The 1502 Progress: Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire

Itm the xxvij” day of Septembre to Robert Alyn for his costes prepayring logging forthe Quene from Ragland to Chepstowe by the space of twoo dayes from Chepstowe to Walstone ij dayes from Walstone to Berkeley ij dayes…
The Queen’s Chamber Books  

Arrival At Berkeley Castle…

It is clear from the Queen’s Chamber Books that 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. In contrast to the now largely forgotten Woolaston Grange, Berkeley Castle still stands largely untouched since it was set in stone during the eleventh, twelfth and fourteenth centuries. 

Around 7 miles as the crow flies from Woolaston, Berkeley was the first property since the King’s Manor of Langley that was used by the royal couple on this progress and which was also part of Crown lands. Henry VII had come into possession of the castle in 1487 due to a deal struck with its then-owner, Lord William Berkeley. 

Lord Berkeley negotiated a Marquisate and the position of Earl Marshall of England in exchange for his manor of Berkeley. This arrangement was to endure until no further male heirs of the King existed. Of course, this meant that around 60 years later, the castle was returned to the Berkeley family upon the death of Edward VI in 1553. Besides this short Tudor intermission, the Berkeley family have owned the castle for around 900 years. Therefore, except for Windsor Castle, Berkeley is the longest continually occupied castle by the same family in the UK.

The castle is perched on a plateau, overlooking a patchwork of fields stretching below it. On the far side of the shallow valley, you can often hear the barking of the 90 or so Berkeley hounds carried on the breeze across the flood plain of the River Severn. These kennels were built in the early seventeenth century, and the pack is known as ‘The Berkeley’; it is the oldest hunting pack in the country and is one of the few still privately owned (by the Berkeley family on this occasion).

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. 

Because of the curtilage wall and the immense thickness of many of its interior walls, there has been little development of the castle’s footprint since its inception. However, as we will hear more of shortly, the interior decoration largely dates to its redevelopment by the 8th Earl of Berkeley in the 1920s. Nevertheless, overall, the castle is appreciated as being in an ‘original and good state of preservation’ and one of the ‘supreme residential survivals of the fourteenth century’, retaining most of its original features down to doors, arrow slits and windows, and even iron catches.

Five Days in South Gloucestershire

Because Elizabeth and Henry lodged at Berkeley for several days, a number of entries recorded in the Queen’s Chamber Book relate to this period and the everyday happenings of the Royal Household. 

As we might expect, the Queen was in receipt of several gifts during her stay, and she rewarded those who had delivered them with money from the Privy Purse. The first of these is recorded on 29 August, the day after the Queen received money ‘by thandes of my Lady Verney’ at Woolaston. These gifts included oranges and ‘sukades’ [suckets = sweet treats; fruit, root or citrus rind preserved in sugar syrup]; more of the renowned Llantony Cheese from the prior of Llantony Priory in Gloucester and two bucks from ‘Lord Saintmondes’.  

At the same time, the Queen’s minstrels were rewarded for keeping the queen entertained with sweet music, while members of her household were compensated for their diligence in conveying her jewels from Raglan and purchasing fabrics from Bristol, including buckram and ‘chamlet’. (Note: ‘Chamlet, I think, must refer to the modern-day spelling ‘camlet’. This is defined as ‘ a rich, silken fabric…associated with a silken material resembling or mimicking animal hair (particularly camel hair), but came to be associated with various rich fabrics, often of Eastern origin or provenance. From the 16th and 17th centuries, camlet was often made from Angora goat hair.’ 

Happily, as at previous locations, we are introduced to more ladies of the Queen’s household. The first is ‘Mistress Brent’. She is simply recorded in the following: ’to the Quenes purs at Berkeley by thandes of Maistres Brent.’ According to Alison Weir’s biography of Elizabeth of York, Mistress Brent was one ‘Elyn Brent, who was ‘probably the wife of Robert Brent, gentleman usher of the Queen’s chamber, and was in service in 1502–03’. Sadly, little else seems to be known about her. 

Another of Elizabeth’s maids of honour appears at this point in the accounts. Her name is Lady Anne Percy. The account books state, ‘the last day of August to my lady Anne Percy for money by hir geuen [given] in reward to a Spanyarde that came from the princesse to the Quene into Walys.’ Clearly, Katherine of Aragon had sent either a message or a gift to the Queen when the couple were still resident in Wales.

Thankfully, we know more about Lady Anne Percy. She was the seventh child of Sir Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, and Maud Herbert, daughter of the 1st Earl of Pembroke. It seems unclear where she was born. I have seen Alnwick Castle in Northumberland and Leconfield Castle in East Yorkshire, given as her place of birth. Both were properties that belonged to the mighty Percy family. Sadly, Anne lost her father three years later, in April 1489, when he was slain in or near his Leconfield property by an angry mob protesting against the high rates of taxation. 

Lady Anne married William FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel, on 15 February 1511 when she was 26. This means that in 1502, Anne would have been 17 years old and a young maid of honour (maid of honour = an unmarried lady of gentle birth) in the Queen’s household. To complete her story, William and Anne had at least three children, including a son named Henry, the future 18th Earl of Arundel and heir to the FitzAlan estate and one daughter, Catherine. Anne died on 5 July 1552, at Arundel Castle, at the age of 66.

