Colchester

Colchester 1On the junction of Barrack Street and Brook Street.
Colchester 2Luckily we came across this building during raking sunlight.
A.C. REYNOLDS. (There's that full stop again.)
GROCERIES... PROVISIONS
At another time of day, these recessed letters in what is quite old rendering on the front of a former cornershop* would have been more-or-less invisible. The font is a rather smart serif caps. (*Although the brickwork supports to the left of the building suggest that the old shops continued to the shoulder of the crossroads.)  The word 'groceries' looks as if it has been patched over with filler at some time, but is still just readable. Fortunately, the owners over the years have contented themselves with a lick of white masonry paint as the building has changed roles.

Colchester 3
THIS BUILDING
WAS ERECTED IN THE
YEAR 1791.
FOR THE HABITATION OF
POOR WIDOWS. WHOSE HUSBAND
HAVE DIED IN THE  CHARITY OF
ARTHUR WINSLEY

The Lord relieveth the fatherless & the Widow,
but overturns the Way of the Wicked Ps. CXLVI. 9.
Honour Widows, that are Widows indeed. Now.
She that is a Widow indeed. and defolate.
trusteth in God; and continueth in
Supplication.I.Tim.5Ch.V.3&5

Not far from the A.C. Reynolds lettering (and just across from the Twist club) on Winnock Road are a group of ancient buildings (with modern additions) which carry oval plaques. The oldest is shown here and it is interesting to compare this with the Tooley Almshouses in Ipswich - although the latter are a rebuild, these seem to be absolutely original. Containing a dots-before-the-eyes plethora of full stops in the oddest of places. And what of the word 'defolate'? An ancient expression of 'leaflessness' after the autumn of life, perhaps.

There are probably more examples of lettering in Colchester, we'd love to hear of them.

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