13 Facts About Colchester Castle

1.

Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century.

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2.

The somewhat unreliable Colchester Chronicle, written in the late 13th century, credits Eudo with the construction of the castle and gives a commencement date of 1076.

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3.

At one and a half times the size of the ground plan of the White Tower, Colchester Castle's keep of 152 by 112 feet has the largest area of any medieval tower built in Britain or in Europe.

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4.

The Colchester Castle Chronicle described the temple site as a palace built by the mythical Roman-era King Coel; either way, it was providing a provenance for the Norman occupiers as the inheritors of a heroic past.

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5.

In 1882, J Horace Round proposed that, like the White Tower, Colchester would have had four storeys, with a double-height great hall and chapel.

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6.

Control of Colchester Castle reverted to the crown following the death of Eudo in 1120 and thereafter, the castle was governed by crown-appointed constables, or was in the care of the High Sheriff of Essex when no-one had that role.

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7.

John besieged Rochester Castle before sending an army towards Colchester, under the command of a French mercenary called Savary de Meuleon.

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8.

Colchester Castle has had various uses since it ceased to be a royal castle.

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9.

Colchester Castle created a private park around the ruin and his summer house can still be seen.

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10.

Colchester Castle added a library with large windows and a cupola on the south-east tower, which was completed in 1760.

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11.

Colchester Castle's daughter Mary Ann Smith was born there in 1777 and lived her whole life in the castle, becoming the librarian until her death in 1852.

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12.

Colchester Castle's is believed to have planted the sycamore tree which is still growing on top of the southwest tower, either to celebrate the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 or to mark her father's death in the same year.

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13.

Between 1920 and 1922, the Castle and the associated parkland were bought by the Borough of Colchester using a large donation from Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, a wealthy industrialist who had been the town's Member of Parliament.

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