Berkeley Castle, England

The Berkeley Castle is a medieval castle located in the town of Berkeley, Gloustershire in England. The castle was built in 1153 by Robert Fitzharding on orders of Henry II of England and since then the Berkeley Castle has been in possession of the Berkeley family, descendants of Robert Fitzharding. The Berkeley Castle was built as one of the March Castles to defend the Welsh border but the castle was during the next centuries transformed from a Norman fortress into one of the most outstanding medieval castles in England.

The castle became famous also for being the place where the rebellious West County barons gathered in 1215 before they forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in Runnymede as well as being the scene of murder of Edward II in 1327. During the English Civil War (from 1642 to 1651) the castle was besieged by the Parliamentary Forces and in 1643 the Royalists surrendered. The Berkeley Castle was severely damaged during the English Civil War but the Berkeley family was allowed to retain the possession of the castle under condition that they will never repair the breach in the Keep and that condition stayed in force until today.