Berkeley Castle is in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, Castles in Gloucestershire.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1121. And the king [aged 53] was at Easter at Berkley [Map]; and after that at Pentecost he held a full court at Westminster; and afterwards in the summer went with an army into Wales. And the Welsh came against him; and after the king's will they accorded with him.
On 29th September 1131 Roger II de Berkeley [aged 62] died at Berkeley Castle [Map].
Around 1170 Thomas Berkeley 4th Baron Berkeley was born to Maurice Fitzharding aka Berkeley 2nd Baron Berkeley [aged 50] and Alice Berkeley Baroness Berkeley [aged 35] at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He married before 1218 Joan Somery Baroness Berkeley, daughter of Ralph Somery 1st Baron Dudley and Margaret Gras Baroness Dudley, and had issue.
On 16th June 1190 Maurice Fitzharding aka Berkeley 2nd Baron Berkeley [aged 70] died at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He was buried at Berkeley Castle [Map]. His son Robert [aged 25] succeeded 3rd Baron Berkeley Feudal.
In 1218 Maurice Berkeley 5th Baron Berkeley was born to Thomas Berkeley 4th Baron Berkeley [aged 48] and Joan Somery Baroness Berkeley [aged 23] at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He married 1247 Isabella Plantagenet Baroness Berkeley and had issue.
On 29th November 1243 Thomas Berkeley 4th Baron Berkeley [aged 73] died at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He was buried at St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol [Map]. His son Maurice [aged 25] succeeded 5th Baron Berkeley Feudal. Isabella Plantagenet Baroness Berkeley by marriage Baroness Berkeley Feudal.
On 23rd July 1245 Thomas Berkeley 6th and 1st Baron Berkeley was born to Maurice Berkeley 5th Baron Berkeley [aged 27] and Isabella Plantagenet Baroness Berkeley at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He a great grandson of King John of England. He married in or before 1268 his half fifth cousin Joan Ferrers Baroness Berkeley, daughter of William Ferrers 5th Earl of Derby and Margaret Quincy Countess Derby, and had issue.
Around 1268 Alice Berkeley was born to Thomas Berkeley 6th and 1st Baron Berkeley [aged 22] and Joan Ferrers Baroness Berkeley at Berkeley Castle [Map]. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King John of England. She married Ralph Stourton and had issue.
In April 1271 Maurice Berkeley 7th and 2nd Baron Berkeley was born to Thomas Berkeley 6th and 1st Baron Berkeley [aged 25] and Joan Ferrers Baroness Berkeley at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He a great x 2 grandson of King John of England. He married 1. 1289 his fourth cousin once removed Eva Zouche and had issue 2. 1316 his third cousin once removed Isabella Clare Baroness Berkeley, daughter of Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford and Alice or Alix Lusignan Countess Gloucester and Hertford.
In 1320 Maurice Berkeley 9th and 4th Baron Berkeley was born to Thomas Berkeley 8th and 3rd Baron Berkeley [aged 24] and Margaret Mortimer Baroness Berkeley [aged 16] at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He a great x 4 grandson of King John of England. He married August 1338 his half third cousin once removed Elizabeth Despencer Baroness Berkeley, daughter of Hugh "Younger" Despencer 1st Baron Despencer and Eleanor Clare Baroness Zouche Mortimer, and had issue.
