Civil War at Berkeley Castle

By Sarah Wordsworth

The English Civil War marked a turbulent period in the history of Berkeley Castle. Standing in a strategic position between Bristol and Gloucester, the castle changed hands between the Parliamentarian and Royalist forces several times and narrowly avoided complete destruction.

On 22nd August 1642, King Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham to signal the official beginning of the English Civil War. The English Civil War (1642 – 1651) was fought between Parliament and the King, who clashed over the government of the kingdom.

Popular support within Gloucestershire was for Parliament with King Charles I conceding that ‘no other county had been so rebellious’.1 Berkeley Castle became a strategic stronghold between Bristol and Gloucester and once war was declared, Lord Berkeley’s steward, John Smyth, rushed to defend his master’s possessions. An agreement was made with men living in the surrounding countryside that ‘upon ringinge the castle bell, the cuntry have promised with all speede to com in for theyr rescue and defence’.2

By the end of 1642, Parliamentarian soldiers were occupying the Berkeley Castle but in February, following a disastrous defeat at nearby Cirencester, they evacuated, leaving the castle in the hands of a small boy. A week later, a new Parliamentarian garrison was sent to Berkeley Castle, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes. Lord Berkeley would later bitterly complain that Forbes had sent his best furniture up to Scotland, imprisoned his servants and cut down his woods. Forbes abandoned Berkeley Castle in August 1643 after the King captured Bristol and advanced towards Gloucester.

The castle now became a Royalist fortress. The surrounding villages were ordered by the king to contribute towards the upkeep of the soldiers, making the garrison very unpopular.  It was reported that it was not safe to send soldiers out for supplies as villagers, protecting their property, would ‘knock them down’ and had attacked a cavalry troop, killing six men.3 The castle was also used to imprison Parliamentarian soldiers who were treated appallingly. They were given bread and cheese to eat but ‘not one drop of drink’ unless they paid for it, and the prisoners had no money.4

 In March 1645 Sir Charles Lucas was made Governor of Berkeley Castle. Lucas was a seasoned Royalist commander who had fought many battles against the Parliamentarians, including Edgehill and Marston Moor. He was known amongst Royalist and Parliamentarian troops as ‘a souldier of reputation and valour’.5 Lucas was in command of Berkeley Castle when it was attacked by Parliamentarian troops in September 1645.

Following their victory at the battle of Naseby in June 1645, the Parliamentarian army marched into the West of England and in September 1645 successfully besieged the city of Bristol. Berkeley Castle was now the only stronghold held for the king between Bristol and Gloucester. A Parliamentary brigade, led by Colonel Thomas Rainsborough, was sent to lay siege to the castle. On arrival at Berkeley, Rainsborough commanded the garrison to surrender. The castle was well defended by a garrison of over five hundred men. It is said that Sir Charles Lucas defiantly exclaimed that ‘he would eat horse-flesh before he would yield, and mans flesh when that was done.’6

In response, the Parliamentarian brigade stormed the castle, establishing a mortar battery in a nearby field and scaling the castle’s outer walls with ladders. St Mary’s church in Berkeley formed part of the castle’s defenses and was defended by the Royalist garrison. Loopholes were made in the west doors for muskets. The north door of the church was blasted open by the Parliamentarian troops killing forty of the defending garrison; ninety were taken prisoner.

When the Parliamentarian troops prepared to mount their artillery on the outer defenses of the castle, Sir Charles Lucas had no choice but to surrender Berkeley Castle on 26th September 1645 after a nine-day siege. The terms of surrender allowed the garrison to march out of the castle. Sir Charles Lucas left with three horses and weapons, Field Officers took two horses each with them and Foot Captains could take their swords. Eleven cannons and provisions for six months were left at the castle for the Parliamentarian troops to claim. Sir Charles Lucas continued to fight for the Royalist cause after the surrender at Berkeley Castle. He was later executed by firing squad after the surrender of Colchester in 1648 and was considered a Royalist martyr of the civil war.

The castle’s owner, George, 8th Baron Berkeley, had remained in London during the English Civil War. He never openly declared for either the Royalists or the Parliamentarians. His steward, John Smyth, claimed he was a supporter of the King, but he sat regularly in Parliament during the war. Berkeley used his neutral stance to petition for the survival of Berkeley Castle, as its future now hung in the balance.

