Saxons to Normans
AD 415 – AD 1215
Roman Colchester had already shrunk in size, wealth and importance when Roman rule ended in Britain in 410. In Colchester, Saxons made their homes within the town walls and in our One Square Mile area, leaving pottery, loom weights, coins and brooches as evidence of their lives. In the 9th century, there were battles against new invaders, the Vikings, but in 917 Saxon King Edward removed Viking invaders from Colchester and strengthened the town defences. After this, King Athelstan held a witan or royal meeting in the town in 931 and so did King Edmund in 940, possibly in the old moot hall on the site of the town hall. There is not much of Saxon Colchester to see anymore but we can see the pointed door of Holy Trinity Church, in our One Square Mile.
Holy Trinity Church
Photograph Kate Goodall
The Tower of Holy Trinity Church dates from about 1100 and is built in a Saxon style with a distinctive pointed doorway.
During the 9th century Viking raids happened regularly on the east coast. A Danish army occupied Colchester and a Viking axe has been found in the river Colne. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle described the Saxon army retaking the town when "a great host...went to Colchester and beseiged the borough and attacked it until they took and killed all the people and seized everything that was inside - except the men who fled there over the wall". In 917 Saxon king Edward defeated the Danes and strengthened the walls and built new streets. A statue of Edward is on the town hall. King Athelstan held a witan or royal meeting in the town in 931 and so did King Edmund in 940.
King Edward Statue
Photography Kate Goodall
During the 860s and 870s Danish invaders regularly landed on the east coast. In 917 the Danes were removed from Colchester by King Edward the Elder. He strengthened and rebuilt the town. There is a statue of Edward on the town hall.
In 1066 William the Conqueror from Normandy defeated Saxon King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Colchester was put into the hands of King William's steward Eudo Dapifer. New buildings were built in Colchester. Work started to build a castle on top of the old Roman Temple of Claudius. Because the castle is built on this Roman footprint it has the largest area of any medieval keep in Europe. Eudo also founded St John's Abbey in 1095 and St Botolph's Priory in 1100, one of the first Augustinian priories in Britain.
Colchester Castle
Alex Liivet from Chester, United Kingdom, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
New buildings were built in Colchester after the Norman conquest. A castle was built on top of the old Roman Temple of Claudius. Because of this it has the largest area of any medieval keep in Europe. The castle keep was built from stone and roman materials and stood in the middle of a courtyard or bailey.
St Botolph’s Priory
Michael Coppins, CC BY-SA 4.0
St Botolph's Priory was established around 1100 and was one of the first Augustinian priories in Britain. The Norman remains of the church can still be seen and cloisters would have been where the modern church is today. The Priory was badly damaged during the Siege of Colchester.
St John's Abbey
© Mike Quinn, licensed for reuse under CC2.0
Eudo founded St John's Abbey in 1095 for Benedictine monks. At one time it was one of five religious houses in Colchester and would have had an abbey church, cloisters and other buildings but today only the gatehouse and some walls survive. The first abbott was Hugh of York appointed in 1104 and the last was Thomas Beche who was removed when the monasteries were broken up by Henry VIII. Later the Lucas family built their house on the site perhaps using buildings and materials left over from the abbey.