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Guided Tour Of Colchester Castle
:}:-) GUIDED TOUR OF COLCHESTER CASTLE:{:-) By Jess Jephcott THE WAR MEMORIAL The War Memorial was part of Colchester's tribute to those 1248 brave Colchester men who gave their lives during the First World War. It is a truly magnificent fine piece of work by sculptor Henry C Fehr, depicting Victory at the top and flanked on the one side by St George and the Dragon (symbolic of triumph over evil) and on the other, Peace. The names of those who gave their lives, including the 239 men and women from the 1939 - 1945 war, are inscribed on the memorial located within the Town Hall. We now move north through the splendid gates provided by the late Viscount Cowdray, whose family owned the Castle that you see ahead of you and who lost two sons in that terrible war. Viscount Cowdray's gift of the castle to the borough was part of his memorial to those who died in the First World War. HOLLYTREES Before we start talking about the castle, we look to the right at Hollytrees, where Charles Gray once lived. He had been left the Castle as part of a wedding gift and he set about making it and the grounds a place of beauty and use. It is now part of Colchester's Museum. THE CASTLE Turning to the left, the Castle was built by the Normans around 1070, as part of their defence system, following their invasion of England in 1066. It is an impressive structure - indeed the largest Norman keep ever built. Its size is due to the fact that it was built around the podium of the Temple of Claudius, destroyed by the Iceni Queen Boadicea in AD 60 or 61. If you look up at its walls, there are several points worthy of mention. Firstly, the Normans soon discovered that Essex is devoid of any natural building stone. The Romans had found the same thing some 1000 years earlier and had used a material called septaria which had to be brought from the coast, and the natural red earth from which they made their tiles.http://www.camulos.com/virtual/17castle.jpg The Castle is built almost entirely from reclaimed Roman materials; Roman roof tiles being in abundance and heavily used in the walls. The large windows on the south wall are not original. They were put in by Charles Gray in the 18th century, to give more light, replacing the smaller Norman slit windows that would have been there and which can be seen elsewhere on the building. The previous owner of the Castle was a man named Wheely who had bought the building for the sole purpose of demolishing it and selling off the materials for building works. Thankfully, the task defeated him and he went bankrupt as a result. Perhaps the only good thing that came out of Wheely's destructive activities was the discovery of the castle's biggest secret. Underneath its walls, was found what has subsequently been identified as the plinth on which the Temple of Claudius was built in the 1st century AD - but I will leave that bit of our story to another part of our tour when you can go inside the castle. It is believed, the height of the castle as you see it today is about what it was when it was first built, although the corner battlements have mostly disappeared. Incidentally, our castle predates and is built double scale to the famous Tower of London. That building has fared better with the passing of time and is a good indicator of how our castle must once have looked. The Water Garden Again, lingering at the walls, it is quite clear that the Castle was built in more than one stage. An extra storey was added at some point, evidenced by filled in battlements in various places and different style of corner stone work (quoins). The roof gives an impression of an Italian style and is not original. Charles Gray had believed his castle to be Roman and saw fit to put a Roman style roof on it. Following on around the west side of the castle and looking up again to the walls, there can be seen a sycamore tree growing on the ramparts, said to have been planted by the gaoler's daughter, some 200 hundred years ago. The castle served as the town's gaol for many years. Also, the west wall is basically as it was when the castle was first built, with its tiny slit windows which gave light internally and kept the worst draughts away. Also in this wall are various outfalls from the garderobes, the toilets! The round cupola on the top was built by Charles Gray and is in the position where one of the castle towers would have stood. It is likely that Mr Wheely demolished these towers prior to Charles Gray's rescue. Colchester High Street still stands where the Romans put it, and a good deal of the 3100 metre long Roman wall (the only one around a town that still survives) can be seen today. Since Roman times, most events in Britain's long history have left their mark on the town. THE OBELISK Walking round to the rear of the castle, we find an obelisk dedicated to the three soldiers martyred by the Civil War, when Colchester was under siege by Lord Fairfax, one of Oliver Cromwell's generals, in 1648. The town underwent much hardship during the siege which lasted all through the hot summer and, upon surrender by the Royalist army, Lords Lucas and Lisle were executed by firing squad on or near this spot. It is said that grass has never grown there since, although the tarmacadam surface may have had something to do with that. Colchester recovered, the King was restored to the throne, the Monarchy has been jealously protected ever since. God Save the Queen! AVIGNON GARDENS and RAMPARTS Climbing up the hill, which were once part of the Norman outer defences to the castle, we have a magnificent view to the north and down into what we call the Lower Castle Park. The gardens directly below are the Avignon gardens, in recognition of the French town by that name, with which Colchester is twinned. We are also twinned