After the siege of Berkeley Castle, Baron Berkeley appealed to Parliament that the castle should not be demolished and instead used again as a Parliamentarian garrison. He argued that the castle had already sustained £3,000 worth of damage, over £70,000 in today’s money. Parliament initially agreed, but in 1646 the Parliamentarians began their campaign of ‘slighting’ or destroying castles to ensure they could not be used against them by the Royalists. John Smyth and Baron Berkeley used their influence to ensure this did not happen to Berkeley Castle.

However, the castle did not escape completely. Colonel Morgan, the Governor of Gloucester, ordered that the castle’s outer wall defenses and a section of the 12th century keep should be demolished. The castle’s gates, bells, lead and drawbridge were taken away and sold. Hundreds of ancient charters were destroyed for their silk strings and around 700 items of Baron Berkeley’s possessions were removed for auction.7

The English Civil War changed Berkeley Castle forever.  There is now no trace of the outer wall defenses other than the gatehouse, and the breach in the keep wall can still be seen today. However, the fortress survived this violent period of history thanks to George, 8th Baron Berkeley, and his faithful steward, John Smyth. It remained the Berkeley family’s country seat and is still owned by the same family today.

[1] Warmington, A Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration in Gloucestershire, 1640-1672 (The Boydell Press, 1997) p. 37

2 Berkeley Castle Muniments

3 Wroughton, J. An Unhappy Civil War: The Experiences of Ordinary People in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire (The Lansdown Press, 1999) p. 140

4 Wroughton, J. An Unhappy Civil War: The Experiences of Ordinary People in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire (The Lansdown Press, 1999) p. 54

5 Sprigg, J. Anglia Rediviva: Englands Recovery (1647)

6 Sprigg, J. Anglia Rediviva: Englands Recovery (1647)

7 Warmington, A Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration in Gloucestershire, 1640-1672 (The Boydell Press, 1997) p. 79

The Legend of Culloden

By Phil Legg

A legend has been told for at least a century that Augustus, 4th Earl of Berkeley, commanded a regiment at the Battle of Culloden on 16th April 1746. In the Great Hall at Berkeley Castle hangs a standard that family legend says was taken all the way to the bloody battle and in the garden stands the ‘Culloden Pine’, a tree thought to have been grown from a seed brought back from the battlefield. But how true is this story?

On 19 August 1745, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie), raised his standard at Glenfinnan in the Scottish Highlands and began a rebellion to take the British crown. They caught the British Army by surprise, and by September the rebels had captured Edinburgh and defeated the British at Prestonpans.  Bonnie Prince Charlie then marched into England and took both Carlisle and Manchester in November.

The uprising posed a real threat to King George II and several emergency measures were adopted.  From the end of September, provisional battalions were formed, the Militia were embodied and magistrates put forward criminals as possible recruits. In England and Scotland volunteers for provincial regiments were enrolled for home defence. It was clear that the rebellion was causing panic.

Noblemen also volunteered to raise and maintain regiments to demonstrate their loyalty and gain access to financial allowances. However, the cost of supporting a unit was underestimated and it was suggested that the noblemen’s regiments be included in the regular army.  The government reluctantly agreed and fifteen such regiments received numbers. Augustus, 4th Earl of Berkeley (1715-1755), raised one of these regiments, which was given the number 72nd Regiment of Foot.

Augustus Berkeley was a former lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd Foot Guards and had been Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire since 1737.  His unit was ‘to be raised for Our Service in our County of Gloucester’ but was not to be limited to its borders.1 In November 1745, Berkeley was able to use his influence to get a drum-major and a corporal from his old Guards regiment to train his new battalion.  Many of the noblemen’s regiments had blue coats, but Berkeley chose red with green facings, possibly cut in a simple style. Marching Orders record that Berkeley’s regiment moved all its companies to Bristol in December where they formed the garrison alongside the regular 24th Foot. 

After reaching Derby, only about a week’s march from Gloucester, Bonnie Prince Charlie and his rebels decided to withdraw back to Scotland in December 1745 and were later decisively beaten at the battle of Culloden on 16th April 1746. 

In June 1746 it was decided to disband the noblemen’s regiments and the Earl of Berkeley’s Regiment was disbanded at Gloucester on 26th June 1746. The men were allowed to keep their uniforms. 

