Exciting finds from this episode include a short barrelled Carbine gun which was commonly used by the Cavalry in the 1600s and a horse stirrup which is believed to be from the siege due to it’s age and position on the river bank. A spokeswoman for the show said Colchester became embroiled in the better and brutal English Civil War in 1648. She added: As royalist supporters retreated inside the city walls, the parliamentarians surrounded the city, cut off escape routes and began to hammer the town with cannon and musket fire. An epic showdown lasted eleven weeks. With the River Colne situated on the outskirts of the old city walls, it’s prime hunting ground for siege relics, as the team head to the rural margins of the city to search a crossing that was used by fleeing royalist soldiers attempting to escape.
New series - Rick Edwards is presenting season two of River Hunters A TELEVISION crew has been exploring Colchester’s River Colne for historically important artefacts as part of a new series of River Hunters. River Hunters is back for a second season to follow the adventures of river detectorists as they search underwater locations across the country of historical significance. For episode five, television presenter and keen swimmer Rick Edwards, river detectorist Beau Ouimette and underwater archaeologist Gary Bankhead explore the River Colne’s links to the Siege of Colchester. Ben Paites, who is the collections and learning curator for Colchester Museums, will be featured on the episode to discuss the historic siege which lasted for a tumultuous 11 weeks in 1648.
“It shows the monumentality of the construction. “It is built of large blocks of standing columns, the bourbons, which is just like the real thing. “The semi circle Party Rings capture the arches. “It really captures the architectural design of the Norman building. “The castle model features a large selection of biscuits. “It captures the variety of the building materials used in the construction of the castle itself. “I like the use of bourbons to form the roof. They are perhaps a bit too brown to be the real roof, but a nice touch. “There is even the tree on top like the real thing.”
Children can learn about Iron Age Britain thanks to a museum YOUNGSTERS can learn about what life was like in Iron Age Britain from their own homes. Colchester and Ipswich Museums launched Museum From Home during the first national lockdown and it has continued to be available across the most recent lockdown. With schools currently closed, Colchester Castle is missing its regular school visitors, so has teamed up once more with the Essex and Suffolk Children’s University to bring a slice of museum life to families at home. More structured national curriculum resources are now also available to schools and home learning providers to either use in the school environment or through home learning.