Three Cups Hotel was lost from the High Street 50 years ago

The only sign of the former Three Cups Hotel left in Colchester is just that - a hanging sign, which has been fixed on the former Cups Pub in nearby Trinity Street, now a shop, since the 1970s.

Empty - the street view of the hotel which was eventually pulled down in 1968

Historian, Andrew Phillips, says the three cups are thought to represent the traditional toast for very important guests.

History - the Minstrel Gallery at the Cups Hotel which was replaced by an office block

The hotel, which was next to the Town Hall in the High Street, was known as the Cups from the early 1700s, but before that it was the New White Hart.

Damage - inside the once impressive High Street hotel before it was knocked down

The hotel closed in 1965 and stood empty for three years before being demolished in 1968.

Removal - columns taken down during the preparation

A new modern office block was built in its place.

Popular - the hotel in its 1950s heyday

Gone - the empty space where the Cups Hotel once stood

Shut- the hotel in 1966, a year after it closed