Despite the legend that the earl of Berkeley commanded a regiment that fought at the battle of Culloden, a legend that can be traced back to at least 1905, Berkeley’s regiment is not listed among those that fought at the battle of Culloden.2  There is also another legend that the regiment moved north ready to engage in the battle but by the time they reached Culloden it was all over. However, there does not seem to be any evidence that Berkeley’s regiment ever left England although Marching Orders did not contain all the movements of some regiments so there is still some room for doubt.  Bernard Falk noted that the Earl ‘commanded a regiment raised to fight the Jacobite rebels but does not appear to have got as far as Culloden’.3 George Cokayne simply stated that the 4th Earl was the colonel of a regiment ‘sent against the Jacobites in 1745’.4

As for the 4th Earl of Berkeley, if there is no evidence of Berkeley’s regiment moving north, this is also true of him personally.  In the Berkeley Castle accounts a payment is recorded for the use of a boat to cross the Severn for the Earl and several of his officers on 1 April 1746.5 Although this could have been a retrospective payment, it does suggest that the Earl was in Gloucestershire during that time and not on his way to Scotland.

The standard in the Great Hall believed to have been used by Berkeley’s Regiment does not fit the size or shape of any military design.  It is certainly associated with the 4th Earl of Berkeley as it has his coat of arms together with the badge of the Order of the Thistle.  Berkeley was awarded the Order of the Thistle in 1739 and wears the sash of the order in a portrait by Gavin Hamilton which also hangs in the Great Hall.

It is possible that what now remains was the central device cut from the green material of the regimental colour which, at six feet by six feet, would have been very difficult to maintain.  It is known that heraldic arms and crests did appear on some regiments’ standards despite being forbidden by clothing regulations of 1743.  No infantry colours and very few other artefacts from the noblemen’s regiments remain today, so the Berkeley standard could indeed be significant.

The legend around the ‘Culloden Pine’, believed to have been grown from a seed brought back from the battlefield, led to the 8th Earl of Berkeley ensuring the tree was left undisturbed when raising the lower lawn in the 1920s, hence it now stands in a dip.  In 1746, however, the battlefield was a moor with almost no trees. It was only later that the area was planted with pines, although it has now been deforested again.  It is true that the pine at Berkeley Castle is the same type that later grew at Culloden, so it is possible that the seed did come from there but was probably collected and brought back to Berkeley in the 19th century when the Highlands were viewed romantically, influenced by Queen Victoria’s love of Scotland.

It will never be known for certain whether the 4th Earl of Berkeley and his regiment fought in the battle of Culloden, but the evidence suggests that this is unlikely. It seems that the legend was forged from the Earl’s regiment that stood in defence of the county of Gloucestershire against Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebellion.

[1] Bamford, Andrew (Ed), Rebellious Scots to Crush (Warwick: Helion & Co, 2020) p. 77

[2] Proceedings at the Annual Spring Meeting at Berkeley and North Nibley, 1905, Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society Vol. 28, p.9; Pollard, T.(Ed.) Culloden: The History and Archaeology of the Last Clan Battle (Pen & Sword Military, 2009)

[3] Falk, B., The Berkeleys of Berkeley Square (London: Hutchinson & Co, 1944) p.152

[4] Cokayne, G. E., The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom (London, 1910) p.42

[5] Berkeley Castle Household Accounts, 1746

A Fountain Fragment from Nonsuch Palace

By Josh Nash

A sculptural fragment from Nonsuch Palace has recently been identified at Berkeley Castle. Professor Martin Biddle, Hertford College, Oxford, has authenticated the plinth as part of the Diana Fountain which once stood in the garden of Nonsuch Palace.

“On the top of this tiny mound is set a shining column which carries a high-standing statue of a snow-white nymph, perhaps Venus, from whose tender breasts flow jets of water into the ivory-coloured marble, and from there the water falls down through narrow pipes into marble basins.”                                                                                                                         

Anthony Watson, Rector of Cheam describing the Diana Fountain (misidentified as Venus) circa 1582

The construction of Nonsuch Palace was begun by Henry VIII in 1538, the works were not completed in Henry’s lifetime and the unfinished palace was sold by his daughter Mary I to Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel in 1556. Fitzalan continued the works to the buildings and garden aided by his son-in-law and one of the greatest collectors of art and books of his age, John, Lord Lumley. The completed Nonsuch Palace was bequeathed to Lumley upon the death of Fitzalan in 1580 and it was during this period of ownership that the Diana Fountain was constructed.

