The Celtic God of War Camulos gave his name to Camulodunum which was the capital and spiritual centre of the ancient Celtic tribe called the Trinovantes and which subsequently became the Norman city of Colchester many centuries hence. A tumultuous period after 7AD resulted in a combining of Catuvellaunian and Trinovantian territories, the rise of the very powerful Brithonic King Cunobelin and the second Roman invasion of Britain. The first permanent legionary fortress in Britain was built in Camulodunum in 43 AD. A temple dedicated to Emperor Claudius built in 44 AD was completely destroyed during Boudica's rebellion in 61 A.D. Camulodunum was the first capital of Roman Brittania before Londonium acquired that prominence. Following the withdrawal of the Romans from Britain, the town became known as Caer Camulod (cf Cymrie), and there is speculation that Caer Cumulod equates to Camelot, the fabled castle of King Arthur. Certainly Caer Camulod was held by the Britons and then abandoned to the invading Saxons who laid waste to the town, an historical circumstance that melds with the earliest King Arthur tales. Colchester Castle is the large 11th century Norman Keep that was built on the foundations of the Roman Temple to Claudius. Much material from the Roman town was used in Colchester Castle which was designed by the Bishop of Rochester and whose construction may have begun as early as 1069. Construction stopped in 1080 because of Viking threats, the castle was then completed around 1100. "The castle has had various uses since it ceased to be a Royal castle. It has been a county prison, where in 1645 the self-styled Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins interrogated and imprisoned suspected witches. In 1656 the Quaker James Parnell was martyred there. Later in the 17th century, part of the upper structure was pulled down for building material in the town by a Mr. Wheeler who went bankrupt in the process. In about 1720, the castle passed into the possession of Charles Gray (the Member of Parliament for Colchester), who restored it and added the present day Italianate facade and tower (which are not original), as he thought it was a Roman structure. He created a private park around the ruin and his summer house (perched on the old Norman castle earthworks, in the shape of a Roman temple) can still be seen. In 1892, the castle and the surrounding park were given to the town and they have remained as the Upper and Lower Castle Parks ever since. The castle is now a public museum." Wikipedia has good articles about the history of Colchester and its castle from which much of this material is taken.

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