Balkerne Gate

A fascinating survival of Roman Colchester, and as in the photo, close to the Victorian Jumbo Water tower and the modern Mercury Theatre. Three ages of Colchester in one.

The Balkerne Gate was built by the Romans & marked the main Western entrance into Colchester. In their time it would have been sentried & a checkpoint regarded with some importance, considering that the town was their capital. It's location today does suffer somewhat from the vicinity of the main road & surrounding buildings. Just try to remember that the red-brick gateway is actually the best part of 2 millennia old...

Balkerne Gate is the largest Roman gateway (into the old Roman town) remaining in England, which was believed to be built in 49 AD to commemorate the foundation of Roman province in Colchester. This gateway along with the long stretch of Roman walls were built also to strengthen the defence against attacks, especially from the Saxons. We can see only the remains of this historic monument, which was destroyed during different periods including the siege of Colchester. It is located near to the Mercury Theatre and the Jumbo Water Tower in Colchester Town Centre. This location is quite picturesque as well.

Not much left of a Roman gateway that played such an importantpart/role of this Countries history, it still looks well kept even though only ruins remain & is next to a lovely looking pub very aptly named hole in the wall.

When in Colchester be sure to visit the Roman, Balkerne Gate". Here you can visit

Barkerne Gate - the largest Roman gateway in Britain.The Romans built the monumental arch here in AD 49 to mark the foundation of Roman in Colchester.In AD 60 Boudica and the followers burnt Colchester to the ground. Following the disaster, the Romans enclosed the the town with the stone wall to protect it from further attacks. The monumental arch was incorporated into the new west gate, which gave access to the main road to London.Around 200 years later, the town defences were straightened against the threat of Saxon raids.During the Middle ages, the wall gradually ceased to be used for defence, although it was repaired at various times.After the seige of Colchester in 1648, sections of the wall were pulled down and others were built over. A house, now the Hall in the wall" pub

Roman gateway complete arch still in sort of use worth the effort to see

This is the remains of a Roman gateway that was part of the walls that surrounded Colchester.

A not particularly well preserved gate in the Roman Wall of the city. Worth a visit if in the area, but not for a specific trip. The bonus is the pub built on part of the original gate.