Berkhamstead Castle - Hertfordshire - English Heritage - Cadw - Historic Scotland on Waymarking.com

1066: After the Battle of Hastings, William granted the Manor and Honour of Berkhamsted to his half-brother, Robert of Mortain, and started work on the castle, at that time a timber structure. Berkhamsted was of some strategic importance, and there was already a Saxon fort guarding the main route through the valley.

1123: Henry I held court at the Castle. During the reigns of Henry I and Henry II, the castle was in the hands of the Chancellors, including Thomas Becket. Extensive building works were undertaken, and the earliest stone buildings date from Thomas's time (1155-1164).

1163: Thomas Becket, then Archbishop of Canterbury, was deprived of the castle by Henry II who accused him of having misappropriated cash.

1191: Richard I gave the castle to his queen, Berengaria of Navarre who lived there until Richard’s death in 1199.

1204: King John granted the castle to his queen, Isabella of Angoulême, who remained in residence until 1216.

1216: Prince Louis of France (later Louis VIII) laid siege to the castle. The defenders held out for only two weeks.

1227: Richard, Earl of Cornwall, younger brother of Henry III, was granted the castle. He used it as one of his main residences and the administrative centre of the Earldom of Cornwall. His wife Isabel later died here, following childbirth, in 1240.

1270: Richard's son, Edmund, the 2nd Earl of Cornwall, who had been born at the castle, founded a religious house at Ashridge and installed a small order of monks, the Bonhommes, to manage it.

1291: Edward I held a parliament at Ashridge. Edward granted Berkhamsted to his second queen, Margaret of France. On her death, Isabella of France, queen of Edward II, succeeded.

1337: Edward III gave the castle to his son Edward, the Black Prince, as part of the newly-created Duchy of Cornwall.

1356: John II of France was imprisoned in the castle after the Battle of Poitiers.

1361: The Black Prince spent his honeymoon at the castle, and hunted in its extensive deer park.

1389: Geoffrey Chaucer was appointed Clerk to the Works. It is not known how much time he actually spent at the castle, however.

1399: On his accession, Henry IV granted the castle to his son, later Henry V. It then passed to Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's queen.

1469: Edward IV granted the castle to his mother Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, who lived here for the remainder of her life. After her death, the castle gradually fell into decay.

1580: Elizabeth I leased the Manor of Berkhamsted, including the ruined castle and the deer park, for the nominal rent of one red rose to Sir Edward Carey, Keeper of the Queen’s Jewels. He built Berkhamsted Place on the hill above the castle using stone from the ruins.


At present The Castle,is currently in the care of English Heritage. The ruins are open to visitors.

Property page on English Heritage website: [Web Link] I am an English Heritage Member: no Property Address: The Castle Brownlow Road Berkhamstead Herts Property maintained by:: English Heritage

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/26/2012 The Mekon visited it