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North Hill, COLCHESTER, CO1 1BB

Built in 1820 as the corn exchange, this became the Essex and Suffolk Fire Office. It now houses a variety of retailers and offices.

The tower was built in 1758, the clock is Victorian. The church is near the top of North Hill.

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Grade II* Listed 15th century church remodelled in 1758. The previous church on this site can be traced back to 1066 and (probably much) earlier. The 14th century church had a central tower and probably cruciform in plan. North and south aisles were added in the 15th century and altered what was probably cross-shaped into the present oblong shaped church. The Minister Robert Dickman recorded in September 1692 the tower was in scaffold and being re-plastered when an earthquake resulted in 'the steeple parted fo wide in ye midst that they could have put their hand into the crack or cleft y immediately shut up clofe again, without any damage to the workmen or to the fteeple it felf'. Unsafe and demolished in 1758 a new tower was built in 1763 among other alterations. Lester and Pack of London cast a ring of eight bells in 1763 that were tuned and re-hung by H Bowell & Son, Bell & Brass Founder, Ipswich, in 1893. Some having cracked, John Taylor of Loughborough recast them in 1913. In 1938 the bells were quarter turned and rehung. The clock renovated in 1913 was added to the tower in 1866 by C F Hayward, originally flat against the wall and before 1907 placed on its present heavy stone bracket. The hours were struck on the tenor bell in the tower and the quarter chimes on smaller bells but the chimes were later silenced to avoid confusion with the striking of the clock on the town hall. The clock's numerals were restored by specialist S Michlmayr in 2012.

See Image For info about the coat of arms, see http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/east_anglia_essex.html .

Grade II* Corn Exchange and offices of 1820 by David Laing (builder Henry Hammond Hayward). Originally 2 storeys with central pediment the rear arcade was enclosed in late 19th century and remodelled with plate glass in 1966. A postcard posted in 1907 shows it with only two storeys. The colonnade is apparently iron probably manufactured by Joseph Wallis Jnr who established an ironfoundry on Winnock's Charity land (High Street?) in 1792. The clock was made by Joseph Banister (1778-1875). The single train was designed to run for eight days with a drop of only 10 feet for the weight. It has a deadbeat escapement. The first and second floors stood empty for many years but were converted to 6 apartments in 2009-10 with architects Stanley Bragg Partnership Ltd.