LIKE many evolving towns and cities across the country, Colchester has changed drastically over the decades.
Before the turn of the Millenium, before smartphones and social media, and before the closure of many popular shops, Colchester looked very different.
We asked readers what you could do in Colchester that you cannot do now - and received hundreds of responses.
Here are five of the most popular responses:
Sweets from the Pick n Mix at Woolworths
Woolworths had served Colchester in some form since 1914.
The first Woolworths in the town opened as FW Woolworth & Co, in High Street, before 1914, as a thruppence or sixpence store.
Trade flourished throughout the next 50 years, as hundreds more branches opened across Britain and Ireland.
But on October 2, 1973, Colchester’s store was destroyed in the biggest fire the town had seen for 20 years.
The blaze, which broke out in a pile of cushions on a linen counter during the lunchtime rush, caused £2.5 million of damage.
The flames were so huge that police originally believed a bomb had exploded.
Nearly 200 firefighters from all over Essex and Suffolk battled for 12 hours to stop the fire spreading along the High Street, but there was little they could do to save the shop.
A £4 million rebuilding programme began and the store reopened on October 1975 with a new butcher’s and bakery.
But economic troubles succeeded where fire had failed and it closed again in January 1985, with the loss of 70 jobs.
It was finally brought back to Colchester by popular demand in 1998, to Culver Square.
It closed after going into administration in late 2008 with more than £300million of debt. The shop is now home to H&M.
'Enjoy Friday Woods car park'
The Ministry of Defence closed the car park at the popular Friday Woods in 2019 “in the interest of safety”.
Colchester’s Bounstead Road car park, which gives access to Friday Woods, was instead returned to heathland.
It had been “temporarily” closed by the MoD since late 2017.
Bosses said it followed prolonged antisocial behaviour including homemade fireworks, flytipping and an arson attack on a car as well as vandalism.
Get anything I needed from a spoon to a new engine for my car from "jacks, Jacks Famous Supplies was opened in 1960 and was been a popular shop for many years. It sold a combination on household goods, camping supplies, hardware, tools, clothes and shoes, plus work wear.
In August 2019 the remains of what would have been a large Roman bath house were unearthed under the store.
Go to Debenhams and M&S
The site of the former Debenhams in Colchester has been empty since the store closed last year.
The shop in Culver Square Shopping Centre boasts three-storeys of space.
Debenhams reopened its Colchester store after lockdown for a final closing down sale after the firm was bought by online retailer Boohoo for £55million.
When the deal was confirmed the online giant said it would not be taking on stores or its workforce, meaning the loss of as many as 12,000 jobs.
The Colchester store opened first opened in 1987 as the flagship retailers for Culver Square Shopping Centre.
It was built as part of the Culver Square development and stood the test of time along with other former favourites like Woolworths, Adams, Hamells and C&A.
The shutters came down on Colchester High Street’s historic Marks and Spencer for the final time last month after the retailer completed its move to a new megastore in Stanway.
The controversial move followed a prolonged campaign from Marks and Spencer customers, who fought for the store to remain open and retain its base in Colchester city centre.
Marks and Spencer has had a permanent store in Colchester High Street since the 1930s – though the retailer started operating in the city as long ago as 1911.
Have a couple of beers in the Drury, walk up to Layer Road and watch Colchester United
The Drury Arms was designed by a well-known architect, TH Baker, for Daniell and Sons’ brewery in 1913 and was originally known as the British Hotel.
It closed in the summer of 2011, three years after Colchester United’s move from its former Layer Road ground to its current stadium off the A12.
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