with Wetzlar in Germany, with the associated gardens close to Hollytrees, where we have just been. Before we leave the castle, you may wish to take a look inside it here. However, there are links to this tour at the end of our main tour so please don't leave us just yet. ST HELENA'S CHAPEL We now pass through a small gate to the west of the castle and through into Maidenburgh Street. Once through the alley way, to the left, is St Helena's Chapel. Note how the Roman building method from the town wall has been mimicked by the Normans in the chapel's walls, with regular courses of Roman tile and septaria courses being used for the walls - some 800 years later. Records mention the chapel's repair in 1097, but we are unsure exactly how old it is. It has recently become used once again as a place of worship, the building having lain empty for many years. It is now the home of the Orthodox Parish of St Helen. It became a chantry chapel in medieval times - King Henry VIII's reformation closing it in the 16th century. A chantry chapel, where priests were paid a sum after a person's death, to say prayers for that person, to help him on his way to heaven. It lt was later taken over by the Quakers. Note the traffic bollards close by with the town's crest on them. St Helena is Colchester's patron saint, said to have been the daughter of King Coel, married to the Roman Emperor Constantius and mother of the Emperor Constantine who, in 333AD declared that Britain would be a Christian country. She was further said to have travelled to the Holy Land, to have discovered a fragment of the cross of Jesus and to have discovered the burial places of the three wise men. Apparently, when she returned to Britain with the relics, the cross fragment started to sprout into life. This is why our crest shows a sprouting cross and three crowns. (Incidentally, we have the same crest as Nottingham.) Archaeological excavations discovered that St Helena's Chapel is built on the Roman foundations of the colonia's theatre (no good Roman colonia or town would be without one), the outline of which is now picked out in darker bricks along the roadway. The pictures shows the information board outside the building where part of the foundations are displayed and inside, where the picture describes how the 3000 person capacity theatre would once have been. The amazing fact is that there are only five known Roman period theatres in Britain - and Colchester has two of them. I should point out that Colchester was a place where great entertainments were held. London may well have taken over as the Roman capital at a later date but Colchester was undoubtedly the most magnificent of all Roman settlements in Britain. Only recently (December 2004) archaeologists discovered the only Roman circus to be found in Britain, the largest outside Italy. Okay, we still have not found the baths that must have been here, nor an amphitheatre where gladiatorial combats would have been held, but this is only a matter of time, surely? This theatre would have been used for entertainment of various sorts, plays, poetry, reading, debates, socialising, etc. This was a town where the Romans and their friends could relax and enjoy themselves. Indeed, Roman Camulodunum must have been a place of leisure and entertainment to its inhabitants. QUAKER BURIAL GROUND Walking back to the chapel and turning left along William's Walk, we pass what once was the town's Quaker burial ground, now given over to grass, but with some gravestones set against the perimeter walls. Colchester, like so many other towns, had (and still has) a strong non-conformist following (ie non Church of England protestantism). THE DUTCH QUARTER At the end of the street, we find ourselves in an area of 16th and 17th century timber framed buildings, an area known today as the Dutch Quarter. This is slightly misleading as it was in this area that the Flemish settlers lived, evading religious persecution in their own country. They were heavily involved in the wool trade and weaving industry, something that was very important in Colchester for several centuries, before the industrial revolution of the 18th century reduced it to a trickle. Note how several of the houses have large ground level windows, designed so that the weaver could get maximum light whilst working at his loom. JOHN BALL and WAT TYLER It was in this general area that John Ball, famous for leading the 14th century Peasant's Revolt, lived and his compatriot Wat Tyler. The revolt was against the rich who controlled the wages paid to the peasants, the latter believing themselves to be worth much more. So what has changed? STOCKWELL CHAPEL Here is Stockwell Chapel where Isaac Taylor once preached before fleeing with his family to escape the expected invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century. More about the Taylor family later. The name Stockwell is a reference to the place where people on this side of the town came for water, as Colchester is built on a free draining hill, with impervious clays at its foot. This was where the water settled and the level to which wells had to reach, including the deepest of them all - inside the castle. This is further evidenced by the fact that Colchester's several (now sadly all gone) breweries were all located in diverse directions at the foot of the hill. Published with permission from Jess Jephcott from http://www.camulos.com |
As has already been stated in Part I of this Virtual Tour, Colchester Castle was built by the Normans (from Normandy in France) from around 1076, as part of their defence system, following their invasion of England in 1066. It is an impressive structure, indeed the largest Norman keep ever built and the first to be built by William the Conqueror in England. His steward (or dapifer) Eudo de Rie, carried out the initial building work.
