| Colchester Castle | |
|---|---|
| Colchester, Essex, England | |
 Colchester Castle keep from the south, showing the main entrance | |
  Colchester Castle | |
| Coordinates | 51°53′26″N 0°54′11″E / 51.890589°N 0.903047°E |
| Type | Norman castle |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Borough of Colchester |
| Controlled by | Colchester & Ipswich Museums |
| Condition | Keep is largely intact. |
| Site history | |
| Built | circa 1076 |
| Built by | William I of England |
| Demolished | Bailey wall and keep battlements, 17th century |
| Events | 1216 siege in the First Barons' War 1648 capture in the Siege of Colchester |
Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, due to its being built on the foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius, Colchester. The castle endured a three-month siege in 1216, but had fallen into disrepair by the seventeenth century when the curtain walls and some of the keep's upper parts were demolished; its original height is debated. The remaining structure was used as a prison and was partially restored as a large garden pavilion, but was purchased by Colchester Borough Council in 1922. The castle has since 1860 housed Colchester Museum, which has an important collection of Roman exhibits. It is a scheduled monument[1] and a Grade I listed building.[2]
- ^ "Colchester Castle and the Temple of Claudius, Non Civil Parish - 1002217 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ "THE CASTLE KEEP (INCLUDING EXCAVATED REMAINS OF FOREBUILDING IN MOAT), Non Civil Parish - 1123674 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2022.