Colchester Castle

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Following the battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conquerer ordered that castles be built throughout England. Colchester was one of the sites chosen and work began in 1069 on the site of the foundations of the earlier roman temple of Claudius, built around AD44. The castle was designed by Siward Bishop of Rochester and built under the supervision of Eudo Dapifer who later became the steward of the Castle upon its completion.



The castle was built mainly of materials from roman ruins but clay quarried from the roman town was also used. The castle is built in the same style as the White Tower of the Tower of London also designed by Siward and is the only building in Britain with the same ground plan. In fact Colchester Castle is half as big again as the White tower and originally stood four stories high but the upper two floors have been lost.



Building stopped around 1080 because of the repeated threat of a Viking invasion. A prominent feature is the outline of battlements at the first level, which appear to have been added rather hastily during the construction, possibly due to the threat of attack from the Danes. Work on the castle is believed to have completed by around 1100.



Unusually, the castle does not seem to have experienced much military action throughout history. In 1215 the castle was besieged and eventually captured by King John following the altercation with rebellious nobles that eventually led to the signing of the Magna Carta. The castle was held for three months by a French garrison who had been assisting the barons with their struggle with the King.

Colchester Castle has had various uses since it ceased to be a Royal Castle. It has been used as a county prison and in 1645 Matthew Hopkins, the self styled witchfinder general (this was not a title ever bestowed by parliament) interrogated and imprisoned suspected witches and as a result of Hopkins's accusations nineteen alleged witches were hanged and four more died in prison.



During the final stages of the English Civil War in 1648 and after a 12 week siege, Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle were held at the castle after taking the town and declaring it a royalist stronghold. The two men were subsequently executed in the grounds behind the castle that same year. An obelisk now marks that spot and local legend has it that grass will not grow on the spot which they fell. In 1656 the Quaker, James Parnell, was martyred at the castle. He was buried in a unmarked grave in the castle grounds. A plaque commerating his life has been placed in the castle in the cell in which he died.



Sold by the crown in 1629, the Castle was purchased by local businessman, John Wheeler. His intention was to demolish the castle and sell the raw materials to local builders but the project proved too costly and after having removed the upper two layers Mr Wheeler went bankrupt.

In 1727 the castle was bought by the Member of Parliament for Colchester Charles Gray, as a wedding gift, who set about restoring it and added the present day Italianate façade and tower as he believed it to be a Roman structure. Charles Gray also added a study, library and the red tiled roof that is still visible today. The crypt was open to the public in 1860 as a museum.

Further restoration took place in the 1930s after the local council had acquired the building and grounds and in 1983 an extensive building project began to stabilise the old castle Keep. Work on Colchester Castle was completed in 1992 and is now home to the Colchester and Essex Museum.

Colchester is a fascinating town with a wealth of history and this awesome Keep situated in the town centre makes an ideal starting point for discovering how the town has evolved over the past 2000 years. Neatly contained in a pretty Victorian park it makes for a really adventurous family day out.

EssexTouristGuide.com

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