Victorian Colchester Castle

Colchester: Did you Know?

Colchester was the capital of Roman Britain when London was just a trading post.

Colchester has the largest surviving Roman gateway in Britain.

Colchester has 1½ miles (2½ km) of Roman wall, the oldest town wall in Britain.

Colchester has a large number of ancient mosaic floorings, one of the largest concentrations for a town of its size. Some remain untouched in the ground under modern day buildings in and around the town. Others are now the responsibility of Colchester Museums and are either in storage or on display in Colchester Castle Museum, such as the Middleborough Mosaic unearthed in 1979.

Colchester Castle is the largest surviving Norman keep in Europe.

Colchester Castle pre-dates the Tower of London and was in fact the blueprint for it.

Colchester Castle was the first Royal Castle outside of London.

Colchester Castle is built on the massive foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius.

Colchester was under siege for 11 weeks during the English Civil War in 1648.
The town's skyline is dominated by two Victorian masterpieces - the Town Hall and ‘Jumbo' a water tower built in 1882-3. It became known as Jumbo after the famous elephant in London Zoo which had then just been sold, amid national protests, to the American circus showman, P. T. Barnum.

Colchester was the location for a major British earthquake in 1884.

Colchester has one of the country's few Frisbee Golf courses which has hosted the European Frisbee Golf championships. It is located at the University of Essex.

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Boudica Sculpture
Boudica Sculpture