The Castle that was lasting consolation for loss of a title
Berkeley castle is owned by descendants of the family who started building it in the 12th century. Interestingly, towards the end of the 18th century, four sons were born to the 5th Earl of Berkeley and there was doubt over the legitimacy of the two older sons because of an early but disputed secret marriage and a later “official” one (to the same lady).
The law decided the two older sons were illegitimate and could not inherit the title. To compensate, the 5th Earl decreed that the firstborn should inherit the castle. Hence the present owner is Mr John Grantley Berkeley.
I tend to think of castles as massive and often falling down, but Berkeley seems compact and neat and rises impressively above the surrounding meadows to the south.
We were shown the domestic rooms – some in use until the 1950s – and the state apartments which surround the inner courtyard, together with the splendid 14th century Great Hall. This is now in use for weddings and wedding receptions. (I was glad to hear that there is central heating and double glazing, but I wonder how that got past the planners.)
The 12th century keep has the room where Edward II was murdered, his body later being removed to Gloucester Cathedral.
The Chantry, the house which Edward Jenner bought, lies near to the castle. The ground floor is given over to papers and other memorabilia of his life and particularly his pioneering work on the smallpox vaccine. Upstairs, there was interesting information relating to present knowledge on immunology.
Ruth Adams