Castle · Colchester · Essex

Colchester Castle

Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester. The register lists it as a scheduled monument. Within 15 km there are 42 more places to visit, starting with St. Botolph's Priory (400 m).

Photo: Colchester Castle, George Gastin (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Where

In Colchester

inside the built-up area

How well known

Top 4%

#269 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

May–Sep

highs of 18–23°C

In brief

Castle in Colchester

One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#269 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (18 Wikipedias). About ↓

Inside Colchester

Colchester Castle is inside Colchester’s built-up area, with 16 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓

Scheduled monument

On the official list of protected heritage; Colchester has 443 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

How the seasons run

From May to September, Colchester sees highs of 18–23°C.

Jan8° / 2°51 mm

Feb8° / 2°42 mm

Mar11° / 3°37 mm

Apr14° / 5°37 mm

May18° / 8°47 mm

Jun21° / 11°52 mm

Jul23° / 13°47 mm

Aug23° / 13°55 mm

Sep20° / 10°47 mm

Oct15° / 8°65 mm

Nov11° / 4°61 mm

Dec8° / 2°58 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Colchester, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Colchester. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Colchester’s full climate →

About

Colchester Castle

Readers can find it on Wikipedia in 18 languages.

Colchester’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Castle
Listed: Scheduled monument
Wikipedias: Covered in 18 languages
Town: in Colchester
Official site: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/visit/colchester-castle

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

The map

Finding Colchester Castle

Use the numbers to match each place near Colchester Castle with the list.

Towns near it

Bases for a visit

Colchester is the biggest of the 8 bases nearby (130,259 people). These are the towns that list it, beginning with its own.

1 · It’s in town

Colchester

130,259 people · 22 places to visit

2 · 2.3 km south of it

Berechurch

7,702 people · 18 places to visit

3 · 3.6 km northwest of it

West Bergholt

3,175 people · 17 places to visit

4 · 3.7 km northwest of it

Great Horkesley

2,232 people · 15 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Colchester Castle is	People	Places to visit
Colchester	It’s in town	130,259	22
Berechurch	2.3 km south of it	7,702	18
West Bergholt	3.6 km northwest of it	3,175	17
Great Horkesley	3.7 km northwest of it	2,232	15
Layer-de-la-Haye	4 km southwest of it	1,338	19
Wivenhoe	4.1 km southeast of it	7,354	20
Rowhedge	4.2 km southeast of it	2,492	19
Boxted	5 km north of it	703	5

Make a day of it

Close to Colchester Castle

The 42 places within 15 km include 3 art galleries, 2 abbeys or priories and a fort.

Abbey or priory · English HeritageSt. Botolph's Priory400 m away 2

FortBalkerne Gate600 m away 3

Abbey or priory · English HeritageSt. John's Abbey Gatehouse600 m away 4

Art galleryFirstsite300 m away 5

ZooColchester Zoo5.8 km away 6

MuseumHollytrees Museum100 m away 7

Art galleryThe Minories200 m away 8

Art galleryAlbert Hall400 m away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Colchester Castle: common questions

Where is Colchester Castle?

Colchester Castle is in Colchester, Essex, inside the town’s built-up area.

What is Colchester Castle?

Norman castle in Colchester, United Kingdom.

When is the best time to visit Colchester Castle?

May to September are the warmest months in Colchester, with afternoon highs of 18–23°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Colchester Castle a listed building?

Yes: scheduled monument.

What else is there to see near Colchester Castle?

Within 15 km: St. Botolph's Priory (400 m), Balkerne Gate (600 m), St. John's Abbey Gatehouse (600 m) and Firstsite (300 m).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (9)

Colchester Castle: George Gastin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
St. Botolph's Priory: Maria, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Balkerne Gate: Tanya2501, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
St. John's Abbey Gatehouse: Saltmarsh, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Firstsite: Alexis Ip, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Colchester Zoo: Angela Tuff, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hollytrees Museum: Jarry1250, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Minories: David Hawgood, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Albert Hall: Jo and Steve Turner, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.