View down Castle Street with the Cambridge Castle gate from Memorials of Cambridge by Le Keux (1845)1688 map
The hill is the site of the original settlement, north of the River Cam.[1] There is evidence of pre-Roman activity, but the Romans created a town called Duroliponte here. It was a convenient place to cross the river. At the time it was at the head of the navigable part of the river, then known as the River Granta. St Peter's Church, located halfway up the hill, has some pieces of Roman tile in its walls.
In the Anglo Saxon period, the hill was used for defence. In 1068, the Normans built Cambridge Castle on the hill. The castle is no longer extant; only the castle mound and some groundworks remain.
