Old Heath is a

Church of England parish The parish with its parish church(es) is the basic territorial unit of the Church of England. The parish has its roots in the Roman Catholic Church and survived the English Reformation largely untouched. Each is within one of 42 dioceses: divide ...

south-east of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. Old Heath has existed since

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

times and was originally called 'Old Hythe' because it was the first port of

, before Hythe (called Newehethe in 1311) took over: hythe derives from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word for 'landing place'.

Logo

The logo depicts a ship sailing upon the waves and bears two sails each with a coat of arms. Old Heath is derived from the original Old Hythe or the first Port of Colchester which was located within the parish boundaries of Old Heath. The Port on this location can be traced back to Saxon times. The ship, therefore, represents the fact that Old Heath was the port and still has an active Quayside at King Edward and Haven Quays, both located in the parish. More modern political boundaries have tended to count this part of Old Heath with the part generally known as 'The Hythe' in the Parish of New Town as if they were all part of the same community (which politicians call Harbour) but this is not so and the parish boundaries are clearly marked by our 'Welcome to Old Heath' signs. Old Heath developed as a separate village beyond the boundaries of Colchester. The two sails of the ship carry the Arms of Colchester and St. Barnabas. Colchester's Arms represent the 'True Cross' of Jesus because it is believed that St. Helena (Patron Saint of Colchester) visited Colchester. St. Helena claimed to have discovered the true cross upon which Jesus was crucified when she was visiting the Holy sites in and around Jerusalem. St. Helena was the mother of the Emperor Constantine and Colchester was a Roman City. The forward sail is the Coat of Arms of St. Barnabas who is the Patron Saint of Old Heath. St. Barnabas is known as 'The Son of Consolation' and it may be that he became Patron for Old Heath because we were located in the poor part of what was becoming the big and rich Town of Colchester. St. Barnabas is said to bring comfort and hope to the poor. This sign appears on all buildings for community use in Old Heath, on the signs welcoming you into the parish from every direction and all on correspondence from the Vicarage and from the Community Task group.

Churches

Old Heath Congregational Church Old Heath Fingringhoe Road Colchester Essex UK

Old Heath has a parish church (CofE) called St Barnabas's and also had a small

Congregational Chapel Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently an ...

known as the '

tin tabernacle A tin tabernacle, also known as an iron church, is a type of prefabricated ecclesiastical building made from corrugated galvanised iron. They were developed in the mid-19th century, initially in the United Kingdom. Corrugated iron was first u ...

'. The original church of St Barnabas was demolished in 1949 after being declared unsafe. The

was subject to a planning application for demolition in December 2014, which was refused. See

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

for more details, and document references about the building. The building, which had been unused since the early 2010s, burned down on 20 May 2025.

Services

Old Heath has four regular bus services to and from Colchester town centre, a post office, a local Co-op., a butcher, a baker and a greengrocer. It also has a fish and chip shop to the south of the village, and a small garage. Old Heath's primary school children are served b
Old Heath Primary School
which was awarded a 'good' status by

OFSTED The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

.'OFSTED Report – 8 July 2010', http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_reports/download/(id)/122759/(as)/114710_347847.pdf Old Heath is also home to a military firing range, that the public are allowed to access when the red flag is not flying.

Representation

Old Heath is currently represented by three Labour councillors at a Borough level; Lee Scordis, Adam Fox and Michael Lilley. It is also represented by Lee Scordis at County Council.

References

External links

St. Barnabas Parish Church

Old Heath Parish website

Old Heath School
{{Colchester