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The 'Oldest town in Britain' is a title claimed by a number of settlements in Great Britain.

Contents

Colchester

Abingdon

Ipswich

Marazion

Thatcham

References

Colchester

Colchester claims to be Britain's oldest ''recorded'' town, on the basis that it is mentioned in passing by Pliny the Elder, the Roman writer, in his ''Natural History'' (''Historia Naturalis'') in AD 77. Pliny was describing Anglesey, and wrote that it was "about 200 miles from Camulodunum, a town in Britain", Camulodunum being the Roman name for Colchester. It is claimed that this is the first known reference to any named settlement in Britain.
However, Camulodunum clearly existed for a substantial period before AD 77. From around AD 10, Cunobelinus (the Cymbeline of Shakespeare's play), ruled much of south-east Britain from Camulodunon (the "fortress of the war god, Camulos") until his death in AD 40. Following the invasion by Claudius in AD 43, Camulodunum became the capital of the new Roman province of Britannia. In AD 50, Britain's first city, Colonia Claudia Victricensis, was founded there, but the city was razed and its citizens massacred in Boudica's rebellion in AD 60, and the Roman provincial capital subsequently moved to London where it remained until the end of Roman colonization and influence.

Abingdon

Abingdon in the English county of Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire) claims to be the oldest town in Britain, since it was the site of an Iron Age valley-fort which has been continuously occupied ever since.

Ipswich

Ipswich, the county town of the English county of Suffolk, also claims it is England's oldest ''continuously settled'' town, with a history of continued occupation since the Anglo Saxons.^[1][2]

Marazion

Marazion in Cornwall lays claim to being the oldest town in Britain, being granted its Charter in 1257 by the Plantagenet King Henry III^[3]

Thatcham

Thatcham in Berkshire is sometimes claimed as the oldest town in Britain, since its occupation dates back to mesolithic times. However, despite medieval charters, Thatcham's long-term status as a town is questionable.

References

1. History of Medieval Ipswich
2. History of Medieval Ipswich
3. Welcome to Cornwall - A Visitor's Guide