On 16th November 1326 King Edward II of England [aged 42] was captured at Pant y Brâd, Llantrisant. He was imprisoned at Llantrisant Castle, Glamorganshire [Map]. Thereafter he was taken to Kenilworth Castle [Map], then Berkeley Castle [Map]. With him at the time of his capture were Hugh "Younger" Despencer 1st Baron Despencer [aged 40], Robert Holden, controller of his wardrobe; Robert Baldock, chancellor of England; two knights, one sergeant-at-arms, one valet and one clerk.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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The Life of Edward II, King of England, by Thomas de la Moore. At last they arrived at Berkeley Castle [Map], where the noble Edward was confined like an anchorite, practising the virtue of patience. There, like the blessed Job, deprived of authority, honour, and worldly advantage, not by foreigners but by his wife, servants, and maidservants, he awaited an eternal kingdom in place of an earthly one. Meanwhile, his wife Isabella, unable to endure patiently that the life of the husband whom she hated so greatly should be prolonged, complained to her master, the Bishop of Hereford. She pretended that she had suffered terrible dreams, ominous in their meaning, and said that she feared her husband might be restored to his former dignity and condemn her as a traitor, either to the flames or to perpetual servitude. The bishop, conscious of his own treason against the royal majesty, feared the same outcome. No less intense was the fear of others for the same reason, those whom the devil had bound together in conspiracy against the Lord and His anointed. It therefore pleased many persons of high rank, of both sexes, both ecclesiastical and secular, that the cause of so great a fear should be laid to rest together with Edward. Each person desired his death in proportion to the fear they had of him. Letters of rebuke were therefore sent to Edward's guards. They falsely accused them of guarding him less strictly than they ought and of treating him with excessive comfort. They were also informed, though only indirectly, that Edward's death, whether natural or violent, would be equally acceptable. At this point there came into play a sophistical ambiguity devised by the bishop, who wrote: 'Do not fear to kill Edward, it is good.' They interpreted this in its wicked sense. The cunning sophist knew that the executors of the cruel command would not dare to kill Edward without his written consent, lest they should one day be accused of having acted without the approval of the chief men of the kingdom. The bishop therefore devised his message carefully. Being resolved upon Edward's death, he protected himself against any future accusation of complicity by framing the authority of his command so that, according to its interpretation and punctuation, it might appear to express the opposite intention. Read in one way, it encouraged fools to kill an innocent man, but under another meaning it made the bishop appear innocent of so great a crime. What had been intended duly came to pass. Edward's killers, believing that they had thereby secured the friendship of Isabella and of the bishop, that deceitful sophist, instead found both Isabella and the bishop demanding the return of the human pledge entrusted to them, namely Lord Edward, and threatening the traitors with their proper reward, namely a most shameful death for their crimes. The bewildered fools did not know what to do, except to produce as evidence of the conspirators' consent the letter bearing the seals of Isabella, the bishop, and the others. The bishop did not deny the letter or refuse to acknowledge it as his own, but interpreted it in an innocent sense, claiming that it was filled with loyalty. At the same time, he continued to assail them with terrible threats, intending to force them into flight as false interpreters of his words. When Edward was brought to the castle, Thomas Berkeley, lord of the estate, received and treated him humanely and kindly. After the letter arrived, however, the tormentors exercised the authority entrusted to them over the custody of the castle. They immediately ordered Thomas Berkeley to have no familiar dealings with Edward. Berkeley, grieved and ashamed that he had been forbidden to do what he wished and what any Christian was entitled to do, finally took leave of Lord Edward with sighs and withdrew to his other estates.
