Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle- Image Source
The same family has inhabited the amazing Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire for 900 years!
The castle was built in the 12th century to keep out the Welsh, it has arrow slits, murder holes and barred doors- all the trappings of a castle built for war.
Berkeley has played host to many key events in history: it was the scene of Edward II’s imprisonment and murder in 1327; the gathering place of the Barons of the West before they set out to their momentous meeting with King John at which the Magna Carta was signed and where England’s last court jester, Dickie Pearce, tumbled to his death from the minstrel’s gallery in the Great Hall.
The home has many royal connections and was a Royal Castle for 80 years in the 15th and 16th centuries (from approximately 1473-1553). It is even possible that King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed here after their secret marriage.
What is definitel though is that during the summer progress of 1535, Henry and Anne stayed at Berkeley from the 2nd to the eighth of August before moving on to Thornbury.
Anne Berkeley (previously Savage) was a lady in waiting and friend to Queen Anne Boleyn. She was one of the witnesses at the secret wedding ceremony between the King and Anne Boleyn on 25th January 1533 (some historians argue that the wedding ceremony took place on the 14th November 1532).
Thomas Berkeley was also a Boleyn ally and was created Knight of the Bath at Anne Boleyn’s coronation.
With these close connections between the Berkeley’s and Anne Boleyn it is know wonder she visited the castle and indulged in the hospitality of her friends and allies.
Sources:
Weir, A. Henry VIII King & Court, 2008.
Official Berkeley Castle Website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Berkeley,_Baroness_Berkeley
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