Berkeley Castle
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Berkeley is more of a stately home than a castle. It is still owned and occupied by the same family that has lived in it for over 850 years. Hence the castle combines the comfortable feel of a home with medieval history. Berkeley is truely living history.
The shell keep is Norman and was built about 1156, though remodelled in the 14 th century. Other buildings for accommodation are all set against the circuit of walls, which surround the small bailey. The motte is thought to have been constructed by William Fitzosbern who was a leading Norman commander at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Following permission given in 1117 by Henry II for Berkeley to be rebuilt in stone, the motte was supported by stonework and the shell keep was constructed on top of it.
What has especially secured Berkeley Castle's place in history is the terrible act that it played host to in 1327. In one of the towers of the keep there is a room in which Edward II was imprisoned by his wife Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer. Disliked by a powerful group of barons, perhaps because Edward was suppposedly homosexual, his wife, together with the barons, first attempted to stave him to death. When this failed to bring about his death, dead animals were thrown into a pit in his room in the hope that the stench would kill him in his weak state. When this did not work, Isabella lost patience with Edward's survival instincts and had the King murdered by having him impaed upon a red-hot poker.
Teh castle was extensively remodelled between 1340 and 1350. Within the inner courtyard stands the Great Hall, the most lavish of all the rooms, which has survived almost intact since its construction in 1340. The wooden-beamed roof is for the most part original, though alterations were made in 1497, and the wooden screen across the end of the hall dates from the 1500's. The stained glass windows belong to the modern era, however. Much of the rest of the castle interior offers a variety of detail surviving from different ages. A portrait of Nell Gwynne peers down from above the Grand Stairs, dating from 1637.
The impact of historical events can still be seen on the exterior of the castle. During the British Civil Wars of 1642-9 between Parliament and the Crown, Berkeley was attacked by Parliamentarians, who captured it after a bitter siege which lasted for three days. The major physical damage sustained by the siege was a 35ft breach in the west wall, which is still forbidden by law to be repaired. Thus, most of the castle, including the gaping chasm, remains virtually unchanged to this day.
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