Old photo's of Colchester

[trigger]

I've just been busy scanning a load of old black and white photos from a couple of books about Colchester, Essex, (My home town) i had.

 

Not sure if you will all like them but i thought I'd share them with you anyway.

 

 

 

 

Any idea what this van is?

 

 

The High Street back in 1964, single lane now, You be lucky to get over 15 mph these days. My dad parked a Mini van on it's roof inside a shop along here when he was a YOOF.

 

 

 

 

Is this a old Morris J van?.

 

 

Pair of old Beetles from 1966, Bet the right hand one is worth mega scene tax now.

 

 

This is a 1972 shot of a roundabout which is still there, it's made from tyres here, Looks like an American truck nearest the camera.

 

 

 

One for Fred from 1979 with another Transit with Rumbelows signwriting coming to view.

 

 

 

This is from 1963, Any idea what the car is?

 

 

This was MFI for years until it closed down last year.

 

 

 

1989 view of Ipswich Road, Nothings changed, It's still a PITA.

 

 

 

 

These are both from the 1920's, No idea what the car's are bikes are though, The first one is the Colchester Motor Club whist the second is a car dealers.

 

 

 

Local bobby's from the 1950's with there proud fleet.

[Mat.T]

I've lived near Colchester for most of my life and I struggled to recognise most of those places! Amazing to think the high street used to look like that!Great photos thanks for posting.

[barrett]

My mate Chris is from Colchester, he bloody hates it.

Any idea what this van is?This is from 1963, Any idea what the car is?

The van is an Austin I think, the car...maybe a Morris.oh, and the American Truck looks like an early 60s Chevy - but whats the two-tone panel van on the other side of the roundabout to the left?

[STUNO]

My mate Chris is from Colchester, he bloody hates it.

Any idea what this van is?This is from 1963, Any idea what the car is?

The van is an Austin I think, the car...maybe a Morris.

The car.. Ford definitely, think it is an 8 from mid 30's

[whitevanman]

 

This is from 1963, Any idea what the car is?

 

 

Looks like a Ford model Y to me

[morris_ital_lover]

Seconded.m0rris

[carlo]

Lovely pictures; I spy a nice Fiat 850 Coupe Srs II outside Tesco!

[seth]

Renault Dauphine two up from the two beetles. Looking at the shop windows of those two pre way photos the car with the biks might be a singer (though it looks like a very lightweight cyclecar type of thing) and the big line up might be mostly Dodge Bros products. I wonder what "Albert Cars" were?Is that a Mustang coming towards us on the roundabout, about to pass the tanker?

[Vin]

Lovely pictures; I spy a nice Fiat 850 Coupe Srs II outside Tesco!

Also Renault 4 and Renault 8/10 (not sure) next to the 4.

[Spottedlaurel]

Colchester was our nearest big town, so I recognise some of the places from days when I was taken there clothes shopping. I passed my driving test there in 1988 and worked on the High Street for a while too. Sister lives there, so we still visit again every so often. Despite all of that I struggle to be fond of it.

 

Despite having recently had a significant birthday and being of advanced years, I do seem to remember that things were in colour when I used to go there...

 

Isn’t that roundabout the one at the junction of Cowdray Avenue and North Station Road? It was a ‘Magic Roundabout’ and a quick Google reveals there was one in Swindon too. We used it regularly when en-route to grandparents in Chelmsford, before they built Westway which took some through traffic off that roundabout and I think it was sanitised. Osborne’s had their Honda dealership to the SE of it (bottom left of that photo).

 

There’s a story about the Swindon one here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/ ... ture.shtml and more about magic roundabouts in general here: http://www.roadsuk.com/roadepedia/magic_roundabout.html

 

Colchester still has quite an exciting roundabout at Greenstead.

