Colchester is an historical town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.

At the time of the census in 2001 it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the oldest recorded Roman town in Britain, Colchester claims to be the oldest town in Britain. It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain and also claims to have the United Kingdom's oldest recorded market.