Berkhamsted Castle, Hertfordshire, England. Castles are Amazing, history, Context, Visiting Tips

I think castles are amazing because they have survived for hundreds of years . This is one of the early Motte and Bailey castles built by William the Conqueror just after his victory in 1066
This Norman castle was built as a fortress and was besieged by Prince Louis of France.
It was also owned by Thomas Becket, the Black Prince and was a Wedding gift to 3 of the 6 wives of Henry VIII. Geoffrey Chaucer of Canterbury Tales fame also resided here.
This is Berkhamsted Castle in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England,
This video will provide a brief history, context and visiting tips so please stay to the end for all the detail.
I aim to visit and make short videos on many castles across the country in addition to my regular ones, so please like, subscribe and click the alerts bell for future releases.
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Berkhamsted Castle is located here in Hertfordshire roughly 15 miles from Hemel Hempstead.
On this map from Historic England, the red shaded area is the castle which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Interestingly, it was the first historic building to receive legal protection when in 1837 the proposed railway line was due to go right through it. But the Act of Parliament that was eventually passed stipulated that the line should miss most of the castle! As we can see it came very close! - but that does mean it is very easy to access this castle by rail.
The other building listed on this site is known as The Cottage and former Soup Kitchen, Berkhamsted Castle, and is a grade II listed building. It dates back to the 17th century with a 19th century reconstruction.
The castle has a fantastic website if you want to learn more. It is administered by Berkhamsted Castle Trust in partnership with English Heritage
To get an idea of age and key dates with some context let's look at monarchs. This chart goes from the present King Charles III, all the way back to 1066, where we start with William the Conqueror. This is when he accepted the crown of England actually at Berkhamsted and then his half brother then built the first castle.
Around 1155 Thomas Becket probably rebuilt the castle in stone, replacing the earlier wooden structure.
In 1216 the castle was besieged by Prince Louis of France due to the actions of King John, who died just before the siege and was replaced by his 9 year old son King Henry III.
The castle was probably most at risk again when the railways came in 1837 and this was during the reign of Queen Victoria, Though at this time a gatehouse was demolished and outer moat filled in.
Sources
Historic England
English Heritage
Berkhamsted Castle Trust: www.berkhamstedcastle.org.uk/

[@rontanser9369]

Thank you once again, yet another beautiful video , Another one of those castles, you wish there was a little bit more left of them. Still impressive though

[@eclecticexperience1]

Thank you

[@simoncolvex]

Thought it was pronounced B "er" khampsted, not like Berkshire. Great video though.