Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 595: summary

Archaeological building recording at Tubbeswick, Mill Road, Mile End, Colchester, Essex - May 2011
by Chris Lister

Date report completed: June 2011
Location: Tubbeswick, Mill Road, Mile End, Colchester Essex
Map reference(s): TL 9914 2770 (c)
File size: 11,953 kb
Project type: Building recording
Significance of the results:
Keywords: listed, post-medieval, Daniel Defoe

Summary. Tubbeswick is a Grade II listed building dating to c 1752 which replaced an earlier structure that may have dated to the early medieval period. It is situated on a 0.35-hectare plot of land on the south side of Mill Road (centred at NGR TL 599145 227700). The building was listed for its special architectural and historic interest on 14th December 2001. The property and attached land have had connections with several significant historical figures, important both nationally and to Colchester in particular. The author Daniel Defoe leased the property in 1722 and it was subsequently rebuilt and occupied by his daughter. A fire during renovations in 2009 caused substantial structural damage, severe enough that the local planning authority gave consent for its demolition. As a condition attached to this consent, a building recording survey was requested by Colchester Borough Council.