Colchester Castle

Colchester, England. 19-07-2011.

Colchester Castle in Colchester, Essex is an example of a largely complete Norman castle. It is a Grade I listed building.

At one and a half times the size of the Tower of London's White Tower, Colchester's keep is the largest ever built in Britain and the largest surviving example in Europe. There has always been debate as to the original height of the castle. It has been suggested that the keep was at one time four storeys high, though for a number of reasons, including the peaceful region of the castle and the lack of local stone, it is now thought that it had only two or three. The castle is built on the foundations (or the podium) of the earlier Roman temple of Claudius.

In AD 60 or 61, during Boudica's uprising, Camulodunum (Colchester) was laid to siege. The town had been left in the hands of old Roman veterans, and this lack of manpower combined with the prospect of destroying a major Roman town, gave the Icenic force a chance to take revenge. Boudica's army fell on the poorly defended city and destroyed it, besieging the last defenders in the temple for two days before it fell. The 9th Roman Legion from the north attempted to relieve the city but Boudica's Army ambushed the Legion and killed all but a few. None of the legion reached Colchester. Boudica's Army set fire to the temple killing all those held up inside and the whole city was eventually destroyed by the fire. Even today a layer of ash can be found under the surface where the ancient city once stood.

The head from a life-size bronze statue of Claudius, found in the River Alde in 1907, roughly 30 miles from Colchester and on the southern edge of Iceni territory, could perhaps have been broken from a statue in the temple by Boudica's forces and carried off as a trophy, although this cannot be more than a guess unless more evidence is found.

Colchester Castle is built on the remains of its podium or foundations, which the castle's Norman builders assumed was solid ground, and the castle overall was built out of tiles and stone from this and the ruins of other Roman buildings in the town. These foundations have since been dug out and can be viewed today on a castle tour.

The castle was ordered by William the Conqueror and designed by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester. Building began between 1069 and 1076 under the supervision of Eudo Dapifer, who became the castle's steward on its completion. Building stopped in 1080 because of a threat of Viking invasion, but the castle was completed by around 1100. Many materials, such as Roman brick and clay taken from the Roman town, were used in the building and these can easily be seen. Scaffolding pole holes and garderobes can still be seen in the structure.

In 1215, the castle was besieged and eventually captured by King John, following the altercation with rebellious nobles that eventually led to the Magna Carta.

The castle has had various uses since it ceased to be a royal castle. It has been a county prison, where in 1645 the self-styled Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins interrogated and imprisoned suspected witches. In 1648, during the final stages of the English Civil War, the Royalist leaders Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle were executed just to the rear of the castle. Local legend has it that grass will not grow on the spot on which they fell. A small obelisk now marks the point. In 1656 the Quaker James Parnell was martyred there.

In 1650 a Parliament Survey condemned the building and valued the stone at five pounds. In 1683 an ironmonger, John Wheely, was licensed to pull it all down - presumably to use as building material in the town. After "great devastations" in which much of the upper structure was demolished using screws and gunpowder, he gave up when the operation became unprofitable.

In 1727 the castle was bought by Mary Webster for her daughter Sarah, who was married to Charles Gray, the Member of Parliament for Colchester. To begin with, Gray leased out the keep to a local grain merchant and the east side was leased out to the county as a gaol. In the late 1740's Gray began a programme of restoration and added the present day facade and tower. He created a private park around the ruin and his summer house (perched on the old Norman castle earthworks, in the shape of a Roman temple) can still be seen. Charles Gray also added a library and a study. In 1922, the castle and the surrounding park were given to the town and they have remained as the Upper and Lower Castle Parks ever since. The castle is now a public museum.