Colchester castle in winter
Colchester Castle is one of the most important historic buildings in England. Colchester was the first capital of Roman Britain and beneath the Castle are the remains of the Temple of Claudius built around AD44. The temple became a main target of the Iceni led by Queen Boudica who attacked the Roman town of Colchester in AD 60. The town's citizens barricaded themselves into the temple but after two days they were all killed and the town was burnt to the ground. Around 1076 William I ordered a royal fortress to be built at Colchester. The great stone base of the ruined Roman temple was an obvious foundation for the central tower, or keep, of the castle. The huge size of the temple meant that the keep of Colchester Castle was the largest ever built in Britain and is the largest surviving example of a Norman keep in Europe. For most of it's life the castle was used as a prison. It has been used as a museum since 1860.
Size: 5120px × 3413px
Location: Colchester castle, Castle park, High Street, Colchester, Essex, UK
Photo credit: © Justin Minns / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1076, attraction, boudica, british, camulodonum, castle, colchester, essex, historic, history, museum, norman, park, roman, ruins, temple, tourism, tourist, tower, uk, william, winter
