Romans, Normans, WitchFinders and More.... (Colchester Castle Museum)

Member Name: sandemp

Product:	Colchester Castle Museum
Date:	03/09/06 (790 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots to see, touch and wear, good accessibility

Disadvantages: Not Free

Situated just off the High Street in Colchester, the Castle Museum is a wonderful place to while away a few hours while learning more about the history of Britain’s oldest recorded town. The castle’s story began during the era when Colchester was the first capital of Roman Britain and the Temple of Claudius was situated on the site. It was in this temple that the Roman colonists sheltered from Boudica and her rebel hordes, and where they were subsequently slaughtered. In later years William I (The Conqueror) ordered a fort to be built on the site, and this is the largest fort of its kind in Britain and the largest surviving Norman fort in Europe. For many of the intervening years Colchester Castle was employed as a prison, housing witches, traitors and heretics, among others. For the last 146 years the castle has housed a museum and it is to this museum that I went one afternoon last week with four children ranging in age from seven to fifteen.


---The Grounds---

Colchester Castle is set within the grounds of Castle Park, where there is plenty of space to let off steam before actually entering the museum. There is a small section of ruined wall that any child will delight in walking along and entry to the museum is via a wooden bridge followed by automatic doors.

---The Museum Experience---

Before paying to enter the museum proper, there is a chance to drop some pennies into a well, the children all enjoyed this, and even learnt that the heavier the coin the faster it drops. There was also a mosaic to look at, but then it was time to pay. Now there are two separate prices to pay, one for entry to the museum proper and then a top-up if you want a guided tour. We decided NOT to go for the guided tour, so I can’t actually tell you if that was worth the extra or not, but because we didn’t take up this option we were unable to enter the temple vaults. However we, personally, did not miss this as there was still so much to do.

The actual museum was fascinating, there were plenty of exhibits, some could not be touched, and others could be touched or even worn. By following the route around, we learnt lots about Colchester (and indeed) Britain through the ages. There were two main themes to the exhibits, the first being Roman, were there were togas to try on (not as complicated to put on as they looked), Roman pottery to touch, the numerals to work out, rubbings to make and a fairly informative film (about Boudica) to watch. The highlight for my children in this section (and the whole museum) was how interactive it was. It didn’t take them long to work out that if there was a “green hand” they could touch, and they took full advantage of this fact.

The other main exhibit focussed on the Normans and Saxons, and again there was plenty to keep the children involved as they dressed in the costumes (a word of warning, the chain mail is VERY heavy) and discovered other exhibits to interactive with. As well as having fun, the children learnt a great deal about our countries history.

The exhibit that was my personal favourite was in the prison, where very clever use of lighting, silhouettes and recorded voice gave a glimpse into what it may have been like for the prisoners held there. Now this particular show did scare a couple of my children, who believed that it was ghosts, and I must admit that I jumped a couple of times. But it was informative and atmospheric and I did learn something from it.

All in all the actual museum needs to be congratulated, it took us a good couple of hours to take everything in, and we all enjoyed being able to get involved.

---Accessibility/Amenities---

Although the museum is set over two floors there are lifts as well as stairs, there is also plenty of room between exhibits to safely manoeuvre a wheelchair or large buggy. For those with sensory problems, there is perhaps not so much that they can touch as there could have been, but there is still something for everyone. There are easily accessible toilets that appeared to be in a clean condition, and there is also a meeting/eating area where you can sit and eat your packed lunch. Of course there is also a shop (located as you leave the museum) with gifts ranging from very reasonably priced small items that the children can buy with their pocket money (pencils badges, etc) to far more expensive gifts.

---Final Words---

My children and I definitely enjoyed our visit to Colchester Castle, from before we even entered the museum until we finally left a couple of hours later. There was enough variety in the exhibits that there was something that each of us could get involved in. The younger children enjoyed dressing up; creating rubbing of Roman Numerals and giggling at the fact some statues had no clothes on. And the older ones enjoyed learning more about our history and working out the Roman numeral system. We all enjoyed hunting for those exhibits that weren’t instantly obvious, such as a stone mason working on top of a Norman arch and even the slightly squeamish exhibits (such as a funeral pyre) were appreciated.

In conclusion I would say the actual castle was well worth the money we paid to visit, that we will be returning for another visit later in the year and we may even take the guided tour. So in answer to the question that’s on all of your lips, yes I am recommending that if you find yourself in Colchester with a few spare hours that you visit the Castle Museum and see how much fun you can have while you’re learning.

---Opening Hours---

Monday-Saturday 10am till 5pm
Sunday 11am till 5 pm
(last entry 4.30pm)

---Admission ---

Adults - £4.90
Children Aged 5-15 - £3.10
Under 5 - Free
Retired and Concessions - £3.10
Saver Ticket (2 adults and 2 concessions or 1 and 3) - £13
Special prices apply for groups of 20 or more

Guided Tour (After entry to museum)

Adults - £1.90
Children £1

*Prices Correct Until 31 March 2007

(There are occasional days when entry to actual museum is free)

Summary: Learn more about Colchester (and Britains) history