Nearly 100 people came to learn more about the Colchester Roman Circus Appeal at the Colchester Town Hall last week. It was standing room only as supporters and residents joined the patrons and staff of the Colchester Archaeological Trust to hear about what was planned for the Circus, if the appeal is successful.

The evening was enjoyable introduced and compered by Tony Gardner, with contributions from Wendy Bailey, Sven Wombwell, Philip Wise (Heritage Manager at Colchester Museums), and Bill Hayton.

The highlight of the event was the presentation by Philip Crummy, Director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust, who ran the team that discovered and unearthed the Circus, the only one in the Roman Empire discovered north of the Alps.

Philip explained why the Circus mattered and what the Trust had got planned for it, should the appeal succeed.

Many in the audience were keen to get further involved, and plenty of ideas and suggestions were raised from the audience.

An appeal for donations raised £10,000 on the night, not including Gift Aid, plus promises of other donations to be sent in via the post and online.

Thank you to the Mayor for making the Mayor’s Parlour available for the event, and to Carters’ Vineyard, The Lemon Tree, and Waitrose Colchester for donating wine, food, sparkling wine and juice, all of which helped make the evening a great success.