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Colchester Castle

📍 Essex, England

4.4 ★★★★½ 4,800 reviews

About

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 it being built on the foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius. 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 and a Grade I listed building.

Getting There

🚂 Colchester Station

Greater Anglia from London Liverpool Street (50 min), 15 min walk

🚌 Town Centre Buses

Multiple routes to Colchester High Street

🅿️ Vineyard Street

Multi-storey car park, 5 min walk through Castle Park

Terrain & Accessibility

♿ Museum Accessible🏛️ Roman Foundations🌳 Castle Park

The largest Norman keep ever built in Britain, constructed over the vaults of the Roman Temple of Claudius. Now an excellent interactive museum. Lift access to most floors. The castle sits in attractive public parklands.