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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 7h

Moon myth-busting: “Lunatic” does come from luna, meaning Moon. But the idea that full moons cause mayhem is folklore, not proven science. Come for the Moon. Stay for the stories. Book: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/moon-...

Giant illuminated moon model suspended over a museum gallery, its detailed craters visible while a visitor below looks up at the exhibit.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

You'll meet a range of animals up close and learn more about the natural world from the people who know them best. 🎟️ £6 per person 👧 Suitable for ages 4 Places are limited, so advance booking is recommended. Book your place: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/mobil...

colchester.cimuseums.org.uk

Curious Creatures Mobile Zoo | Colchester Museums

Looking for an unforgettable family day out? Add a live animal encounter to your museum visit and meet some extraordinary creatures this Halloween.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Snakes, lizards, furry creatures and spiders are all heading to the Natural History Museum this half term. Curious Creatures Mobile Zoo returns on 27 October with five live animal sessions throughout the day.

Promotional poster for a Natural History Museum event showing children leaning in to observe a tarantula resting on a volunteer's open hand; overlaid text reads 27 October Curious Creatures Mobile Zoo

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Moon, Magick & Mystery returns on 9 and 10 October 2026. Explore talks, workshops, readings, traders and paranormal investigations across a weekend celebrating folklore and the unexplained: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/mmm/

Promotional poster for Moon, Magick & Mystery at Colchester Castle. The illustration shows a large full moon rising behind the castle, a werewolf in the foreground, and a flying saucer in the sky. Text reads: “Moon, Magick & Mystery, 9–10 October 2026”.

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Ancient History 101 Podcast @ancienthistory101.org · 30/09/2026

It's time for Part 2 of our Series 1 Finale Special Event: Boudica - Unfettered Fury. In Part 1, we set the scene in an Iron Age Britain gradually falling under Roman dominion. In Part 2, we see Boudica wreak havoc on specific targets: Colchester, London and St Albans.

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Jens Notroff @jensnotroff.com · 28/09/2026

Now that's a great little typological analysis of #emoji #amphorae! 🔎🏺

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

We feel quite safe calling ourselves a good #MosaicMonday visit. ;)

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The modern view shows how the businesses have changed while the street frontage remains readable. If you guessed it this morning, give yourself a gold star, and if you remember the older shops here, we would love to hear about them.

A Rolex boutique with lit window displays on a pedestrian shopping street, flanked by Heavenly Desserts and other storefronts, several people walking by.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This morning’s #ThrowbackThursday view was 4, 5 and 6-7 High Street. The photograph was taken in 1940 by Harold Poulter, a curator for Hollytrees Museum.

Historic-looking city storefronts with large display windows and upper-floor apartments, featuring a shop sign reading "SMITH & SON" beside neighboring businesses, a quiet street and a striped traffic bollard in the foreground.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A little #ThrowbackThursday mystery for you. This 1940 street scene shows a line of shopfronts, tall sash windows, and one eye-catching striped façade tucked between its neighbours. There is plenty that has changed, but there is just as much here that still feels familiar. Do you know where this is?

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's a reminder that museum collections aren't just about objects. They're about people, relationships and remembrance. See more at Colchester Castle: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/visit/colche...

colchester.cimuseums.org.uk

Visit Colchester Castle | Colchester Museums

Discover the largest Norman Keep in Europe. With interactive displays, star exhibits and the surrounding park, this museum has something for everyone.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This fourth-century Roman glass bottle was found in a grave at Butt Road cemetery in Colchester. Similar bottles were discovered in nearby burials that may have belonged to the same family.

Close-up of a pale green Roman glass vessel with a tall cylindrical body and short neck, featuring two looped handles attached at the rim, shown against a plain light background.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

If you've got a dinosaur fan at home, this is one they'll be talking about for a long time. Tickets from £40 per person. Book your place: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/knigh...

colchester.cimuseums.org.uk

Knightzzz At The Museum | Colchester Museums

Ever wondered what Colchester Castle is like after dark? Now is your chance to find out!

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Ever wondered what Colchester Castle is like after dark? Knightzzz at the Museum gives families the chance to spend the night inside the Castle AND meet Juliasaurus. Explore hidden areas, meet our rangers and enjoy hands-on dinosaur activities before settling down for a dinosaur sleepover.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Exploring Colchester by bike this #CycleSeptember? 🚲 Make Hollytrees Museum one of your stops. Nestled in Castle Park, it's a great destination for a sustainable day out and part of the Good Journey scheme, helping you discover easy car-free ways to visit.

Large winter-bare tree with a thick, twisting trunk leaning in front of a red-brick Georgian-style building with tall white windows; a purple sticker at the bottom right promotes sustainable visits, reading "good journey — visit us car-free."

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Only because we ran out of space in our posts! Hey @benpaites.bsky.social, care to give a belated verdict?

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Points to anyone who knows where to find this in the museum!

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Or perhaps the perfect day in on a grey, cold day? 😘

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Kelly Smith 🍁 @kellymjsmith.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This is a fun thread. I didn't even know there *was* an emoji for amphora!

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Go beyond the museum displays and stand among the Castle’s earliest foundations. Book online with your admission ticket or buy your tour on the day: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/visit/colche...

colchester.cimuseums.org.uk

Visit Colchester Castle | Colchester Museums

Discover the largest Norman Keep in Europe. With interactive displays, star exhibits and the surrounding park, this museum has something for everyone.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

What lies beneath Colchester Castle? Our guided tour takes you into spaces that are not normally accessible during a general visit, including the vaults and remains of the Roman temple that once stood on the site.

