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The article offers archaeological information on the establishment of the inner structures of the Colchester Castle in Essex, England in the 13th and 14th centuries. A 1977 excavation in the castle showed that the reconstruction of the north and west walls of the chapel in the castle was done in the 13th century. The Period VIIA hall walls and building were also believed to have been extended westward during the 13th century. The author revealed that considerable efforts were launched to strengthen the castle in 1214 and 1215. Excavations in the castle also revealed that minor repairs to the buildings and bailey earthworks within the castle were continuously done between the 13th and 14 centuries.

The article describes the forebuildings and barbican in the Colchester Castle in Essex, England. The architectural history of the castle is divided into three periods. During Period VIIA, a rubble wall with an outer face lined with the vertical foundation of the gateway was identified. The nature of this foundation is said to depict the intention to support light timber superstructure. The contemporary ground level was marked by a second structure found in Period VIIB, which is described with tile-built wall faces. During the VIIIB period, the addition of large forebuilding or barbican strengthened the entrance of the castle, which in turn replaced the VIIB structure.

The building history of Colchester Castle is reconsidered in the light of previously unpublished evidence from excavations, 1931 to 1977. The Norman castle is seen as a development from a late Saxon villa regalis, constructed in two phases, the first beginning c. 1074 x 1076 (by the crown) arid the second c. 1101 (by Eudo Dapifer). It was strengthened in the mid-thirteenth century and maintained into the early fourteenth but thereafter declined, its main function being as a prison. The upper storey of the keep and the southern bailey defences were demolished late in the seventeenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the structural techniques observed in the late Saxon painted wall plaster found in the Colchester Castle in Essex, England. The wall plaster found in the castle is described as very sandy and utilizes rounded pebbles, unburnt limestones and shell fragments. Angles reveal that the plaster is filled with panels between square studs. It can also be observed that the presence of various abuttals in the plaster suggests that they are abuttals to door frames. The plaster is also said to be composed of wattles that were woven between horizontal spars.

The article offers information on the altar tomb of the first Lord Sir John Mordaunt, which was visited by the delegates to the Summer Meeting of the Royal Archaeological Institute at Bedford in England on July 12, 1982. From the west side of the altar tomb to the common east wall of the chancel and south aisle, the south chancel wall was removed. A broad, plain, slightly pointed arch span the space while three female figures on pedestals surmounted the pediment on the north side. The doric entablature of the lower order on the adjoining faces being carried across, supported on two scrolled brackets, is at the lower part of the monument.

The article offers information on the keep foundation of a section in the Colchester Castle in Essex, England. The nature of the foundation section was established in 1932 by sinking a shaft against the south face of the keep. The keep foundation is said to be compiled from notes and draft drawings in the museum files. It was extended c. 3.65 meters below the bottom of the plinth, the lowest part of which contains a mixture of stone and mortar. The foundations's upper part was filled with soil layers containing stones, tile and sandy soil.