1http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150113.jpg This model in the picture above shows an interpretation of how the finished keep and bailey might have looked around the year 1100. The following picture is taken from a similar south easterly direction, some 900 years later. The model shows the extensive outer bailey walls, within which the massive keep was built. Its great size is due to the fact that the keep was built around the podium of the Roman Temple of Claudius, destroyed by the Iceni Queen Boadicea in AD 60 or 61. This must have been a place of great significance to the English whom the Normans had conquered and there would have been a wish to attach their authority to the powerful magic of the location. 2http://www.camulos.com/virtual/Castle.jpg The castle is built almost entirely from reclaimed Roman materials, roof tiles being in abundance and heavily used in the walls. The large windows in the above view are not original but put in by Charles Gray in the 18th century, to give more light, replacing the smaller Norman slit windows that would once have been there. The originals can be seen elsewhere on the building faces. More of this later. 3http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150128.jpg These much decayed foundations are believed to be of an earlier apsidal church or chapel structure, interconnected with a later Norman section with its tell tale tapered slit window evidence. 4http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150129.jpg The present day foot bridge leading into the castle keep spans these older foundations and takes the visitor through a typically magnificent Norman archway. Opinion is divided as to when this door was added and what form it took, whether it would have had a drawbridge, portcullis, etc. Note the cupola and tree at the top, both late additions to the original. More of which later! Upon their arrival, the Normans soon discovered that Essex was devoid of any natural building stone. The Romans had found the same thing some 1000 years earlier and had used a material called septaria which had to be brought from the coast, and the naturally occurring red earth, from which they made their tiles. England was soon under threat from another invader, King Cnut of Denmark. As I will discuss later, building works were modified to cater for this threat, with a later addition in height being made. The invasion never came and the castle was finally completed around 1125. The castle did come under attack in 1216 when it was beseiged for three months and eventually captured by King John, after he broke his agreement with the rebellious nobles (Magna Carta). By 1350, its military importance had diminished and the building was mainly used as a prison. By 1600 it was no longer defensible and by 1637, the roof to the great hall had fallen in. In 1629, the castle was sold by the crown. In 1683, it came into the possession of John Wheeley, a local ironmonger. He set about the destruction of the building with a view to profiting from the sale of the building materials to local builders. In this he failed, and went bankrupt in the process. However he did discover the presence of the Roman temple foundations, which he excavated in the mistaken quest for hidden treasure. In 1726, after having had several owners, Charles Gray (MP for Colchester at that time) acquired the castle and its grounds as a marriage gift. He set about the restoration and alterations. Lingering at the walls (we will go inside soon), it is quite clear that the Castle was built in more than one stage. An extra storey was added at some point, evidenced by filled-in battlements in various places (see picture 4 above) and different style (ie cheaper) of corner stone work (quoins). The roof is of Italian style and is not original. Charles Gray had believed his castle to be Roman and saw fit to put a Roman style roof upon it. Looking up again to the walls, there can be seen a sycamore tree growing on the ramparts, said to have been planted by the gaoler's daughter, some 200 hundred years ago. The castle served as the town's gaol for many years. Also, the west wall is basically as it was when the castle was first built, with its tiny slit windows which gave light internally and kept the worst draughts away. Also in this wall are various outfalls from the garderobes, the toilets! The round cupola on the top was built for Charles Gray and is in the position where one of the castle towers would once have stood. It is likely that Mr Wheeley demolished these towers prior to Charles Gray's rescue. 'Put' holes are to be seen all over the walls, both inside and outside, where the original wooden scaffold poles would have been 'put' during the castle's construction. Most of these have since been bevelled with mortar to deter pigeons. 5http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150131.jpg Part of the west wall above. 6http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/17castle.jpg Also from the west. 7http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150130.jpg ....and a view at the rear (from the north side looking down towards the River Colne) showing modern scaffolding techniques and, more importantly, the Norman period rear entrance to the keep, that would once have had a secure stairway up to it. In 1860, the crypt was opened to the public as a museum. In 1920, the castle was presented to the borough by the Viscount Cowdray, as part of the planned War Memorial built a short while later. In 1934/5 the castle keep was roofed over, leading the way for the development of the museum to the form in which we see it today. Let us now go inside and have a look around! 8http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3170012.jpg The great arch leading into the castle keep is shown above, with members of the Town Watch on duty. 9http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150126.jpg Once through the great arch, to the left will be seen the great stairway, spiralled to the right as you go up. You would have to play the role of sword wielding attacker and defender to realise the wisdom of the direction of the spiral. You might think that the builders had allowed an advantage to a right handed attacker, allowing him to swing his sword so advantageously against a defender coming down. Think again. Yes, the defender was standing on a narrow part of the step but, he was tucked in, around a corner, able to deliver a powerful downward slash against his opponent. Clever people those Normans! 