THE siege of Colchester in 1648 changed this town in so many ways, especially when it came to the damage and destruction inflicted upon the town’s buildings.

Every parish was affected in some way, with St. Botolphs faring the worst with 53 houses burned or destroyed, followed closely by St Mary's at the Walls which lost 51 houses. The parish of St Martin's lost five houses meanwhile St Peter’s survived with no houses burned or destroyed. The church did sustain some damage to the clerestory and to the roof on the south side.

Today, 368 years on from the siege, there are some buildings which still show the impact marks left by cannon fire and musket balls that impacted their stonework. The siege of Colchester was one of the major events of the English Civil War.

The marks on these buildings are hidden in plain sight and are a lasting reminder of the events which occurred there.

The Siege House, located at the bottom of East Hill, is probably the best known building relating to the siege. One morning early in July the Royalists came down East Hill making a surprise attack on the Parliamentary soldiers who were inside.

The musket ball marks which remain are circled in red.

St. Martins Church tower, already in a state of ruin by 1632, sustained further damage during the siege before finally being pulled down.

The entrance arch over the western door still shows the impact marks left by musket balls , some still surprisingly well preserved. The western arch at St. Botolph’s Priory also shows similar marks although most are now lost. The door on St. Leonards Church at the Hythe was also fired on by the Parliamentary forces making holes in the door through which they fired their muskets. The door still shows the scars of battle today and so does the surrounding stonework.

St. Mary’s by the Walls received a direct bombardment on the morning of July 14 when the Parliamentary forces opened fire on the Royalist cannon position located on top of the tower. Over sixty cannon balls were fired that morning destroying the tower along with much of the church’s Nav.

Cannon fire also affected St. Botolph’s Priory reducing the already ruined building to what now remains today, with the castle also sustaining damage to the top of the walls, whilst several other town centre churches were also damaged. The old Roman walls which had protected the town all this time, stood up well to this modern warfare.

Following the siege General Fairfax gave orders that some parts of the walls were to be demolished so that they couldn’t be used in a defensive way again. Given all the events of the three-month siege, we are lucky to have the buildings which do remain today.