The image of the Diana Fountain is taken from the Lumley Inventory of 1590, known as the Red Velvet Book, and in this document are drawings of seven monuments within the gardens of Nonsuch, one of which is the Diana Fountain. Lumley sold Nonsuch Palace back to the Crown in 1592 and over the next 70 years the property changed hands several times but was back in royal ownership when Charles II granted it to one of his many mistresses Barbara Villers, Countess of Castlemaine, in 1671. Villiers, who never actually lived at the Palace, allowed the property to slide into a state of ‘great decay and ruine’ and in 1682 the demolition rights and the subsequent building materials of the palace, outbuildings and gardens were sold to George, 1st Earl of Berkeley for £1800, approximately £390,000 in todays money. George Berkeley, who had been Keeper of Nonsuch Palace and Park since 1660, set about dismantling the property and either repurposing the salvaged building materials or selling them on. The majority of the property had been demolished by 1688 which is when Berkeley received his last payment as Keeper of Nonsuch Palace and Park.

It is worth noting that Berkeley’s employment at Nonsuch may help to explain the somewhat ‘domestic’ perspective of the painting of Nonsuch Palace, by Henrick Danckerts, which hangs in the Larders at Berkeley Castle. The Danckerts picture, painted from the north east, centres on the Kitchen Block of the Palace and it’s associated enclosed garden, rather than the grand stuccoed towers of the palace’s southern elevation depicted by Joris Hoefnegal in 1568.

Much of the salvaged building material was used to remodel the Berkeley home, The Durdans, approximately 17 miles to the south of Nonsuch. This remodelling is highlighted by the two paintings of The Durdans which also hang in the Larders at Berkeley Castle. The earlier picture, painted by Jacob Knyff in 1673, depicts the house before the demolition of Nonsuch and the later picture, by Jacob Smits, shows The Durdans in 1689 when the demolition was complete. The difference in the building is striking although the avenue of trees is still extant in the later picture. Neither painting shows the Diana Fountain at The Durdans.

The earliest documentary evidence of the fountain in the possession of the Berkeleys is a photograph of Cranford House, another Berkeley home, taken around 1900, the plinth, now at Berkeley, is standing on the lawn to the south of the house. It is believed that the salvaged Diana Fountain was taken to The Durdans as part of the remodelling and then when the property was sold off and emptied in 1702 the fountain was removed, along with the rest of the contents, to Cranford Park, another Berkeley home.

Randal, 8th Earl of Berkeley, inherited Berkeley Castle and Estates in 1916 and in 1917 he emptied Cranford Park and brought the contents and effects to Berkeley Castle. Much of this was sold in a phase of chattels consolidation but the plinth from the Diana Fountain was kept, first standing at the west end of the Gun Terrace, then moving to above the newly built Tennis Court Changing Rooms, where it remains to this day.

The 8th Earl of Berkeley sold Cranford Estate to Heston and Isleworth Council in 1932 and in 1936 a report was prepared for the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments of England and the inspector describes an abandoned rubbish pile/rockery

“which contains among other fragments four bays 2'. 6” long by 1'. 6” high, of a white marble parapet which may have served for an ornamental basin for a fountain or fishpond. One has a shield charged with a (fesse?) between three birds (popinjays?), and a terminal figure at one end. Another has a shield charged with three pierced cinquefoils”.

A shield charged with a fesse between three popinjays, is a description of the Lumley Arms, and surely describes the piece of stone from the front of the basin of the Diana Fountain illustrated in the Red Velvet Book.

As Lumley’s second wife was Elizabeth Darcy, it is safe to assume the “shield charged with three pierced cinquefoils” describes the Darcy Arms, and they would have been carved onto part of the basin not visible in the drawing in the Red Velvet Book. It is worth asking why these pieces of stone were not taken back to Berkeley with the plinth, did the 8th Earl realise they were part of the fountain but felt they were not important enough to remain with the plinth? Or was it known that the plinth was part of the Diana Fountain at all? Had the stone lost its story? There may still be fragments of fountains or other garden ornaments from Nonsuch Palace somewhere waiting to be found.

