Colchester Castle

Colchester Castle stands in Castle Park at the western edge of the old town. Built in the late 11th century on the podium of the Roman Temple of Claudius, it is the largest intact Norman keep in Europe. The castle’s massive stone walls still rise from the temple’s foundations, giving the building its unusual width. After a three-month siege in 1216, the castle fell into decay and by the 17th century parts of the keep and curtain walls were removed. The remaining structure became a prison, a garden pavilion, and in 1922 it was bought by the local council. Since 1860 the castle has housed Colchester Museum, best known for its Roman collection. The castle’s origins lie in Norman efforts to assert control after the Conquest. A charter of 1101 granted the castle to Eudo Dapifer, steward to three kings. The design may echo Gundulf of Rochester’s work at the White Tower, though both keep types resemble an earlier French keep at Ivry-la-Bataille. The keep’s ground plan of 46 by 34 metres makes it one and a half times larger than the White Tower, a size made possible by reusing the temple’s masonry base. Builders robbed nearby ruins for septaria, Roman brick and tile, and dressed the walls with Barnack stone. Inside, a north–south wall divided the first floor, later joined by a second cross-wall in the larger eastern section. Visitors enter through the south-west tower, reached by a barbican added in the mid-13th century. The bailey once had a high earthen rampart and deep ditch, traces of which survive on the north side. Inside, foundations of an Anglo-Saxon chapel and a hall with a large fireplace mark the earliest occupation. The museum displays Roman artefacts in rooms within the keep, while the surrounding park offers wide views over the town’s medieval walls. The castle’s squat profile, two storeys and massive walls remain the clearest signs of its dual Roman and Norman past.