10http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150125.jpg To the right will be found the all essential well, where fresh water could be had during a period of siege or in time of peace. As has already been mentioned, Colchester was built on a hill, with no natural flowing water or springs. It was a place of defence and to observe the surrounding land. A well was essential. The moral here is that a photographer should keep his size 10 boots out of the picture. There is probably a mixture of Roman and Norman masonry in the well shaft and, nowadays, many coins at the bottom, put there by the superstitious among us over many years. 11http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150108.jpg As I have previously mentioned, a previous owner of the Castle was a man named Wheeley who had bought the building for the sole purpose of demolishing it and selling off the materials for building works. Thankfully, the task defeated him and he went bankrupt as a result. During his endeavours, he discovered the Roman podium of the Claudian temple, around which the castle was built. It could be argued that this would never have been discovered, had he not carried out his demolition work, as modern day conservation might have prevented such invasive exploration. From contemporary examples elsewhere, it is believed that the temple would have looked like the model shown above. Perhaps Wheeley did us a favour after all. It is conjectured that, the height of the castle as you see it today is about what it was when it was first built, although the corner battlements have mostly disappeared. Incidentally, our castle predates and is built double plan scale to the famous Tower of London. That building has fared better with the passing of time and must surely be a good indicator of how our castle must once have looked. 12http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150102.jpg The above picture shows one of the magnificent fireplaces that would have been built in the second phase of construction of the keep. Note the herringbone pattern that the Normans favoured when re-using the Roman tiles. 13http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150119.jpg A little further along, the Norman toilets. A hole in the floor, presumably originally furnished with a comfortable seat and door. The outlet was via a chute on the outer wall, as seen in picture 6. http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/eyes.gif Now we take a look down in the dungeons. 'Abandon hope all ye who enter here!' 14http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150114.jpg A gruesome set of display boards give information about crime and punishment in bygone days. 15http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150116.jpg The door of the dungeons (the jail or gaol). The French called castles 'Dongeons'. Being at war with the French for many years, the English took the word to mean a bad place and named the cells as the dungeons, a misuse of which name has been with us ever since. 16http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150115.jpg This picture shows the two main cells, perhaps to separate male from female inmates. It must have been a very bleak place to have ended up. This concludes our interior tour of the castle's structure, although further details will be added at a later date for other areas not normally open to the public, such as the roof and the Roman foundations. These are covered by a separate guided tour. This tour will now continue with some of the exhibits which can be viewed. Published with permission from Jess Jephcott from http://www.camulos.com |
PRE-ROMAN EXHIBITS
up to 43 AD 17http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150001.jpg The Sheepen Cauldron above was discovered by archaeologists in the Sheepen Road area, associated with a time before the Roman invasion and where King Cunobelin minted his own coinage. 18http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150002.jpg Bronze artefacts, believed to be a hoard destined for melting down and re-used, perhaps for coin minting. Iron was to become the new metal for weapons, being much stronger and durable. 19http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150004.jpg Archaeoloigical finds from the Iron Age period associated with all aspects of life, with an illustration of how a homestead may have looked during that period around 100BC. 20http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150006.jpg King Cunobelin, son of Tasciovanus, lived from cAD5 to cAD40. He was the most successful of the kings (or chiefs) of Iron Age Britain. At the start of his reign he conquered the Trinovantes and his power spread throughout south east Britain. The illustration depicts the secret of their success, the use of open chariots that could be driven very skilfully with added protection of the extensive Iron Age dyke system, evidence of which can still be seen in Colchester today. 21http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150120.jpg This is a painting that was specially commissioned to show what it is believed an Iron Age ship would have looked like, sailing up the River Colne, some 2000 years ago. It is based a coin of Cunobelin (illustrated below), whose death it was that precipitated the arrival of the Roman invasion forces in AD43. The artist was Frank Gardner. 