Pictures tell the story of Colchester's lost pubs

Lockdown forced closures and would-be punters increasingly elected to stay at home as Covid-19 hit the hospitality sector hard.

New data from real estate advisers Altus Group shows there were 95 pubs in Colchester as of June down from 100 in March 2020, before the first coronavirus lockdown.

Across the East of England there have been 87 closures since the start of the pandemic, including 24 this year.

Following the release of these figures, we are taking a trip down memory lane and looking at former watering holes in Colchester.

Here are ten of Colchester's lost pubs.

All of the pictures have been reproduced with permission of the The Lost Pubs Project (www.closedpubs.co.uk) and, while many of those are long gone, you may remember The Beer House, in Magdalen Street, and The Bell, in Old Heath Road.

Take a look through this gallery and let us know how many you remember:

 Artillery Arms, Maidenburgh Street

The Artillery Arms, Maidenburgh Street (Image: http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/)

The Bath Hotel, Osbourne Street

The Bath Hotel, Osbourne Street (Image: http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/)

The Albert Inn, North Station Road

The Albert Inn, North Station Road (Image: http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/)

The Alexandra, North Hill

The Alexandra, North Hill

The Alma, Military Road

The Alma, Military Road

The Angel, Lexden Road

The Angel, Lexden Road (Image: http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/)

The Bear, High Street

The Bear, High Street

The Beehive, North Hill

The Beehive, North Hill

The Beer House, Magadalen Street

The Beer House, Magadalen Street

The Bell, Old Heath Road

The Bell, Old Heath Road (Image: http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/)