Colchester Gazette archive nostalgia Colchester pictures from 80s

The photographs reveal a time when traffic went through the then town centre, the market was uncovered and cinemas were the main entertainment for revellers at the weekend.

Our pictures depict Lion Walk shopping centre after its huge expansion in the late 70s and throughout the 80s.

Shoppers enjoy Lion Walk in the 1980s (Image: Newsquest)

The original streets and buildings were knocked down, making way for the new, improved precinct, which opened in 1976.

The original Lion Walk shopping centre had a bridge linking the units in Culver Street and Culver Walk, but was taken down during a £20 million revamp in 2009.

Full of history, Lion Walk’s origins dates back further than the bustling shopping centre we all use today.

Shoppers enjoy Lion Walk in the 1980s (Image: Newsquest)

The centre takes its name from the Lion Inn, built around 1500, later becoming the Red Lion Inn.

The pictures also show Head Street, including shops which were shortly due to be demolished at the time, making room for what would become the Culver Square Shopping Centre.

Our archive also includes images of Cowdray Avenue before Leisure World was build, as well as the land next to the B1026, which is now home to Colchester’s police station.

Cowdray Avenue as it looked in the 1980s before Leisure World was built (Image: Newsquest)

Take a look through some of our favourite images, showing what it was like to live in Colchester during the eighties.

This picture shows the Halifax bank, which is still there today. It was taken in June 1983. (Image: Newsquest)

This is what Tesco at Highwoods looked like back in the eighties (Image: Newsquest)

The land off the B1026/Butt Road before it was built on to form Colchester's police station (Image: Newsquest)

Church Walk in Colchester taken in the 1980s (Image: Newsquest)

Cowdray Avenue as it looked in the 1980s (Image: Newsquest)

Taken in March 1985, this picture shows the shops which were demolished to make room for the Culver Square Shopping Centre (Image: Newsquest)

Building work underway at Lion Walk back in the 1980s (Image: Newsquest)

Shoppers enjoy Lion Walk in the 1980s (Image: Newsquest)