Tandem advenerunt ad castrum Barkley, ubi patientiæ exercens virtutem reclusus, ut anchorita, nobilis Edwardus, ubi cum beato Job, regno spirituali nondum per alienigenas, sed per uxorem, servos et ancillas, honorum et utilitatis dominio privatus, expectavit regnum æternum pro terreno. Uxor interim Isabella impatienter ferens, quod vita mariti, quem nimium oderat, tamdiu produceretur, conqueritur magistro suo Herefordensi, fingens sibi somnia pessima interpretatu, unde dixit se timere, ne vir, dignitati pristinæ restitutus, ipsam tanquam proditricem igni aut servituti perpetuæ damnaret. Episcopus igitur, lesæ majestatis sibi conscius, timuit hoc idem. Aliorum non minus ob eandem causam intendebatur metus, quos adversus Dominum et christum ejus diabolus confæœderavit. Placuit igitur non paucis utriusque sexus magnæ dignitatis, tam ecclesiasticæ quam sæcularis, quod causa tanti metus foret cum Edwardo consopita; quem ut quisque metuebat, perire concupivit. Mittuntur igitur litteræ increpatoriæ custodibus Edwardi; calumniant fallacissime, quod remissius quam deberent ipsum custodirent, et nimis delicate confoverent. Intimatur etiam eisdem, sed semiplene, quod interitus Edwardi aut naturalis aut violenta indifferenter complaceret. Hic vigebat sophistarum fallacia accensa per episcopum, qui scripsit: "Edwardum occidere nolite timere bonum est!" Quod illi in perversam partem interpretati sunt. Sciens autem callidus sophista, quod sine suo inscripto consensu non audebant executores crudelis mandati eum occidere, ne sine consensu majorum de regno aliquando forent accusati, hoc fecit episcopus, quia in necem Edwardi determinatus, et provide sibi ipsi forsitan accusando de consensu providit cautelogse, ut eadem auctoritas sui mandati affectionem contrariam expressura, uno modo exposita et accentuata Ÿ animaret stultos in mortem innocentis, sed sub alio sensu facinoris tanti ipsum immunem faceret putari. Quod. ut fuit cogitatum, contigit. Denique Edwardi interfectores putantes proinde amicitiam Isabellæ et episcopi sophistici deceptoris erga se fuisse confirmatam, invenerunt illam et episcopum ferventes! exactores pignoris hominis traditi, scilicet domini Edwardi, et stipendium proditorum, scilicet mortem vilissimam pro demeritis ipsis comminantes. Unde stulti confasi quid facerent ignoraverunt, nisi quod epistolam, Isabellæ et episcopi alioramque conspiratorum sigillis munitam, in testimonium de ipsorum consensu cis ostenderent. Epistolam episcopus non recusavit, sed suam esse alicui confitebatur, sed interpretabatur illam ad sensum innocentiæ, et fidelitate imprægnatam, sed ipsos tanquam falsos suarum litterarum expositores minis terribilibus in fugam coacturis affiigere non cessavit. Ad castrum ductus Edwardus per dominum feodi Thomam Berkley fuit humaniter et benigne receptus et tractatus, sed post receptionem epistolæ, exercuerunt tortores commissam potestatem de tutela castri. Jubent protinus Thomam de Berkley nullam cum Edwardo habere familiaritatem. Qui non solum pœnitens, sed verecundus, quod sibi fait denegatum facere quod vellet et Christiano de jure liceret, domino Edwardo finaliter et suspiriis salutato, ad alia sua loca transmigravit.
On 21st September 1327 King Edward II of England [aged 43] was murdered at Berkeley Castle [Map]. There is speculation as to the manner of his death, and as to whether he died at all. Some believe he may have lived the rest of his life in Europe - see Publications de la Société Archéologique de Montpellier 1877: Fieschi Letter.
On 5th January 1352 Thomas Berkeley 10th and 5th Baron Berkeley, Baron Lisle was born to Maurice Berkeley 9th and 4th Baron Berkeley [aged 32] and Elizabeth Despencer Baroness Berkeley [aged 27] at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward I of England. He married before 1386 his fourth cousin once removed Margaret Lisle Baroness Berkeley 3rd Baroness Lisle, daughter of Warin Lisle 2nd Baron Lisle and Margaret Pipard Baroness Lisle, and had issue.
On 27th October 1361 Thomas Berkeley 8th and 3rd Baron Berkeley [aged 65] died at Berkeley Castle [Map]. His son Maurice [aged 41] succeeded 9th Baron Berkeley Feudal, 4th Baron Berkeley.
In 1394 James Berkeley 11th and 1st Baron Berkeley was born to James Berkeley [aged 39] and Elizabeth Bluet at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward I of England. He married 1. 9th April 1410 Unamed St John 2. 1415 Daughter Stafford Baroness Berkeley 3. 1424 his half third cousin once removed Isabel Mowbray Baroness Berkeley, daughter of Thomas Mowbray 1st Duke of Norfolk and Elizabeth Fitzalan Duchess Norfolk, and had issue 4. before 25th July 1457 his fourth cousin once removed Joan Talbot Baroness Berkeley, daughter of John "Old Talbot" Talbot 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Maud Neville 6th Baroness Furnivall.
In 1426 William Berkeley 1st Marquess Berkeley was born to James Berkeley 11th and 1st Baron Berkeley [aged 32] and Isabel Mowbray Baroness Berkeley [aged 30] at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. He married 1. 1466 his third cousin Elizabeth West 3rd Baroness Berkeley, daughter of Reginald West 6th Baron De La Warr 3rd Baron West and Margaret Thorley Baroness De La Warr Baroness West 2. November 1468 his fifth cousin Joan Strangeways 3rd Viscountess Berkeley, daughter of Thomas Strangeways and Katherine Neville Duchess Norfolk 3. 1486 his third cousin twice removed Anne Fiennes Marchioness Berkeley.
