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Study In UK << Universities << University of Essex << Colchester and the University

University of Essex

Colchester and the University

Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town and its first capital, is located in North Essex close to the Suffolk border and yet is less than an hour away from London. Historic Colchester is today a thriving modern town offering some of the finest leisure facilities in Eastern England. Known as the cultural capital of Essex, Colchester has a number of museums and galleries, an arts centre, a theatre and a multi-screen cinema. The town also has excellent shopping facilities with both large department stores and

smaller specialist shops and boutiques. The great variety of restaurants, coffee houses, wine bars, pubs and nightclubs ensure that the town offers something for everyone.

Colchester is served by excellent transport links, with Stansted Airport and the ferry port at Harwich bringing it within easy reach of Europe.

The University is worth more than £60 million annually to the local economy and is the largest single employer in the Colchester area (excluding the Health Service and the Military). It employs around 1,750 people: some 700 in research and teaching and the rest in a wide range of support services - from technical staff to clerical, from maintenance to catering.

Introducing Colchester and Essex

The University is situated in a landscaped parkland campus on the outskirts of Colchester, the oldest recorded town in Britain. The village of Wivenhoe is less than a mile away from the campus and, with its lively quayside and variety of pubs and restaurants, is a popular choice for students living off campus in their second and final years.

The surrounding countryside on the Essex-Suffolk borders and the nearby East Anglian coastline is among the most beautiful and atmospheric in England. The region's landscape has been an inspiration to many famous artists - from Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to Francis Bacon in the twentieth century.

'I love every single stile and stump and lane - these scenes made me a painter'
John Constable, English landscape painter, 1776-1837

Colchester town

Colchester is an exciting modern town which has, in recent years, become a thriving cultural and entertainment centre for the region. Among the many attractions is the Colchester Arts Centre which is the venue for a live comedy club, touring live bands, modern jazz and a theatre. There is also a large theatre - The Mercury, a new multi-screen cinema, museums, galleries and a leisure complex with swimming pools, sauna, spa and water flumes.

The town is also popular for its shopping facilities with a mixture of both large department stores and small individual specialist shops. The great variety of restaurants, coffee houses, wine bars, pubs and nightclubs ensure that the town offers something for everyone. Popular student haunts include the 'Friends' style coffee house Vagabonds, The Playhouse - a pub with a 500-person capacity located in a converted theatre, and The Hippodrome for those more into clubbing.

Colchester is served by excellent transport links, with the A12 running into London and trains to the capital taking 45 minutes. Stansted Airport, the home of many of the 'budget' airlines, and the ferry port of Harwich are easily accessible making travelling to the rest of Europe easy.

Colchester is also linked from the north with Ipswich and via the A14 to Birmingham, the M1/M6 to the Midlands and the north of England.