BERKELEY CASTLE - GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Weddings, Murders, and the English Crown
I was recently watching an episode of one of those period British murder mystery detective shows where there was a wedding scene which I recognized as Berkeley Castle. They do a lot of weddings at Berkeley Castle, and film more than their share of TV shows and movies. When I stopped for a visit, the kitchens of the castle were being fitted out for a medieval scene to be filmed there. It makes sense, as Berkeley castle in Gloucester has one of the longest continuing family histories of privately held castles. The Berkeley family has resided within the walls for 850 years, since ancestor Robert Fitzharding built a Round Keep in 1150. Fitzharding was granted the feudal barony of Berkeley by Henry II Plantagenet while he was still the Duke of Aquitaine. Fitzharding was not a knight or noble like many of the barons who built castles, but the son of the Anglo-Saxon magistrate of Bristol, made wealthy from the port city's commerce, who financed Henry’s advance to the throne of England and the beginning of the Plantagenet dynasty (see Arundel Castle).
Berkeley Castle would continue to play a part in English history for the next nine centuries. On lands bordering the Severn River which divided England and Wales, it served as one of the March Castles, fortresses which formed a defense against the Welsh on the western border. The castle is best known for its part in the story of the unfortunate Plantagenet king, Edward II. Edward’s queen Isabella, the daughter of the King of France, raised an army with her lover, another March Baron, Roger Mortimer, in a plot to wrest control of the English Crown and placed her son as Edward III on the throne. Isabella at first was beloved by the English as a great beautiful spurned queen, but when she and her paramour proved as greedy as her husband’s favorites, gained the nickname the “Shewolf of France”.
Edward II Cell
It was at Berkeley Castle where the second Edward, called Edward of Caernarvon, in an effort to placate the Welsh who his father Longshanks promised a prince born in Wales, was imprisoned in an “Oubliette”, a pit dungeon where rotten carrion was dumped and when the rotting flesh was not enough to make him ill, he was murdered by a red hot poker being thrust through a horn into his bowels so as not to leave a mark. The Edward II Cell is still there and on the tour, though the furnishings would suggest a less gruesome stay than the legendary story. Edward II’s body was eventually moved to Gloucester Cathedral where his effigy formed a shrine erected by his son (see Gloucester Cathedral Edward II). The son also took his vengeance on Roger Mortimer, arresting his mother and the baron who very nearly took the crown at the Nottingham Parliament of 1325, convicting him of treason, resulting in a head on London Bridge (see Traitor’s Gate and Mortimer’s Hole).
War of the Roses
Berkeley Castle would also play a part in the War of the Roses. The Lancastrian Henry of Bolingbroke the first Tudor (Tewdwr), born in Wales where his mother had sought refuge at Pembroke Castle (see Pembroke Castle William Marshal and Henry Tudor) would contest the Crown against the Yorkist, Richard of Gloucester who had murdered his way to the throne as Richard III. It was at Berkeley on the English side of the Severn where Henry would gather his army after landing from Brittany to march north against Richard at the fateful meeting at Bosworth Field, where the English throne would pass to the Tudors and Henry VII'’s son Henry VIII and then to Elizabeth I. The first Queen Elizabeth liked the castle so much, she nearly bankrupted the estate by a long royal visit with her entire court, causing the Berkeleys to have to sell off land to pay for the royal favor. The queen left behind a bedspread quilt in return. It is still on display.
In the last private battle for heritage lands between feudal lords in England in 1470, two branches of a family met on the field of battle on Nibley Green about 4 miles from the castle, Thomas Talbot of Lisle, a cousin of William Berkeley, the 2nd Baron of Berkeley, then in possession, met to contest a long simmering dispute over the inheritance of the Berkeley lands. It was a classic gauntlet challenge to meet on the field. William Berkeley gathered superior numbers from Bristol and won the fight. Talbot died on the field, wiping out the English Talbots of Lisle, a family whose line in Ireland nearly escaped being wiped out by bad battle fortune in the wars of William of Orange (see Malahide Castle Dublin). And yes, the city in California is named for one of the family decedents, George Berkeley, a Bishop and Philosopher from Ireland in the 18th Century.
The castle has served as the family home for centuries with a number of re-constructions as a manor house castle. The great lawn and the surrounding lowland plain could be flooded in times past for protection, but is now the picturesque site for weddings with a medieval flair. The castle’s defensive walls and structures were destroyed by Cromwell after the English civil war; with the original round keep still showing the damage, but the living quarters allowed to remain. A tour of the castle encompasses many of the drawing rooms and spaces of a great English family manor, from the Great Hall and Tower to the Kitchens and Larder (when they aren’t being used for a movie). The castle is filled with portraits of the various Berkeleys.
Visiting Berkeley Castle
The castle is located in the little village of Berkeley about half way between the cities of Gloucester and Bristol, and about 40 minutes from Bath. The castle is open from 11am to 5pm, with last admission an hour before closing. The open days may be subject to special activities. The last guided tours are at 3:30. Guided tours are included in the admission price. Admission to the Castle, Grounds and the Butterfly House is £10 for Adults, £8.50 Student and Seniors (60+), £5.50 for Juniors (3-16), with a Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 children) for £28.00. A number of special theme events and activity days are held at the castle throughout the season, some with extra admissions, check the website for schedules. © Bargain Travel EuropeFind
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SEE ALSO:
BRUNEL'S SS GREAT BRITAIN SHIP - BRISTOL
STONEHENGE - NEOLITHIC MYSTERY OF WILTSHIRE
BEAULIEU NATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM
THE NEW INN & LADY JANE GREY - GLOUCESTER
