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Foto: George Gastin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Colchester Castle

Norman keep and museum in Colchester with Roman and local history, interactive displays and tours of the vaults and Great Stairs.

ÅbningstiderEntré 13,95 £ Kørestolsvenlig

Billetter Hjemmeside Rute

Colchester CastleÅbningstiderEntré 13,95 £

Billetter Hjemmeside

Om museet

Colchester Castle was begun around 1076 and is thought to have the largest Norman keep in Europe. It was built on the foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius, and the Roman remains are still visible in the vaults beneath the building. The keep was once taller, but much of its upper structure was later demolished.

The castle held out through a three-month siege during the First Barons' War in 1216. In the seventeenth century it served as a prison, and during the English Civil War, in 1648, the Royalist leaders Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle were executed nearby after the siege of Colchester. In the 1640s the witch-finder Matthew Hopkins questioned suspects held there.

In the eighteenth century Charles Gray leased the keep, restored parts of it and created parkland around it. Colchester Borough Council bought the castle and its grounds between 1920 and 1922 with help from a donation by Viscount Cowdray. A borough museum has been shown in the castle since 1860, and the keep was roofed over in the 1930s to make more room for displays.

Today the museum tells the story of Colchester from prehistory to the Norman period. Its Roman collection includes the Colchester Gladiator Vase and the Fenwick Hoard, and interactive displays let visitors build a Norman archway or steer a Roman chariot. The keep is a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building.

Højdepunkter

Largest Norman keep in Europe, built on Roman foundations
Colchester Gladiator Vase
Fenwick Hoard of Roman treasure
Roman vaults and the Great Stairs, visited on a guided tour
Interactive displays: Norman archway, Roman chariot and replica ballista

Grundlagt: 1860
Ejer: Colchester and Ipswich Museums

Entrépriser & rabatter

Voksne	13,95 £
Nedsat pris	11,95 £Registered deaf or disabled visitors, people receiving welfare benefits and serving military personnel; proof may be requested.
Børn og unge	8,50 £gratis til og med 3 år · Child ticket for ages 4 to 16.
Pensionister	13,95 £The adult price includes seniors.
Personer med handicap	11,95 £ledsager gratis · Each disabled ticket includes one free carer.
Studerende og elever	11,95 £
Grupper (fra 12 pers.)	–Group bookings are for 12 or more people.
Familier	36,50 £Saver ticket for two adults and two or three children, or one adult and three or four children.
Guided tour of the Roman vaults and Great Stairs, adult (in addition to admission)	4,95 £Child 2.85; suitable for ages 4 and over.

Prices are valid from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Saver tickets cannot be combined with student or reduced rates. Temporary exhibitions may carry a small extra charge. An annual pass covers the castle and Hollytrees Museum.

Tilgængelighed

Kørestolsvenlig
Elevator
Handicaptoilet
Handicapparkering
Servicehunde tilladt
Taktile tilbud
Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
Synstolkning

The galleries are on two floors with step-free routes and two lifts, although the entrance is cobbled. A narrow wheelchair is available for the prisons. There are two accessible toilets on the ground floor; there is no Changing Places toilet in the castle, and the nearest are in Castle Park, at the library and at Leisure World. A hearing loop is at reception and in the prisons. Eleven Blue Badge spaces are on Museum Street, 100 to 200 metres from the entrance. The Roman vaults and the Great Stairs on guided tours are not accessible for visitors who cannot walk unaided. Sensory maps, a visual story, ear defenders, Sunflower lanyards and audio-described tours are available, and Calm at the Castle sessions are held with noisy interactive displays switched off. Live-captioned tours run several times a year.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

Entré for børn	gratis til og med 3 år
Familiebillet	36,50 £ · Saver ticket for two adults and two or three children, or one adult and three or four children.

Familieomvisninger & workshops
Interaktive stationer
Puslerum
Børnefødselsdage

Children can dress as an Iron Age Briton, build a Norman archway, steer a Roman chariot or fire a replica ballista. Birthday parties for ages 5 to 11 include crafts, a guided tour and a private space. A schools programme includes Castle in the Classroom and other sessions. Baby changing is available in one of the accessible toilets, and step stools and toddler seats are provided.

Transport & parkering

Med offentlig transport

Colchester Town station · 10 min. til fods

Colchester Town station is about a 10-minute walk and Colchester North station about a 20-minute walk, or a short bus ride. The main bus station on Osborne Street is about a 10-minute walk away.

I bil

Museet har ingen egen parkeringsplads.

The Priory Street and Britannia car parks are a few minutes' walk away. Blue Badge spaces are on Museum Street beside Castle Park. There is no coach parking in the city centre; a coach drop-off is on the High Street, and coach parking is at Sheepen Road.

Handicapparkering

Sat nav postcode CO1 1UG. Bike racks are outside the Castle Park gates on Museum Street and along the High Street.

Planlæg rute

Service & spisesteder

Museumsbutik

The museum shop sells activity books, jewellery inspired by the Fenwick Hoard, games, costumes and replica Roman objects. Interactive tablets with games, photos and augmented reality can be hired for 1.50 pounds.

Arrangementer & udlejning

Lokaler til leje
Private fester
Bryllupper / vielser

Weddings are held at the castle and arranged through a separate wedding website. Private after-hours tours and an escape experience can be booked.

Forespørgsel & detaljer

Planlæg dit besøg

Rundvisninger	ja
Tilbud til skoler	ja
Godt at vide	Guided tours of the Roman vaults and Great Stairs run daily subject to availability and can be booked on arrival or online; they involve steep and spiral stairs and confined spaces. Roof tours are suspended for essential repairs. A virtual tour can be hired as an alternative. Only assistance dogs are allowed inside, and buggies and scooters cannot be left on site. Children must be accompanied by an adult, with at least one adult for every ten children.