The 1502 Progress: Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
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The 1502 Progress: Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire

The next significant stop on the 1502 progress after Woolaston was Berkeley Castle, where the royal couple stayed for five days from 29 August to 4 September.

Berkeley Castle still stands largely untouched since it was set in stone during the eleventh, twelfth and fourteenth centuries. 

Berkeley Castle is highly distinctive in appearance. Built on a typical Norman motte and bailey design during the early and mid-medieval period, it has been constructed from local pink, grey, and yellow Severn sandstone, with its roofs mainly made of Cotswold stone, slate, or lead. 

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The Tomb effigy of Lady Eleanor Verney, Chief Lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth of York.
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The 1502 Progress: Woolaston, Gloucestershire

On 28 August, the Queen’s Chamber Books for Elizabeth of York records, ‘Itm the same day to the mariners that conveyed the Quenes grace over the Severn besides Chepstowe’. The temptation is to immediately conclude that a ferry conducted the King and Queen across the River Severn into England at the point where the current bridge spans the river, close to the foot of Chepstow Castle, where the royal couple had been lodged. While this might be true, further close inspection of a later entry in the Chamber Book (dated 27 September) clarifies that the Queen moved from Chepstow to ‘Walstone’ before arriving at the next stop: Berkeley Castle.

This entry is a retrospective payment made to ‘Robert Alyn for his costes prepayring logging for the Quene from Ragland to Chepstowe by the space of twoo dayes, from Chepstowe to Walstone, ij dayes, from Walstone to Berkeley, ij dayes.’…

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Exterior of the Parliament Rooms.
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Tudor Gloucester Cathedral

Gloucester Cathedral witnessed the coronation of the young Henry III in 1216 and a visit from Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in 1535. The current cathedral, as we know it today, was predominantly built between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. It is known for its glorious Gothic architecture, tombs and the finest cloisters in the country.

The cathedral is also famous for its stunning medieval stained glass windows.

Sketch of Gloucester from the west.
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The 1502 Progress: The Vineyard at Over, Gloucestershire

The 1502 Progress fo Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, continued…
Having stayed overnight in Coberley Hall, the royal party was again on the move. As we read in the above quote, their destination was the Abbot of Gloucester’s fine manor house, which stood on a raised plateau west of Gloucester. The house was known as ‘The Vineyard’ because of the ancient vines cultivated on its terraces since at least the thirteenth century…