WE RE heading back to wartime Colchester for today s Gazette nostalgia. The pictures on this spread date back to 1940, early into the Second World War, and were taken by Harold Poulter. Mr Poulter was a curator for Colchester and Essex Museums and lived at Hollytrees Museum, close to Colchester Castle.
Dutch Quarter - this picture was taken in West Stockwell Street They depict images of the town centre, including North Hill, West Stockwell Street and Eld Lane and the historic Marquis of Granby pub. Mr Poulter s high-definition pictures appear as part of a new online catalogue published by Colchester and Ipswich Museums.
THE Dutch Quarter is one of the oldest parts of Colchester. Just off the High Street, it mainly includes a series of core streets including Maidenburgh Street, West Stockwell Street, East Stockwell Street, Stockwell Street, St Helen’s Lane, Northgate Street and Nunn’s Road. It took its current name in the 16th Century when Flemish Protestant refugees fled religious persecution and made their way to north Essex. They had been defeated during a rebellion against Catholic Spain. Many of the houses were actually built before the Dutch arrived. Having fallen into disrepair in the early part of the 20th Century, it was the subject of a major regeneration in the 1970s.