The Scheregate Hotel is rated by VisitBritain as a Two Star Guesthouse, but is offering many of the services of a hotel.  It is a friendly, family run Bed and Breakfast in the heart of Historic Colchester, Britains oldest recorded Town.  The Town was a walled Roman City and parts of the original Roman Wall still remains.

This establishment is ideal for the wonderful boutiques and shops in the historic town centre, as well as local theatre and cinema that are within walking distance to the hotel. Please contact us. 

The earliest record of the town’s existence is a reference by the Roman writer, Pliny the Elder in AD77. In describing the island of Anglesey, he wrote that ‘it is about 200 miles from Camulodunum, a town in Britain’.  Camulodunum which translated means 'fortress of the Celtic war god Camulos.'

Camulodunum being the pre-Roman name for Colchester. This is the first known reference to any named settlement in this country.  Pliny, died in AD79, one of the victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which destroyed Pompeii. In the century before Christ's birth it was the capital of those Celtic people of the ancient British tribe, the Trinovantes. (Historians now prefer to talk of the Late Iron Age and the Belgic tribe.) Here reigned Cunobelin, whom the Romans called the king of the Britons, and Shakespeare called Cymbeline, and who just may be the basis for Old King Coel, that jolly nursery rhyme monarch whose name has long been attached to Colchester.

Having conquered the British in AD43, when the Emperor Claudius himself is said to have ridden in atop an elephant, they built here their first capital in Britain, a colonia, from where they could keep a watchful eye on the local people and from where they could launch their conquest of the rest of Britain.

A few years later, in AD 60 or 61, the colonia was virtually destroyed by an army commanded by Queen Boadicea (Boudica) of the Iceni tribe from the area around modern day Norfolk.  To learn more about the history of Colchester please click here.

Today it is a thriving centre full of attractions for residents, visitors and businesses. It has a unique place in Britain's history, and is set for an exciting future.

The town is also influenced by its long military associations and the Colchester Garrison is one of the major bases of the British Army.

What to see:

• Flatford Mill, the inspiration for John Constable's "Hay Wain".
• Colchester Castle and Gardens.
• Colchester Zoo, Roller World and Leisure World.
• The Dutch Quarter.
• Ghost Walks - guided trails for groups featuring the town's most haunted sites are available every week.
• Oyster Farming - The first charter of 1189 confirmed Colchester's legal rights over the River Colne and the oyster fishery. Colchester oysters are still famous today.
• Central London is only 55 minutes away by rail.

The Scheregate Hotel is sited opposite the Scheregate Steps. Scheregate is a product of the Norman period, cut through the Roman wall to provide a thoroughfare for workers travelling to and from St. John's Abbey. Schere meaning narrow, this 'gateway' was never used for vehicular access.

To find out more about Colchester please click here.