny Upton and a retired local Headmaster who was known as "Casey".
Time erodes memory, especially re: names, but I hope someone reads this and contacts me with any information regarding these very happy days.
