COLCHESTER’S skyline is one of the most iconic.

With the famous Jumbo water tower and the Town Hall spire protruding above the rooftops, it is a stunning sight.

From the ground we sometimes forget to appreciate the beauty of our town, only stopping to complain about the broken pavements and the odd pile of flytipped rubbish.

But from the sky we see Colchester in a different light entirely.

The Town Hall in the High Street, which dates back to 1898, is set perfectly in the middle of the town centre.

The building is impossible to miss from both the air and the ground. The beautiful building is rich in history with its 162ft Victorian tower with the St Helena statue, Colchester’s patron saint, at the top.

Equally as iconic is the Jumbo water tower near Balkerne Gate.

The tower was officially opened in 1883, 20 months after construction started.

Its nickname came from the Rev John Irvine, rector of St Mary’s at the Walls church, in 1882.

He realised the water tower, which could hold more than 220,000 gallons of water, was to stand 85 feet above his rectory.

Irvine wrote to the Gazette’s sister paper, the Essex County Standard calling the tower Jumbo, a derisory reference to the elephant which had recently arrived at London Zoo.

The town centre is home to plenty of historic buildings including the former Jack’s hardware store and the Red Lion Hotel.

The weaving together of the old and new is what makes the town special.

Business of all kinds are attracted to the area, which is both olde worlde and full of innovation.