A Royal Invitation: Coronation Stories

By Sarah Wordsworth

In anticipation of the coronation of our new King, Charles III, we take a fascinating look back through the ages to five coronations in history and the role the Berkeley family played in them.

The Coronation of King Henry VII

William Berkeley is the only member of the Berkeley family to take an official role in a coronation. Already a Baron, William was created a Viscount in 1481 and Earl of Nottingham in 1483. On 22nd August 1485, Henry Tudor had beaten King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and, only ten weeks later, was crowned at Westminster Abbey becoming King Henry VII. The ceremony which took place on 30th October 1485 was a simple affair as the Wars of the Roses had depleted the treasury.1 It was decided that William Berkeley would take on the office of Earl Marshal and Great Marshal of England for the day of the coronation as the previous postholder, John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, had died fighting for King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. This role was one of the great offices of state in England and was responsible for the king’s horses and stables.

As Earl Marshal, William could expect a prominent position in the celebrations. In the royal procession from the Tower of London to Westminster ahead of the coronation, William rode in front of the King in the procession with two other noblemen. He was situated on the right-hand side carrying the sword of the Marshal of England. On the left was the Lord Great Chamberlain of England carrying his sword and in the centre was a noble holding the King’s sword. On the day of the coronation the Earl Marshal was instructed to be ‘well apparelled’2 and accompanied by men carrying ceremonial staffs to line the route for the King’s procession into Westminster Abbey.

King Henry VII

William was also part of this procession into the abbey, bearing an unsheathed sword. During the coronation, William would have pledged fealty to Henry alongside his peers uttering the oath that was still being used by the time of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, “I become your liegeman of lief and lymme and of earthelie worship and faith and trowth shall beare unto you to lyve and dye with yow against all maner folke, so god me help”.3  He was officially invested as Earl Marshal of England a few months later in February 1486.

The Coronations of Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I and King James I

During his lifetime, Henry, 7th Baron Berkeley, was fortunate enough to experience three coronations. When Queen Mary I was crowned on 28th September 1553, Henry was eighteen. He was one of only fifteen men made a Knight of the Bath as part of the coronation celebrations. Knights were created during special royal occasions and were called ‘of the Bath’ because the elaborate ceremony involved taking a bath the day before being invested. The ancient ritual had not changed much since the fourteenth century which involved the King visiting the knight while in his bath, dipping his finger in the water and making a sign of the cross on the would-be knight’s back. As a Queen, it was not thought suitable for Mary to attend to fifteen young men naked in their baths, so she selected her relative, the Earl of Arundel, to knight the chosen men including Henry.4 Queen Mary’s coronation was the last Catholic coronation to take place in England.

By the time of Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation on 15th January 1559, Henry had become a married man. His wife, Katherine Howard, was a cousin to the Queen through her mother, Anne Boleyn. Henry and Katherine were an ostentatious couple and determined to look their best at the celebrations. Henry had a doublet of crimson satin and silver lace with silver buttons and a white satin doublet made for him. He also had breeches made of crimson velvet lined with crimson satin and another pair of white velvet overlaid with lace and lined with white satin. A new white feather was added to his best cap, and he bought a pair of gilt spurs to wear at the coronation. Katherine had a gown of cloth of gold, shoes of crimson velvet and a petticoat of crimson satin.5

Henry, 7th Baron Berkeley

Henry and Katherine travelled to London and arrived before the Queen travelled by barge from Whitehall to the Tower of London on 12th January 1559. As Baron and Baroness, it is most likely they would have taken part in the dramatic royal procession from the Tower of London to Westminster two days later as the Queen was ‘most honorably accompanied, as well with gentilmen, Barons, & other the nobilitie of this realme, as also with a notable trayne of goodly and beawtifull ladies’.6 The procession would have been an amazing spectacle with pageants set out along the route celebrating the Queen. The couple gave a reward of twenty shillings to the Queen’s trumpeters.7

Queen Elizabeth I in her coronation robes

Queen Elizabeth’s spectacular coronation was in stark contrast to her successor’s. King James I’s coronation on 25 July 1603 was blighted by an outbreak of the bubonic plague that raged in London and also affected the rest of the country. As such, the traditional coronation procession from the Tower of London to Westminster was cancelled and James forbade people to gather in the streets to celebrate for fear of infection.8 However, triumphal arches had already been erected along the route and pageants designed, so the procession was deferred to 15th March 1604.

