page_title: History of Colchester
section_title: Ninth to Eleventh Centuries
hierarchical_section_title: History of Colchester / Saxon and Viking era / Ninth to Eleventh Centuries
caption_attribution_description: English: Trinity Church, Colchester with its 11th Century Saxon church tower. This is a photo of listed building number 1169575.
context_page_description: Colchester is a historic town located in Essex, England. It served as the first capital of Roman Britain and is oldest recorded town in Britain.
context_section_description: The isolated raids by Vikings in the first half of the 9th century took a far more serious turn in 865 when a great army of Danes under the command of Ivar the Boneless invaded the Kingdom of East Anglia. In 869 King Edmund of East Anglia was defeated and killed by the Danes and the east of England fell under Danish control. Under a peace treaty between Wessex and the Danes in 879, Colchester was incorporated in the Danelaw. Norfolk and Suffolk were heavily settled by the Danes as can be traced by the density of Scandinavian place names. North-East Essex was also colonised by the Danes, and Scandinavian place names such as Kirby and Thorpe are found around Colchester. Scandinavian names are found later amongst the town's residents, and Scandinavian style weapons have been dredged from the Colne, although these might be Late Saxon or Norman. 9th century graves of the towns inhabitant's have been discovered in the vicinity of St Marys at the Walls in the South-West corner of the town.
  The Kings of Wessex waged continual war on the Danes and finally Colchester was recaptured by English armies under Edward the Elder in 917. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that after liberating Maldon Edward's army:
  "Went to Colchester, and beset the town, and fought thereon till they took it, and slew all the people, and seized all that was therein; except those men who escaped therefrom over the wall."
  Following successful battles against the Viking armies, Edward returned to Colchester:
  "After this, the same year, before Martinmas, went King Edward with the West-Saxon army to Colchester; and repaired and renewed the town, where it was broken down before."
  After being restored to English rule by Edward the Elder the settlement at Colchester flourished into a prosperous small burh with a developed system of rights and privileges for its burgesses. However, its location (which was the result of its Iron Age and Roman origins) several miles up-river placed it in a poor position to exploit naval trade lanes, and the town was overshadowed in this respect by Maldon and the newer town of Ipswich in Suffolk. A new port at the present Hythe improved the situation somewhat,  and the town shows an increase in foreign trade during the 10th century and a mint from 991. Witans were held in the town by Edward's successors, Athelstan in 931 and Edmund I in 940. Athelstan described Colchester as a Town well known to all men, and his Witan included 13 Ealdormen, 37 thegns, 15 Bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Chester-le-Street. Six of the town's churches date from the Saxon period, and several more also might do. These are St Peters (which, with its central location close to the crossroads of Head and High Street may have been the main church in the Saxon period), Holy Trinity with its early 11th century tower, St Martins (whose tower also contains pre-Norman elements),  the now demolished St Nicholas, All Saints and the now demolished St Runwalds (which sat in the market square in front of the Moot Hall in the High Street). The three other candidates include St Mary-at-the-Walls (which contains 9th century graves), an earlier church on the site of St Botolph's Priory (which supposedly had a tower similar to Holy Trinity's), and St John the Evangelists Church where St Botulph's Roundabout now sits was a Saxon church demolished by the Normans. St Helen's Chapel, built into the remains of the Roman Theatre on Maidenburgh Street, may also have had Saxon origins, as St Helen was often (erroneously) linked to the town in Saxon and later Medieval folklore. A chapel (whose remains can be seen in front of the Castle) and a 10th-century large hall were built in front of the still-standing ruins of the Temple of Claudius. The 10th century town was at the heart of a large system of estates held by Essex Ealdormen, which were broken up by inheritance through the 11th century.
caption: Trinity Church, Colchester with its 11th Century Saxon church tower
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