Colchester

Britain's oldest recorded town and Britain's first Roman colony founded by Claudius ca. 43; Roman High Street; burned by Inceni Queen Boudicca in 60; legendary birthplace of Constantine; remains include castle built by William I and two 11th-century abbeys; University of Essex; from the fortified Iron Age settlement here Cunobelin (Shakespeare's Cymbeline) ruled the whole of southwestern Britain; cloth center 14th-17th centuries; famous for its oysters.