Maidenburgh Street's hidden Roman Legacy

Maidenburgh Street is a good example of one of Colchester’s medieval streets. The earliest reference to it is in 1248 where it is connected to a Rob. de Maydenburg. Whether the street is named after him or the reference is just indicating that he lived there is unclear. I suspect the latter as the street was laid out as part of the town’s grid when it was re-established by the Saxons in the early 10th century. The name probably means “Maiden’s Fort” which is likely to refer to St. Helen’s Chapel which stands in the middle of the street and may predate it by at least a century. It has also been known as St. Helen’s Street, St. Helen’s Lane and Tennants Lane (a corruption of St. Helens) at various times in past.

Colchester’s Market once extended right along the High Street and in medieval times extended northwards from the High Street at its eastern end to make it an L shape. This extension was bounded by Maidenburgh Street and George Walk. Like many medieval markets, traders in this area converted their stalls, tents and booths into more permanent structures which filled in this area with buildings. The odd layouts of some of the building plots and Swan Passage are legacies of the process.

In 1981-2 a row of old houses on the west side of Maidenburgh Street, just south of St. Helen’s Chapel were demolished to make way for new apartments. Underneath them and under the street in front, the remains of a Roman theatre were found. A flat was built above it, but the ground floor was not turned into a flat, but a viewing centre so the remains of this remarkable building can be seen.

Outside in the street, as the photos show, when the Council laid down the block paving for the road surface, they used black bricks to indicate where the theatre is. This is visible proof of what I mentioned in an earlier post, that Colchester’s street grid does not align to the one laid out by the Romans. The Roman street here is on a slightly different alignment and is probably under the houses on the east side of the current street.

The Roman Theatre is only open to the public once a year during the Heritage Weekend in mid-September. It can only be accessed at other times as part of a guided tour. Visit Colchester run such tours each Saturday morning throughout the year, except in December and on Heritage Weekend. If you can’t make either of these, it is included on some of my tours, including my Wednesday Walks, so if you would like to see it, please see my Walking Tours page.

Maidenburgh Street looking North showing the layout of the Roman Theatre

Maidenburgh Street looking South showing the layout of the Roman Theatre