| Colchester.uk.com | The History of Colchester 1551-1600 |
| Year | Events |
| 1551 | |
| 1552 | Ralph Fynch, a brewer, endows almshouses in Culver Street
(circa) The town Corporation erects a watermill at the Hythe |
| 1553 | July 26: Queen Mary visits Colchester and is given £20 in gold and a silver cup |
| 1554 | |
| 1555 | Protestants John Lawrence and Nicholas Chamberlayne burned; James Gore died in gaol |
| 1556 | Six Protestants burned |
| 1557 | Thomas Tye writes that "the rebels are stout in the towne of Colchester. The ministers of the church are hemmed at in the open streets and called knaves"
Eleven Protestants burned; another dies in gaol |
| 1558 | Three Protestants burned |
| 1559 | |
| 1560 | |
| 1561 | June: Samuel Harsnett, son of a baker, born in St. Botolph's parish |
| 1562 | |
| 1563 | |
| 1564 | |
| 1565 | |
| 1566 | |
| 1567 | |
| 1568 | |
| 1569 | |
| 1570 | |
| 1571 | The first Dutch and Flemish refugees arrive in Colchester bringing their skills in the bay and say cloth trade |
| 1572 | |
| 1573 | |
| 1574 | |
| 1575 | |
| 1576 | |
| 1577 | |
| 1578 | |
| 1579 | Plague in the town from December 1578 to August 1579
September 1/2: Queen Elizabeth stays at Colchester and is given a silver cup |
| 1580 | |
| 1581 | |
| 1582 | |
| 1583 | |
| 1584 | |
| 1585 | Town school founded by the Bailiffs under charter of Queen Elizabeth |
| 1586 | |
| 1587 | |
| 1588 | Colchester supplies two ships, the "Foresight" and the "Margaret and John", and one pinnace, the "Speedwell", to defend against the Spanish Armada |
| 1589 | |
| 1590 | |
| 1591 | Bourne Mill built for Sir Thomas Lucas using the ruins of St. John's Abbey |
| 1592 | |
| 1593 | |
| 1594 | John Leland writes of Colchester: "It is a proper towne, walled, and is thowght to have flourished in the time of the Romans" |
| 1595 | |
| 1596 | Catholic uprising in the town fails |
| 1597 | |
| 1598 | John Wilbye's book of madgrigals published |
| 1599 | Catholics imprisoned in the castle
William Gilbert elected President of the Royal College of Physicians |
| 1600 | Publication of "De Magnete" by William Gilberd, the first book to us the word "electric" |
| The History of Colchester : 1451-1500 : 1501-1550 :: 1601-1650 : 1651-1700 | |