Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire has been the home of the Berkeley family for 850 years.  As such it is a place which has been touched by history many times over the centuries.

Shakespeare himself refers to this very castle in his play Richard II.  But perhaps most famous of all is the fact that Berkeley Castle was the last place of residence of King Edward II, who was kept as a prisoner in the castle and murdered within its walls.

When touring through the castle the first room you enter is The King's Gallery where there are many large portraits of various members of the royal family of past centuries.

You can also see down into the dungeon from this room and look into the very cell where Edward II was finally murdered.  It does not look as dreary and foreboding as you would imagine, but nevertheless it was not lavish as a king would expect to have and its close proximity to the dungeon would certainly have made it a much more horrendous abode.

The next rooms on the tour are Drake's Room and the Tower Room.  Drake's Room being named after Sir Francis Drake.

The Tower Room contains a collection of mid-17th century furniture which is believed to have belonged to Sir Francis Drake himself.

The spacious picture gallery follows where there are both portraits and numerous landscapes and seascapes adorning the walls.

Some of the paintings are closely related to the family history.  There are pictures of the Castle and surrouding grounds and another is of a ship on which Lord Berkeley died in the 17th century.  A portrait of this man is also on display in the room.

The Dining Room again offers many portraits on display as well as a large late 18th century dining table and furniture.  This room was previously a billiard room.

The Game Larder, Buttery and Kitchen which date from the 14th century are next on the tour.  The sinks here are of solid lead and the Tudor timbered roof has survived to the present day.

The China Room is off of these rooms and displays numberous items of fine china, just as the name suggests.

In the Housekeeper's Room is the famous Godwin Cup which is said to have belonged to Earl Godwin, father of King Harold.

The Great Hall is as its name suggests the highlight of the tour.  There are more portraits and paintings and the stained glass windows depicting the history of Berkeley.

The Grand Stairs, the staircase of which dates from 1637, lead from the Great Hall and along these are more historical portraits and examples of late 16th century embroidery, formerly part of the hangings of a bed-chamber in the Castle.

The Morning Room with its timber roof showing verses from John Trevisa's translation of the Revelation of St John the Divine is one of the rooms open on the upper floors.

The Beautiful Long Drawing Room and the following Small Drawing Room are the final rooms open on the upper floors of the castle.  With well preserved furniture and tapestries adorning the walls these rooms are a stark contrast to the first rooms of the tour.  The Small Drawing Room is used as an evening room by the family.

After leaving the upper floor the last room of the tour is The Beer Cellar.  During the 19th and early 20th centuries, beer was brewed on the premises.  However this has now been converted to the outside tearoom.

Also on the tour you can view the breach in the wall that Cromwell made during the English Civil War. To this day the family are not allowed to repair it - even should they want to.

This castle has a lot of history behind it and my only disappointment was that there was no book on sale covering a detailed history of the house, as there are at many other properties.  Perhaps we can but hope that the family has one in the works and it is merely not available yet because of all the 850 years it has to cover.

Also as a point of  local interest - once you have visited the castle you are only a few minutes walk away from the Edward Jenner Museum.  This is a very informative and interesting look at the life and work of this man who was responsible for finding a way to completely wipe out smallpox.  You can even see the hut where he used to treat those who came to him for free on certain days of the week.