22http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150036.jpg ROMAN EXHIBITS 43 AD to 410 Moving to some of the exhibits that are to be found within, I start with this bronze bust, believed to be that of the Emperor Claudius, found in a nearby river, suggesting that it was a prize taken by one of Queen Boadicea's followers after her destructive visit to the town. 23http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/claudius.jpg Perhaps it was part of a much larger statue that might once have taken a prominent position in some lavish Roman building of the time. 24http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/vase1.jpg The exquisite Colchester Vase. Very well preserved, this face shows two gladiators in action, a pastime that probably occurred in the colonia during important occasions. It dates from AD175 and was probably made in Colchester. Four gladiators can be seen on the vase. Above them are inscribed the names Secundus, Mario, Memnon and Valentinus. It is one of the finest examples ceramic art known from Roman Britain. 25http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150007.jpg The Colchester Sphinx. Found in a burial area to the west of the town. 26http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150020.jpg Examples of antifix mouldings. These were fitted to tiled roofs and often depicted gods or godesses to ward off evil spirits. 27http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150107.jpg A closer view of the antifixes. 28http://www.camulos.com/virtual/long1.jpg This is the famous stele of auxillary cavalryman Longinus Sdapeze, which has been discussed elsewhere in this virtual tour. To return there, please click here. Here follows a tombstone (or stele) to legionary centurion Marcus Favonius Facilis, dating from around AD100. The inscription at its base reads: MARCUS FAVONIUS FACILIS SON OF MARCUS OF THE POLLIAN TRIBE CENTURION OF THE TWENTIETH LEGION VERECUNDUD AND NOVICIUS HIS FREEDMEN SET UP THIS HERE HE LIES 29http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150105.jpg This stele, together with that of Longinus Sdapeze, are some of the finest examples that have been found in Briatain. 30http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150100.jpg Mark Griffin is seen here working with visitors to the castle, dressed in Roman gladiatorial tunic and demonstrating the protective equipment used. 31http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150104.jpg A display cabinet devoted to the Boudican rebellion, showing the destruction of the Temple of Claudius in or around AD61. 32http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150122.jpg One of the many display cabinets showing finds from the year 2000 Post Office dig. 33http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150024.jpg Examples of oil lamps from the Roman period 34http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150023.jpg Jewellery finds from the Roman period 35http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150029.jpg Human remains from Colchester's Roman period, with clear evidence of bone disease. 36http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150030.jpg Face urns for cremated remains are common finds. This one was perfectly preserved due to its tile lined cavity set in the ground. 37http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150031.jpg Camilla was an attempt at recreating the face of a woman using her skeletal remains. 38http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150037.jpg A small Roman period mosaic and wine amphora, all discovered in Colchester. They are located in one of the Norman period archways of the castle. Published with permission from Jess Jephcott from http://www.camulos.com |
POST-ROMAN EXHIBITS
410 to 1066 As might be expected, the exhibits for this period are considerably less than that for the preceding Roman occupation period. This case displays Saxon artifacts including weapons, pottery, jewellery, weaving weights, etc. 39http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150028.jpg The Saxons were not town dwellers and, after the Romans departed, the town fell into decay. Finds from within the walls are therefore very few. NORMAN EXHIBITS http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150027.jpg A model of a Norman soldier, located in one of the niches of the crypt of the castle. MEDIEVAL EXHIBITS http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150041.jpg The Black Death of 1348/9 killed approximately one third of the population of Europe. This resulted in a labour shortage. Peasants began to demand better conditions and a share in the wealth they created. In Colchester, the priest John Ball preached against the greedy, idel lives of nobles, merchants and church leaders which the common people worked to support. The 1381 Poll Tax introduced by Richard II finally pushed the common people to breaking point. Imprisoned for his teaching in Kent, Ball was released by the rebels of the Peasants Revolt he had worked to bring about. Despite widespread support, the revolt failed following the death of its other great leader, fellow Colchester man, Wat Tyler. Ball was hung drawn and quartered for his part in the revolt and is remembered today as one of England's first revolutionary leaders. http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150123.jpg http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150101.jpg http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150042.jpg http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150038.jpg http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150040.jpg http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150039.jpg CIVIL WAR PERIOD EXHIBITS An example from the castle's Civil War period exhibition, when Cromwell's forces besieged the town in 1648. http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P9150124.jpg http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150046.jpg http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/P3150047.jpg CHARLES GRAY http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle/charlesgrey.jpg Published with permission from Jess Jephcott from http://www.camulos.com |
Re: Guided Tour Of Colchester Castle
hi
all this castles.. was it a special tour.. or you just chose for yourself these very historical monuments? =) |
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