Henry, 7th Baron Berkeley, was nearly seventy by the time of James’ coronation and, keen to show his loyalty, had a design created for a triumphal arch for the procession which survives in the Berkeley Castle archives. The drawing is of two arches supported by three columns; on the left column are inscribed the names of the Sovereigns of England, on the centre column is the name of King James I, and on the right column are the names of the Sovereigns of Scotland. On the four bases supporting the columns are the names of the English and Scottish nobility with a rhyme explaining the meaning of the arch “of England and of Scotland both the kingdomes brave, lyke unto might ye pillars tow resembled here I have”.9 It is not known whether Henry risked contagion and attended James’ coronation or if the triumphal arch was actually built along the procession route.

The triumphal arch designed for King James I’s coronation procession

The Coronation of King James II

On 23rd March 1685, George 1st Earl of Berkeley received a command to attend the coronation of the new monarch, King James II and Queen Mary of Modena on 23rd April 1685. George Berkeley had been given the Earldom of Berkeley by King Charles II in 1679 so this was the first time he would attend a coronation in the robes of an Earl. The letter stipulated that George be ‘furnished and appointed as to your rank and quality appertaineth’ and that he and his wife were ‘not to fail’ to attend with ‘all excuses sett apart’.10 George and his wife, Elizabeth wore their robes of estate befitting an Earl and Countess.

For the Earl this was a floor length cloak of crimson velvet trimmed with miniver pure (white fur from the winter coat of the red squirrel). Attached to the cloak was a cape and collar in miniver pure with three rows of ermine (the white winter fur and black tail end of a stoat) to show the wearer’s rank of Earl. Underneath his cloak George wore a long crimson velvet surcoat edged in miniver pure. He also wore a coronet of eight pearls on points interspersed with eight strawberry leaves again to denote the Earl’s status. The cap of the coronet was crimson velvet edged with ermine.

George, 1st Earl of Berkeley’s invitation from King James II to his coronation

Elizabeth wore the same design of coronet and cloak but hers had a train of a ‘yard and a half’.11 Underneath she wore a long crimson velvet surcoat edged with miniver pure, with a petticoat of ‘cloth of silver or any other white stuff, either laced or embroidered according to everyones fancy.’12

George, 1st Earl of Berkeley in his coronation robes

Coronation procession of King James II

George and his wife, Elizabeth, participated in the stately coronation procession of King James II and his Queen, Mary of Modena, from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth walked with the other countesses, who numbered twenty-nine in total, in rows of four, holding their coronets in their hands. George walked behind the countesses with thirty-two other Earls in the same formation.

Following the crowning of King James II at Westminster Abbey, George, 1st Earl of Berkeley, along with the rest of the peerage, did homage to their king by ‘taking off their coronets, touched the crown on the king’s head, promising by that ceremony to support it with all their power; and, kissing the king’s left cheek, were, of His Majesties abundant grace, severally kissed by him at the same time.’13

The coronation encountered a number of ominous mishaps, such as the King’s crown being too large and in danger of falling off his head and the royal standard being blown off the White Tower at the Tower of London when the gun salute announced the King and Queen’s entry into the abbey.14 Indeed, after a reign of over three years, James was forced to flee the country and his son-in-law and daughter,  William and Mary, took the throne. It is likely George donned his coronation robes once again for their coronation in 1689.

King James II

1 Hilliam, D. Crown, Orb and Sceptre: True Stories of English Coronations (Stroud, 2009) p. 88

2 Wickham Legg, L. D. English Coronation Records (Westminster, 1901) p. 226

3 Wickham Legg, L. D. English Coronation Records (Westminster, 1901) p. 234

4 Younghusband, G. J. The Tower from Within (London, 1919) p. 118

5 Smyth, J. The Berkeley manuscripts. The lives of the Berkeleys, lords of the honour, castle and manor of Berkeley, in the county of Gloucester, from 1066 to 1618 Vol. II, p. 284

