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Defensive Forts and Castles

Roman remains in Colchester are some of the earliest and most impressive examples. The town wall, surrounding much of the centre for 1.5 miles is the oldest of its kind in Britain while the foundations of the enormous Temple of Claudius can still be seen beneath the castle.

With the departure of the Roman army, Saxon raiding parties from the Germanic heartlands of Europe became more frequent and eventually settled in the fertile Essex countryside. Little remains of their influence, although a famous battle fought at Maldon between Saxons and Vikings was commemorated in a rare piece of Saxon epic poetry.

Throughout Essex the consequences of the Norman invasion are still visible. Castles were built, churches reconstructed, towns developed and hunting forests protected, such as Epping Forest which was famously the hunting grounds for Henry VIIII.

Finest of the Norman castles is that at Hedingham, home of the de Vere family Earls of Oxford, whilst Colchester’s vast keep is the largest in Europe.

Maritime defensive forts along the Essex coastline inlcude pill boxes and the Martello Tower, which was built in 1809 and was originally one of twenty-nine Martello towers situated on the east coast of England.

The towers were constructed to defend the country against the threat of invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte and his armies.

The name ‘Martello’ is derived from a similar military sea defence tower at Mortella Point in Corsica, near Italy. The Mortella Tower withstood the combined force of 101 cannons being fired from two English battleships and was only defeated after a fire broke out inside the tower. The British Navy were so impressed with the strength of the tower that before they left Corsica, they took its measurements, which formed the basis for the size and shape of all our English Martello Towers.

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