CULVER Square will be 30 years old next year, and it's seen its fair share of retailers and famous faces.

Unveiled in 1987, the precinct was originally home to the Pavilion on the Square restaurant (now HMV) and an extra walkway which lead to Head Street, where H&M now stands.

Debenhams - along with the Hot Sausage stall - has stood the test of time in Culver Square, which was also home to shops like Woolworths, Adams, Hamells and C&A, among others.

Back in 1988, the likes of Bobby Charlton, Lionel Blair and Roy Castle made appearances in the precinct, which has become the closest thing Colchester has to a town square.

In the early 80s, before the shopping centre was built, archaeologists carried out a huge dig on the site.

Shewell Road, where the old public library was located in what is now Waterstone’s, was wiped out for the precinct to be built.

The Fleece Hotel once stood at the west end of Culver Street, now occupied by Halifax, and was knocked down in 1970.

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