It was to be a weekly Tory paper and "a Standard around which the loyal, the religious, and the well-affected of our County may rally".

[3] Originally printed in Chelmsford, it was acquired by a John Taylor in September 1831, who moved it to new premises in Colchester.

[3] Managers of the paper dropped the price to 1d (half a new pence) in 1891, causing a jump in circulation and in 1892, changed the title to Essex County Standard.

A series of changes in editor saw control of the paper ultimately fall into the hands of the Benham family: first Edward, then his wife Mary; next their sons William and Charles; and finally William's son Hervey.

In 1964 the paper, then printed by web-offset lithography (a process pioneered by the Benhams and fellow newspaper proprietor Arnold Quick), was described by Printing World (a trade paper) as Britain's best produced weekly newspaper.