Colchester Town Hall is a Grade I listed building in the Colchester local planning authority area, England. First listed on 25 March 1968. A 1898 Town hall. 23 related planning applications.
Colchester Town Hall
- WRENN ID
- dreaming-loggia-umber
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Colchester
- Constituency
- Colchester MP: Pam Cox (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 25 March 1968
- Type
- Town hall
- Address
- Colchester Town Hall, High Street, CO1 1PJ
- OS grid reference
- TL 995 252
- Coordinates
- 51.8898, 0.89886
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Colchester Town Hall, built in 1898 by John Belcher, is an impressive example of free classical architecture, featuring a rich design in red brick and Portland stone. The building stands three storeys tall, with the lowest storey faced in stone and a central entrance flanked by carved brackets that support a balcony above. Three pairs of engaged Corinthian columns extend through the first and second storeys, holding up two segmental pediments and one triangular pediment. Above the triangular pediment is a large coat of arms that breaks the balustrade at the roof. Statues in high relief are positioned between the windows of the second storey.
The Victoria tower, located on the return, rises above a pair of bay windows and reaches a height of 162 feet, topped by a statue of St Helena. The lower stage of the tower is constructed of brick, while the upper part is made of stone and features elaborate details, including four bronze ravens and four stone figures representing Fishery, Engineering, Military Defence, and Agriculture. One of the bells in the building is from the Old Town Hall, which dates back to around 1400.
Local climate
Colchester Town Hall sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 670 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 51% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 18 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 83% of listed buildings. Of these, 9 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 23 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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