rewind.
It is startling just how many of Colchester’s streets are casually dotted with pieces of history that thousands walk past unknowingly every day. The High Street holds a building that exemplifies this perfectly, and since its establishment, this structure has often stood as one of the most significant places in the city over the past 178 years. In all its conversions, this one building manages to convey the great changes in British society during that period – from restricted mercantilism to free trade, industrialisation to the suffrage movement, the First World War to the Roaring Twenties.
Completed in 1845, Albert Hall was built as a corn exchange, sporting classical pillars topped by grand, life-sized statues of workers as well as Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. Picture round-headed entrances flanked by tall columns, neoclassical architecture with parapets and curling stonework. The site bore witness to the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 – a definitive step towards free trade in Britain, which would characterise national policy for the remainder of the 19th century. The distinctive building remained a symbol of fairer trade for the working class and of emerging globalisation until the early 1880s.
As the 1870s brought rapid economic growth driven by technological revolution, the Great Depression of British Agriculture led to many corn exchanges closing due to lack of use. Colchester’s closed in 1884, only to reopen as the Albert School of Art and Science within a year. Interestingly, the 19th-century stone figures from the original architecture were removed from their niches and relocated to outside St Mary’s car park just beyond the town centre – still passed by unknowingly by so many.
Moreover, as the country became increasingly divided over issues such as women’s suffrage, the building was used for historic meetings, including one in 1908 when members of the WSPU declared that campaigners were “neither freaks nor frumps”. Imagine the High Street lined with women seeking their basic right to representation and pushing history forward. Many of those present at the meeting were later arrested for their efforts and subjected to horrific treatments, including forcible feeding. Among them was Amy Hicks, a prominent Essex suffragette who personally presented a petition to Prime Minister Herbert Asquith in 1909, demanding votes for women. In total, Amy was arrested on three occasions and later went on to become a rural district councillor in Chelmsford. Women like Amy and her mother were among the first to raise and promote the issue of women’s suffrage in the city and Albert Hall – a crucial step in this country’s pursuit of gender equality.
As the suffrage movement ebbed due to the war, the hall was requisitioned as a food control centre, providing an essential service for the community during times of shortage and adversity, and supporting Britain through the First World War. After the Armistice, the hall reopened as an events centre. Women had by then gained the vote and increased independence, many embracing new fashions, driving their own automobiles and taking part in the culture of the Roaring Twenties – an attitude reflected in 1926 when a gallery and stage were added to the hall. Since 1991, however, the building has been a branch of the Co-operative Bank, tucked away on the High Street, unnoticed by most despite its deep historical significance and role in shaping the world we live in today.
In a way, this one unassuming building, now bordered by convenience stores and only distinguished by its remaining stone pillars, encapsulates some of the greatest changes this country has undergone since the Victorian era – reflecting shifts in global economics, society, and politics. Over time, it has served Colchester in the birth and continuity of ideals we now hold dear: social justice, universal suffrage, and the fight against oppression – all inextricably linked to Albert Hall and the multitude of roles it has played.
Bibliography
Baggs, A. P., and others, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9, The Borough of Colchester (London: Oxford University Press, 1994)
Edwards, Mark, ‘Essex Suffragettes fought the ‘freaks and frumps’ jibes in push for the vote’, Southend Echo, 3 June 2017, < https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/15325888.essex-suffragettes-fought-the-freaks-and-frumps-jibes-in-push-for-the-vote/> [Accessed 15 April 2025]