Berkeley Castle

Over het museum

Berkeley Castle began as a motte-and-bailey castle built shortly after the Norman Conquest, around 1067, and was later rebuilt in stone by the Berkeley family as one of the March castles that guarded the border against the Welsh. After the last Roger de Berkeley lost his lands for backing the wrong side in the civil war known as the Anarchy, the barony passed in 1152 to Robert Fitzharding, a Bristol merchant. Under a charter of Henry II he built the circular shell keep, and the curtain wall followed in the later 12th century. The castle is regarded as the oldest building in the country still lived in by the family that built it.

The castle is best known for events in 1327, when the deposed Edward II was held there from April to September and, according to historical sources, was murdered on 21 September. In the 14th century Thomas de Berkeley added Thorpe's Tower and the inner gatehouse. Parliamentary forces took the castle after a short siege in 1645 and breached its walls, but it stayed in the Berkeley family.

The castle opened to visitors in 1956. Today visitors see the keep and battlements, the Great Hall and Armoury, and furnished rooms with tapestries, paintings, ceramics and silver. Objects include Francis Drake's cabin chest, Queen Elizabeth I's bedspread and a banner carried by the 4th Earl of Berkeley at the Battle of Culloden. The castle's archives, which hold around 25,000 documents from 1154 onwards, are still kept on site, and there are gardens and a Kitchen Garden within the estate.

Hoogtepunten

• Norman shell keep and battlements with defensive features
• Great Hall and Armoury
• Furnished rooms with tapestries, paintings and silver
• Francis Drake's cabin chest and Elizabeth I's bedspread
• Banner carried at the Battle of Culloden
• Castle archives dating from 1154

Vaste collectie

• Castle rooms and collection – The Great Hall, Armoury and furnished rooms, with tapestries, paintings, ceramics, silver and objects such as Francis Drake's cabin chest.
• Keep, battlements and defences – The Norman keep and outer battlements, with arrow slits, murder holes, portcullis slots and a view down to the Great Lawn.

Opgericht

1956

Beheerder

Berkeley family (private ownership)

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Prices are for the castle and gardens in 2026. Visitors who pay with Gift Aid receive a one-year pass for free return visits, which is not valid on 3 and 4 May and 30 and 31 August 2026. The castle takes card payments only.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

Entry to the castle is up the uneven Keep Steps, which have a handrail, and inside there are steep stone steps and several flights of stairs. A ramp gives access to the Armoury and the Great Hall, but the first-floor rooms cannot be reached by wheelchair and mobility scooters cannot enter the castle. Parts of the gardens are suitable for wheelchairs, while the steep terraces are partly reached only by steps. Both toilet blocks have an accessible toilet, and the free visitor car park has designated spaces near the main entrance. Seats are provided in the castle and benches in the grounds. Only assistance dogs are allowed in the castle and grounds.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Verschoonruimte
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

Children under 3 enter free and there is a family ticket. The On the Lookout trail leads through the castle and grounds with history stories and interactive signs, children can dress up as medieval or Georgian characters, and there is a woodland play area with a castle-themed slide. School-holiday events can include tournaments and jousting. Baby changing is in the accessible toilets, and pram parking is at the castle entrance.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

Service & horeca

• Restaurant

A restaurant is listed in the Kitchen Garden, where the ticket office is. There are two toilet blocks, one in the Kitchen Garden and one near the Education Centre. The castle sells a guidebook and has an online shop.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Privéfeesten
• Bruiloften / trouwceremonies

The castle can be hired for private events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and is a wedding venue; wedding enquiries go to weddings@berkeley-castle.com.

Je bezoek plannen