Area around ILC Colchester

ILC Colchester is ideally located on Lexden Road in a prosperous residential area. Immediately opposite it is Colchester Royal Grammar School which is one of the most prestigious schools in the country. It has a history dating back to 1128 and the beautiful Victorian main building, visible from the road, was built in 1852. It is a Royal Grammar school because it was given a Royal Charter by King Henry VIII in 1539.

If you walk east along Lexden Road towards town centre, you pass along Crouch Street with a host of interesting independent shops. At the top of Balkerne Hill, you can see the ancient city walls which were built by the Norman invaders in the 11^th century. Its Roman looking style is due to the fact that it was built using the remains of an ancient Roman temple.

Just inside the wall, after the pedestrian crossing at the top of Balkerne Hill, is Colchester Arts centre. When you first look at it, you will think it is a church. That is because it used to be. It is the scene of a very famous episode in the English Civil War. During the Civil War, King Charles’s soldiers were on the inside of the walls defending the town. Oliver Cromwell’s army was outside firing cannon balls at the King’s soldiers.

At the top of the church tower were some soldiers firing a big cannon out at Oliver Crowell’s army. Unfortunately, one of the cannonballs fired from outside the town hit the tower of the church and destroyed it causing the King’s cannon to crash to the ground. If you look at the tower you can see that it was rebuilt using different coloured bricks.

This historical event is remembered today in one of the most famous nursery rhymes in the English language, ‘HumptyDumpty’

              Humpty Dumpty sat on thewall,

              Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,

              All the king’s horses and all the king’s men,

              Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Of course, Humpty dumpty is the cannon which was knocked down by the opposing army’s cannon ball. All of this happened within half a mile of ILC Colchester. There are many other historical sites of interest in Colchester and even our building itself has an interesting history.If you come to study on one of General English courses, IELTS courses or Summer camps, you can find out more about this fascinating history.

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