SHOPS are open again and customers are heading back to our town centres.

Cash registers are ringing and it's a magical sight and sound, after so many months of enforced closure during lockdown.

To celebrate, we're heading back in time with a selection of vintage pictures of Colchester's High Street.

We also have a 1960s photo of one of the town's popular but long-gone stores in Long Wyre Street, at the junction of Eld Lane.

Some of these images take us back more than a century - others to the comparatively recent 1980s.

Whatever the year or decade, it's clear this is the beating heart of our town.

With people bustling from one shop to the next, traffic and even trams, it's a hive of activity - just as it remains and, thankfully, just as it is once again right now.

All of these high-definition photos are part of an online catalogue published by Colchester and Ipswich Museums.

The public have been able to access pictures online, including looking at a fascinating Colchester Through Time collection.

It is free to use and no registration is required.

To check the catalogues, head HERE.

Looking the part - Frank H Page and Son was an outfitters and tailors in Long Wyre Street, at the junction with Eld Lane. This picture was taken in the 1960s

Looking the part - Frank H Page and Son was an outfitters and tailors in Long Wyre Street, at the junction with Eld Lane. This picture was taken in the 1960s

Fanning the flames - the Essex and Suffolk Fire Office can be seen in this picture from 1890

Fanning the flames - the Essex and Suffolk Fire Office can be seen in this picture from 1890

Eye in the sky - this picture of Colchester High Street was taken from above in 1986

Eye in the sky - this picture of Colchester High Street was taken from above in 1986

Look east - this picture of the High Street is looking towards the town hall and was taken in 1895

Look east - this picture of the High Street is looking towards the town hall and was taken in 1895

Bygone era - a picture of the west end of the High Street, taken in 1910. Note the tram in the distance

Bygone era - a picture of the west end of the High Street, taken in 1910. Note the tram in the distance

Picture postcard - this High Street image is looking west towards Jumbo and the town hall. There is a tram in the foreground and it is thought the picture was taken between 1900 and 1910

Picture postcard - this High Street image is looking west towards Jumbo and the town hall. There is a tram in the foreground and it is thought the picture was taken between 1900 and 1910

On the move - trams and cars are on show in this black and white photographic postcard of the High Street, taken between 1900 and 1910

On the move - trams and cars are on show in this black and white photographic postcard of the High Street, taken between 1900 and 1910

Hands of time - this picture of the High Street was taken between 1900 and 1910

Hands of time - this picture of the High Street was taken between 1900 and 1910

Former glory - this 1920s picture shows 27 Colchester High Street. Then home to Henry S Horwood Drapers, it is now the site of Lloyds Bank

Former glory - this 1920s picture shows 27 Colchester High Street. Then home to Henry S Horwood Drapers, it is now the site of Lloyds Bank

Standing order - Lloyds Bank in 1985

Standing order - Lloyds Bank in 1985

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