The Skaggs-Files

Robert Fitz Harding, feudal Lord of Berkeley; granted by Henry II 1153/4 the castle of Berkeley, Glos, founder 1141 of Abbey of St Augustine, Bristol. [Burke's Peerage]

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Robert FitzHardinge obtained for his fidelity to King Henry II the Castle of Berkeley, wrested from Roger de Berkeley, or Dursley, a partisan of Stephen, and thereby became one of the feudal barons of the realm. He married Eva, niece of William the Conqueror, and founded the monastery of St. Augustine, at Bristol, in the year 1140, and was buried there in 1170. He was s. by his eldest son, Maurice de Berkeley. [John Burke, History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I., R. Bentley, London, 1834-1838, p. 469, Berkeley, of Spetchley]

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HOLDERS of the CASTLE of BERKELEY (IV)

Robert Fitz Harding, who "may bee called Rober the Devout," son of Harding (d), said to have been a merchant of Bristol, and of great wealth and influence, received from Henry of Anjou, in 1153 or 1154, shortly before his accession as Henry II, a grant (among others) of the Castle and "herness " of Berkeley (as above mentioned) which was confirmed by the said Henry when King, probably in 1155 the first year of his reign, whereby he the said Robert (doubtless) became feudal L.ORD OF BERKELEY. In 1168 he entetained Dermot Mae Murrough, King of Leinster, on his arrival, at Bristol, to solicit succour from Henry II. He founded, in 1141, the Abbey of St. Augustine, at Bristol, of which he afterwards became a canon.

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He married Eve (c). He died 5 February 1170/1, aged about 75. His wife, who founded a priory of nuns on St. Michael's hill, Bristol, whereof she died Prioress, 12 March 1170, was buried with her husband. [Complete Peerage II:124-25,
(transcribed by Dave Utzinger)]

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(d) The parentage of this Harding (living c 1125) has been long and hotly disputed. He has been termed "son of the King of Denmark" (as in the petition of 1661), "Mayor of Bristol", and so forth. The view now generally accepted is that he was the son of Eadnoth (killed 1068), "Staller" to King Harold and to Edward the Confessor. E.A. Freeman pronounces this descent "in the highest degree probable." Eyton (in his "Shropshire") devoted much attention to the subject.

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(c) She is alleged to have been sister of Durand, daughter of Sir Estmond, by Godiva, his wife, a pedigree which J. H. Round denounces as "obviously absurd".

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Berkeley Castle:
http://www.berkeley-castle.com/history.html

HISTORY

Criss-cross windowThe most remarkable thing of all about the Castle is the long survival together - spanning nine centuries - of the building itself, the Berkeley family, the archives (which go back to 1117), the contents, the estate and the town. Its place in history is significant, not just because it is still intact, but because the Berkeley family and their home played an important part in the power struggles of so many centuries.

The Castle is one of the March Castles, built to keep out the Welsh, and has all the trappings to match: trip steps designed to make the enemy stumble during an assault, arrow slits, murder holes, enormous barred doors, slots where the portcullis once fell, and worn stones where sentries stood guard. It is also a fairytale Castle with its warm pink stone that glows in soft sunset light. Outside, the battlements drop some 60' to the Great Lawn below; but inside the Inner Courtyard, the building is on a human scale, with uneven battlements, small towers, doors and windows of every shape and size. The surrounding land would have been flooded for defence.

The Family are one of only three families in England who can trace their ancestry from father to son back to Saxon times. English history has been lived out within these walls – and by this family. The Castle is the oldest building in the country to be inhabited by the same family who built it. For centuries, the Berkeleys were close to the throne, able administrators and fighters who supported their king or queen (as long as they could), backed the winning side, and married well. The house, naturally enough, is full of stories…

The Archives housed in the Castle date back from the earliest part of the 12th Century and number around 20,000 documents, 6,000 of which relate to the mediaeval period. The latter are mainly manorial records which relate to every county in England, excepting two only.

The Contents are items that have been chosen, collected and treasured by members of the Berkeley family throughout the centuries, and many reflect the history of the place. They include Francis Drake's cabin chest, Queen Elizabeth I's bedspread, and the banner that the 4th Earl of Berkeley took with him to the Battle of Culloden. Many of the unusual tapestries, paintings, ceramics and silverware, have their own story to tell.

The Estate consists of 6,000 acres, and includes one of the best examples of a mediaeval deer park in the country, 18 tenant farms, a stretch of the River Severn and the land on which the famous Wetland Wildfowl Centre at Slimbridge is situated. Berkeley town itself goes back in time as far as the Castle, and evidence suggests that there may have been a mint here in Saxon times.

The Stories

The Castle's Keep was finished in 1153 by the first of the Berkeleys, one Robert Fitzhardinge, a wealthy provost of Bristol who was awarded the Castle by Henry II, the then Duke of Anjou. Since that time there is not much of Britain 's history that has passed Berkeley Castle by. The Castle has connections

• with Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, which was written for a Berkeley wedding;

• with the murder of King Edward II, which notoriously took place here in 1327;

• with the signing of Magna Carta – the Barons of the West gathered at Berkeley before setting out to that momentous meeting with King John at Runnymede;

• with the Civil War, where the Royalists surrendered the Castle to the Parliamentarians after a siege;

• with the American Thanksgiving – the very first of which was held by Berkeley men;

• with Virginia – the first Governor of which was William Berkeley;

• with Yale and the University of California – who both benefited from the legacy of Bishop George Berkeley of Cloyne in the 18 th Century

• with the battles of Agincourt , Crecy , Poitiers , Flodden , Culodden, and many more

• with Edward Jenner, the Rector of the town, who developed the smallpox vaccination

• with the last court jester in England , who died here in the Castle when he tumbled from the minstrel's gallery in the Great Hall (did he fall, or was he pushed?)

• with the monarchs of England: most notably King John, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, Charles I, George I, the Prince Regent – to name but a few

• with Francis Drake, Queen Elizabeth's most famous sea captain