We have gone back in our archives to look at Colchester in the 1970s and 1980s.

It was a time were the town had a very different flavour.

Traffic still went through the town centre, the market was uncovered and cinemas were the big entertainment.

Over the two decades Colchester saw huge change from the creation of the Culver Square Shopping Centre to the punk rock era.

The Almshouses in Eld Lane had yet to be transformed into shops and there was no industrial metal barrier lining the bridge in East Street.

So scroll through some of our favourite images of what it was like to live in Colchester in the seventies and eighties.

Music - punk rockers enjoy a concert in Colchester in 1977

Music - punk rockers enjoy a concert in Colchester in 1977

History - shops in Eld Lane back in the 1970s

History - shops in Eld Lane back in the 1970s

Gazette: East Hill back in the 1970sEast Hill back in the 1970s

Gazette: People visiting Colchester High Street in the 1980sPeople visiting Colchester High Street in the 1980s

Gazette: Culver Square as it appeared in 1987 Culver Square as it appeared in 1987

Gazette: The High Street with traffic back in the 1980sThe High Street with traffic back in the 1980s

Gazette: A bustling East Street in the 1980sA bustling East Street in the 1980s