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Balkerne Gate is a Roman gateway structure located in Colchester, Essex, forming part of the defences of the Roman settlement of Camulodunum. The monument dates to the late first century AD, constructed during the period following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, and represents one of the finest surviving examples of Roman military architecture in Britain. The gate features a double archway constructed in flint and stone with tile coursing, originally standing as part of a substantial defensive wall that protected the Roman town. Its survival is remarkable given the extensive Roman and later medieval modifications to Colchester's defences, and it remains an important testament to Roman engineering and the strategic importance of Camulodunum as a military and commercial centre in the early Roman province.
Balkerne Gate is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1002187. View the official record →
Balkerne Gate is a Roman gateway structure located in Colchester, Essex, forming part of the defences of the Roman settlement of Camulodunum. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1002187.
Balkerne Gate is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1002187.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Heath Farm Dyke Middle (rear of Alan Way): part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum of Camulodunum (2.8 km), Kidman's Dyke North and Middle: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum of Camulodunum (3.4 km), Gryme's Dyke at Stanway Green: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Balkerne Gate's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Balkerne Gate stands on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.