In 1435 Maurice Berkeley 3rd Baron Berkeley was born to James Berkeley 11th and 1st Baron Berkeley [aged 41] and Isabel Mowbray Baroness Berkeley [aged 39] at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. He married before 1467 Isabel Meade 3rd Baroness Berkeley and had issue.
In 1452 John Talbot 1st Viscount Lisle [aged 26] stormed and took James Berkeley 11th and 1st Baron Berkeley [aged 58] and his sons prisoner at Berkeley Castle [Map].
On 22nd October 1463 James Berkeley 11th and 1st Baron Berkeley [aged 69] died at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He was buried at St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol [Map]. His son William [aged 37] succeeded 12th Baron Berkeley Feudal, 2nd Baron Berkeley.
On 20th March 1470 the army of William Berkeley 1st Marquess Berkeley [aged 44] including Maurice Berkeley 3rd Baron Berkeley [aged 35] defeated the army of Thomas Talbot 2nd Viscount Lisle [aged 21] at Nibley Green, Berkeley.
Thomas Talbot 2nd Viscount Lisle was killed. Viscount Lisle extinct. Baron Lisle abeyant.
Ostensibly a battle of the Wars of the Roses it may also be considered a settling of the dispute over the ownership of Berkeley Castle [Map] which has passed with the Baron Berkeley Feudal to William Berkeley 1st Marquess Berkeley rather than with Baron Berkeley which was abeyant, and of which Thomas Talbot 2nd Viscount Lisle was a potential heir. Thomas Talbot 2nd Viscount Lisle was born to John Talbot 1st Viscount Lisle whose mother was Margaret Beauchamp Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford whose mother was Elizabeth Berkeley Countess Warwick who was a daughter of Thomas Berkeley 10th and 5th Baron Berkeley, Baron Lisle.
In 1487 William Berkeley 1st Marquess Berkeley [aged 61] settled the Berkeley Castle [Map] and Hhonour of Berkeley, the Barony of Bedford, the Barony of Gower, and the greater part of his manors and lands in England, Wales and Ireland, on himself in tail general, with remainder to the King in tail male failing which to his own right heirs effectively disinheriting his brothers and their descendants.
In September 1506 Maurice Berkeley 3rd Baron Berkeley [aged 71] died at Berkeley Castle [Map]. He was buried at St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol [Map]. His son Maurice [aged 39] succeeded 4th Baron Berkeley.
Around 1511 Mary Berkeley was born to James Berkeley of Thornbury [aged 38] and Susan Fitzalan at Berkeley Castle [Map]. She married before September 1531 Thomas Perrot and had issue.
In 1544 Maurice Berkeley [aged 38] was appointed Constable of Berkeley Castle.
Adeline Horsey Recollections. From Cowes we went to stay with the Ailesburys at Savernake, and then to Badminton, where the Beauforts had a large family party. The church was attached to the house, and one actually walked out of the library into the Parish Church, where the roomy Beaufort pew was well warmed by a fire. I remember going with the Duchess, my mother [aged 42], and Lord Cantelupe [aged 27] to see Berkeley Castle [Map], a most interesting but very uncomfortable draughty old place. I afterwards heard that Colonel Berkeley [aged 55], whose name figured in certain scandals of the Regency, had spent much of his time there with the numerous frail ladies who found him irresistible.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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On 10th October 1857 Colonel William Berkeley 1st Earl Fitzhardinge [aged 70] died at Berkeley Castle [Map]. Earl Fitzhardinge and Baron Segrave extinct.
On 15th January 1942 Randal Mowbray Thomas Berkeley 8th Earl of Berkeley [aged 76] died without issue. Earl Berkeley and Viscount Dursley extinct. Berkeley Castle [Map] was inherited by his 13th cousin Robert George Wilmot Berkeley [aged 43].
On 2nd November 2017 Major Robert Berkeley [aged 86] died. Robert Berkeley [aged 49] inherited Berkeley Castle [Map].