Exposed Roman temple foundations in a dim underground passage, with a plaque noting a 5-foot-thick base built c. 50 A.D.; overlaid text encourages visitors to take the tour underneath to see the original foundations.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Discover the stories behind the films and hear what was reported by those directly involved. Book online to secure your place: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/mmm/

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

From The Conjuring films to the cases that inspired them. Chris McKinnell, grandson of renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, shares firsthand accounts of investigations that later inspired some of horror cinema's most famous stories.

Promotional poster for Moon, Magick & Mystery featuring a portrait of speaker Chris McKinnell in the foreground, with black-and-white images of two people behind. Text reads: “Chris McKinnell: The Truth Behind the Conjuring Universe”.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Tours run at 5.30pm and 6.45pm. Tickets are £12.95 and no standard Castle admission ticket is needed. Suitable for ages 15+. Please note that the tour route includes uneven flooring, low archways and stairs, and there is no lift access. Book here: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/dark-...

colchester.cimuseums.org.uk

Dark Castle Tour | Colchester Museums

Explore Colchester Castle after it’s closed for the day and discover the fascinating myths, mysteries and darker stories hidden within its historic walls.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

After dark, the Castle has a few stories to tell. Our Dark Castle Tours take place after closing on 16, 22 and 28 October. Inspired by the Wicked Spirits exhibition, these guided evening tours explore the Castle's shadowy corners, old myths and some of the stranger tales from its long history.

Promotional poster for "Dark Castle Tours" at Colchester Castle showing the illuminated stone façade at night with tour dates 16, 22, 28 October.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Nearby, Albert Hall was built in 1845 as a Corn Exchange and was rebuilt in 1925-26 for use as an art gallery. So even in one small corner, you have layers of shopkeeping, public life and civic history all meeting in the same view.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This part of the High Street also has a bigger public story behind it. Just behind the frontage is St George’s Hall, built in 1851 as a public hall. It later hosted political meetings, became Club St George, and was used by troops during the First World War.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

156 High Street is described as late 18th or early 19th century, while 158 High Street is a corner house of probable 18th-century origin that was refaced in the early 19th century. Both are listed, which helps explain why the shape of the corner has lasted even as the businesses have changed.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The answer for today's #ThrowbackThursday was 156-158 High Street, the corner now occupied by Chewton Rose! Harold Poulter’s 1940 photo shows this corner when it was still a busy shopfront. Today the frontage is much plainer, but the building itself is older than it might first appear.

Corner High Street building housing Chewton Rose estate agency, with two rusted metal animal sculptures on the pavement and a road sign restricting through vehicles 7am–7pm except buses, taxis and authorised access.

Historic street corner showing a brick "Royal Liver Friendly Society" building above a fishmonger’s storefront advertising oysters, salmon and game, with a few pedestrians outside.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We're almost into the last month of the Moon in the Castle - pop by before the end of October if you don't want to miss it!

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🏰 Ben Paites 🏛️ @benpaites.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Forget Romans and a dinosaur, visit @colmuseums.bsky.social for our pocket potato! (I’m surprised the lobster people haven’t made an appearance yet).

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Today’s #ThrowbackThursday is a proper blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene from 1940, captured by Harold Poulter. There is a corner shop and a shopfront promising fish, game and oysters. It looks very different now, but a few clues still survive if you know where to look. Do you recognise this spot?

Corner brick building with curved "Royal Liver Friendly Society" signage above an open-front fish and oysters shop; a man enters while shopkeepers stand by seafood displays and a chalkboard advertising salmon.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Glass and amber beads from a 6th-century Saxon burial mound in Feering. A small, bright trace of someone who lived locally around 1,500 years ago and chose to wear colour and shine. Visit our museums to explore more Essex stories told through real objects.

Necklace arranged in a near-circle on a white background, made from blue glass tube beads and small yellow, dark, and reddish beads, with a large irregular amber pendant bead at the bottom.

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Reposted by Colchester Museums

Mark Hughes @markhughes1878.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Juliasaurus - a 6.2 metre long therapod, this specimen is nearly 75% real fossil bone. Lived during the Jurassic Period, around 150 million years ago. On display currently at the Hollytrees Museum in Colchester.

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Colchester Museums @colmuseums.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

They *wish* they had a magical pocket potato.

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David Meyer @dajmeyer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

My favorite part of the @ColMuseums at #Colchester Castle: a chainmail hauberk. It is very heavy!

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Andrew Spratt @dirleton.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Colchester Castle Keep, Essex (England) reconstruction mock-up. #ColchesterCastle #NormanKeep #EnglishCastles #HistoryRebuilt

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Des Lewis @dflewis.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Inside Colchester Castle last Saturday… @colchesteressex.bsky.social @colcivicsociety.bsky.social

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Ancient History 101 Podcast @ancienthistory101.org · 23/09/2026

Featuring Ben Paites, Senior Curator at @colmuseums.bsky.social, Kate Sumnall, Curator of Archaeology at @londonmuseum.bsky.social and Lexi Diggins, archaeologist and guest curator at @stalbansmuseums.bsky.social... Ancient History 101 presents: BOUDICA Part 1: Prelude to Destruction

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