Five days at Berkeley Castle gave the royal couple some time to rest and enjoy this beautiful part of the country. Although there are no records of it in the Queen’s Chamber Books, Henry and Elizabeth possibly moved around the local vicinity, visiting nearby gentry. One entry is of interest. The Queen is recorded as making an offering to the church at Thornbury. The village of Thornbury lies about 9 miles south west of Berkeley, with the church situated directly adjacent to the castle. It would be lovely to think that the couple spent time there as Thornbury Castle had until recently been owned and lived in by Henry’s devoted uncle, Jasper Tudor. Jasper was, of course, utterly instrumental in Henry becoming King and surviving the Yorkist hunt for the Lancastrian heir in 1471.

Jasper died at Thornbury on 21 December 1495 at the decent age of 65. However, we cannot rush to conclude that Elizabeth and Henry made this journey to Thornbury in person. The records state that the offering was made on the same day that Lady Verney received money into the Privy Purse at Woolaston. As I have already mentioned, the stop at Woolaston means that the most direct route (and the closer of the two destinations, by far, was Berkeley). Therefore, it may be possible that Elizabeth simply sent someone on her behalf (as she had done at other locations) to make the offering at Thornbury’s parish church.

Touring Berkeley Castle Today

When you visit Berkeley Castle, you feel like you’re strolling through the centuries as you pass from the medieval keep containing the dungeon and the ‘cell’ in which King Edward II is said to have been murdered to the magnificent great hall and beyond to reach the homely private apartments, likely occupied by visiting royalty.

As mentioned above, the interiors remained largely unaltered from the sixteenth century until the 1920s, when the 8th Earl of Berkeley modernised and extensively altered the internal décor, installing many artefacts from elsewhere. Hardly any of the furniture you see there today survives from before about 1600. However, what I love about visiting Berkeley Castle is the exceptional state of preservation of the footprint of the rooms. From the Great Hall to the privy chambers beyond, it is easy to let the present dissolve and time slip into the past, imagining yourself in the evening playing dice or cards by flickering candlelight alongside some rather distinguished royal company.

Before we move on, you might want to look out for the sumptuous red cloth decorating the lobby at the head of the stairs. It is sixteenth century in origin, although its provenance is shrouded in mystery.

The first version I heard regarding the provenance of the hangings was that they were made for Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII’s bedroom when they visited Berkeley Castle for a week in 1535. One fly in the ointment with this theory is that the royal couple would have had separate sleeping arrangements wherever they went (although the King may have chosen to sleep with his wife at any point – and indeed, we know he did as Anne was pregnant by the end of that progress). However, it is easy to see how the hangings may well have adorned one such privy room, and the tale has become slightly corrupted over time.

The other story regarding their origin is that the hangings once decorated the royal apartments in Henry’s temporary palace at the Field of Cloth of Gold. Whatever the truth, they are clearly of exceptionally high status, fit for a king, and have been dated to be around 500 years old.

To learn more about all the latest visitor information for Berkeley Castle, visit their website here.

THE NEXT STOP ON YOUR PROGRESS IS BEVERSTON CASTLE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

Places to Visit Nearby

Thornbury Castle (8.5 miles): Once home to Jasper Tudor and later visited by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn during the 1535 progress, Thornbury Castle was passed to Edward VI and Queen Mary Tudor following Henry VIII’s death. Today, under the attentive stewardship of its current custodians, Thornbury Castle is a luxury hotel and stands resplendent, meticulously restored to echo the majestic splendour of its royal heritage.

Acton Court (13 miles): Visited by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn on the 1535 summer progress, the owner of Acton Court, Nicholas Poyntz, built a magnificent new east wing onto the existing moated manor house to impress his royal guests. Today, the East Wing, built in just nine months, comprises most of what remains at Acton Court – a rare example of sixteenth-century royal state apartments, including Renaissance-style wall paintings that are said to be the finest of their kind in England. Currently, opening is limited to a couple of weeks in July each year.

Dursley and the William Tyndale Monument (5 miles): Positioned prominently on a hill above the village of North Nibley, this monument is dedicated to the martyr William Tyndale. Tyndale’s mission was to translate The Bible into English so that ordinary people could read it for themselves rather than relying on priests for an interpretation. He was later strangled and then burned at the stake.

The monument was completed in 1866 and officially opened on November 6 of that year. After climbing over 100 steps, you can expect a wonderful view of Berkeley Vale and the River Severn to the Black Mountains. The monument is open 24 hours a day, every day. The steps up have automatic lighting.

Owlpen Manor (9 miles): This Tudor Manor House has a rich history spanning over 1000 years. It is adorned with Arts and Crafts furniture and accompanied by its own resident spirits. It has a very limited public opening—just twice a year!

Painswick Church and Painswick Manor Lodge (19 miles):  The first church building on this site dates to around 1040, later added to in the thirteenth century by the De Laci Family, who were Lords of the Manor after the Norman Conquest.  The church contains the remains of the tomb of Sir William Kingston, Lieutenant of the Tower and Anne Boleyn’s gaoler. Sadly, the tomb was desecrated during the Civil War and has since been reused.

Painswick Manor, once the manor house associated with the village, was visited by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn during one of their day trips into the Cotswold countryside from their base in Gloucester in 1535. The Lodge is privately owned, and although you cannot visit it, you can see what remains of the building from the nearby road.