England · 11th century
Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. It is located in, and gives its name to, Castle Park. 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.
Text adapted from “Colchester Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Colchester Castle ranks #1,056 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #75 of the 360 mapped in England. Founded 1069, it is older than 88% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 436 atlas entries founded in the 11th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,062 times in the last 60 days, more than 83% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Colchester, 1 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.
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