Often
called the most glamorous and aristocratic of English castles,
Berkeley Castle is near the town of Berkeley midway between
Bristol and Gloucester. The ownership of Berkeley manor
moved from Earl Godwin, father of King Harold to Francis
Fitz-Osborne around the time of William the Conqueror's
invasion of England in 1066. The manor was a western outpost
of the new kingdom. The Domesday Book records that the first
tenant who held the land in 1086, as Roger de Berkeley.
The
oldest part of the castle is the Norman Keep. It is exceptional
in that it surrounds instead of being placed on top of the
motte. The castle has a dry encircling ditch that can be
flooded by the River Severn. At the command of King Henry
Il, in 1153, Lord Maurice Berkeley completed his fortress
maintaining it as the family home ever since...
|