[trigger]

That's the roundabout SL, The Albert pub is on it's hence it being called the Albert roundabout. Osbornes moved up to that roundabout years ago and had a Mitsubishi dealership there before it became Subaru, Now it's a old licence after Osbornes got taken over by Linds and moved everything up to Ipswich Road where the Honda garage was.The 'Magic Roundabout' now is at Greenstead and is a right pain, It's one big roundabout with 5 smaller ones around it meaning that you have to drive the wrong way round the main one.Very confusing.

[Station]

One thing I miss about the 70's/80's is the shop signs, they were always moulded plastic (for high-end shops) or painted wood (for cheaper shops). It's always disgusting, ugly printed vinyl nowadays.

[Angrydicky]

 

Any idea what this van is?

 

 

 

 

Is this a old Morris J van?.

 

 

This is from 1963, Any idea what the car is?

 

First one is an Austin Eight, second one, close, it's an Austin/Morris LD, third one is indeed a Ford Model Y

 

GR8 pics!

[trigger]

Cheers guys

 

 

Pair of old Beetles from 1966, Bet the right hand one is worth mega scene tax now.

Strangely the registration on the white Beetle, 453 VEV is now showing as been on a 1970 Land Rover which is on SORN.

[Captain Mainwaring]

Is that a Mustang coming towards us on the roundabout, about to pass the tanker?

Looks very much like it, Seth. American looking plate on it an' all. Wonder what it was doing in Colchester. TR2 and Super Minx just about to exit by the looks of it!

[Andrew353w]

Great pictures-thanks! I see loads of old cars, vans and buses in these pictures with an odd extra light on the front passenger side. Seemed almost compulsory for some vehicles! Does anyone know why so many had this and was it an extra spot lamp or a fog lamp of some sort?I vaguely remember something about older cars only having to have one headlight on dipped beam; maybe that was something to do with it? Any ideas anyone?

[Milford Cubicle]

I see that old Ford is advertising a fete at Severalls - Severalls was a psychiatric hospital.

[Lord Sterling]

Thanks for sharing these Trig. Cant help thinking the alot fo England looked so much more nicer, more simple and with lots of character in those types of photos. I've got a few books on Brum from the 1970s, it just looked so much more cleaner, simpler yet with lots of character. Not like the wannabe New York City its turned into. No wonder so many people are depressed these days.

[trigger]

I agree, Colchester is a totally different place now then it was in these photos, It's changed a lot in just the 5 years that I've moved away.Milf your quite right, It was a nut house for many years until it closed down, There's now a big industrial estate named after it.

[Mash]

Great pictures-thanks! I see loads of old cars, vans and buses in these pictures with an odd extra light on the front passenger side. Seemed almost compulsory for some vehicles! Does anyone know why so many had this and was it an extra spot lamp or a fog lamp of some sort?I vaguely remember something about older cars only having to have one headlight on dipped beam; maybe that was something to do with it? Any ideas anyone?

Just fogs and spots I think from back in the days when car lights were pretty poor and blokes liked to spend their hard earned on something cool from the local motoring emporium!The dip and pass thing goes back to the 30s I think - Wolseley had thir own "Nightpass" system which IIRC is now illegal because of the way it works I believe it extinguished the main headlamps and put the large driving light on full beam but I stand to be corrected.

[daveb47]

Just found this thread while looking for something else on Google.

Colchester is my home town,lived in Morant road during my teens,went to Wilson Marriage school.

Did an apprenticeship at Avery Scales in North Station Road,still remember that we had a new Thames 5cwt van,we used to test scales at cattle market about 500 yards away,the driver Freddie put 1.5 ton of weights in it all behind the rear wheels,as we pulled away the front wheels came off the ground and weights fell through back doors.

I then worked at Rowhedge Garage for many years,working part time for Dennis Osborne when he had his bike shop in North Station Road,Then at east hill shop.

Parents moved to Serpentine walk next to fire station.Dad having worked as a master coachbuilder for Page & Scott (PG page originally) for most of his life.