England · 11th century
Berkeley Castle ( BARK-lee; historically sometimes spelled as Berkley Castle or Barkley Castle) is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England. The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it is a Grade I listed building.
The castle, traditionally believed to have been the scene of the murder of King Edward II in 1327, has remained in the possession of the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the 12th century, except for a period of royal ownership under the Tudors.
The Berkeley barony having separated from the earldom in 1882, the 8th and last Earl of Berkeley (1865–1942) bequeathed the ancestral seat to his 13th cousin, Captain Robert Berkeley, of Spetchley Park in Worcestershire (1898–1969), whose grandson, Charles Berkeley (born 1968), High Sheriff of Gloucestershire for 2019/20, inherited the castle and estate from his father, Major John Berkeley (1931–2017).
Since 1956, Berkeley Castle has been open to visitors (for a fee) and remains open from April to November (in 2023) on certain days of the week. The property has also been available for rent for private events.
Text adapted from “Berkeley Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Berkeley Castle ranks #724 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #51 of the 360 mapped in England. Founded 1067, it is older than 88% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 436 atlas entries founded in the 11th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 13,141 times in the last 60 days, more than 95% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Bristol, 28 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.
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