The infobox credits William I, while the body credits Eudo Dapifer, based on the Colchester Chronicle, which gives 1076 as the start, and on a 1101 charter. The article calls the Chronicle somewhat unreliable. The keep was built to first-floor height first, with a first floor and staircases probably added after about 1100. It is a Norman stone keep of coursed rubble, septaria and reused Roman brick, with Barnack stone dressings. It sits on the podium of the Roman Temple of Claudius, and a large apse projects from the south-east corner.
The keep measures 152 by 112 feet (46 by 34 m), which the source calls the largest area of any medieval tower in Britain or Europe. A French garrison negotiated safe passage in 1216. A licensed demolition was attempted in 1683.
The borough owns it, and it has housed Colchester Museum since 1860. It is a scheduled monument and Grade I listed.
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