6 Anonymous, The Queen’s Majesty’s Passage (1559)

7 Berkeley Castle Muniments Room

8 Hilliam, D. Crown, Orb and Sceptre: True Stories of English Coronations (Stroud, 2009) p. 118

9 Berkeley Castle Muniments Room

10 Berkeley Castle Muniments Room

11 Sandford, F. The History of the Coronation of James II (1687) p.33

12 Sandford, F. The History of the Coronation of James II (1687) p.33

13 Sandford, F. The History of the Coronation of James II (1687) p.97

14 Hilliam, D. Crown, Orb and Sceptre: True Stories of English Coronations (Stroud, 2009) p. 141

An Elizabethan Easter 1585

Post by Sarah Wordsworth

The ‘Clerk of the Kitchen Accounts’ safely stored in the Berkeley Castle archives gives us a fascinating insight into what the Berkeley family and their guests were eating in Elizabethan times. This blog post follows the Berkeley family through the pre-Lenten season right up until Easter day in 1585, charting the festivities they would have enjoyed, the rules they had to adhere to, and the self-denial imposed by Lent.

In the spring of 1585, Henry, 7th Baron Berkeley and his wife, Katherine, were living at Caludon Castle in Coventry. The castle was built in the early 14th century but quickly fell into disrepair and was reconstructed several times. It was owned by the Segrave and Mowbray families and was subsequently inherited by the Berkeley family in the late 15th century.

Caludon Castle

In 1580, Henry renovated the castle so completely that it might be said ‘to have been moulded and made new’1, also refurbishing the brew house and stables.

Henry and Katherine had been married for thirty years and had three children, Mary, Frances and Thomas. Katherine was a member of the powerful Howard family and therefore a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I through her mother, Anne Boleyn. She was the third daughter of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who had been executed in 1547 in the final days of King Henry VIII’s reign.

Henry & Catherine tombs at St. Mary’s Church, Berkeley

The Elizabethan spring was dominated by the important dates tied to Easter. The first of these was the festival of Shrovetide which began on ‘Shrove Sunday’ (the 7th Sunday before Easter) and continued through ‘Collop Monday’ (after the roasting of collops, or slices of meat) to Shrove Tuesday. ‘Shrove’ was derived from ‘shriving’ or confession of sins so that people could start Lent with clean consciences. As the last opportunity for fun before the restrictions of Lent, Shrovetide encouraged eating and drinking in excess and entertainment in the form of wrestling matches, cockfights and ball games. Festivities began in the mid-morning with the ringing of the church bell. In 1571, a Protestant preacher described Shrovetide as a time of ‘great gluttony, surfeiting and drunkenness.’2

On ‘Shrove Sunday’, 21st February 1585, Henry and Katherine were celebrating Shrovetide with the marriage of their eldest daughter, Mary, to John Zouch of Codnor in Derbyshire. Marriages were popular at this time of year as weddings were prohibited during Lent.  Mary was aged 30 and John was 10 years younger. John’s father, Sir John Zouch, had been made a Knight of the Bath at Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation and had assisted the Earl of Shrewsbury in guarding Mary, Queen of Scots in South Wingfield in Derbyshire.3 Henry and Katherine hosted a great feast at Caludon Castle for the newlyweds.

 In the ‘Clerk of the Kitchen’ accounts for 1585, the list of ‘straungers’ eating at dinner is extensive, including Sir John Zouch, Mary’s new father-in-law and Sir John Harington, whose family owned vast estates in nearby Rutland. At the bottom of the list are ‘cokes and laborers hired for the kichin’.4 A few extra hands were needed as the banquet prepared was a lavish affair. The feast would have been served at either 11am or midday and consisted of two courses, with sweet dishes included in each course, rather than being served at the end. Meat was a prominent part of the Elizabethan diet with a wider variety of meat eaten compared to today, including wildfowl.

On the menu was capon in a white broth, boiled woodcock, a larded leg of mutton, roast beef, baked venison, larks, blackbirds, snipes and plovers among many others.

Tudor pies on pewter plates

For those with a sweet tooth there was ‘jellie leache’ (a thick jelly-like preserve firm enough to be sliced), gingerbread and quince pie. The wedding guests also ate fritters, which were traditionally eaten during the Shrovetide festival.5

The wedding party stayed at Caludon Castle for over a week, enjoying the Berkeley family’s hospitality and feasting every night despite the celebrations rolling through Ash Wednesday into the beginning of Lent. For the six and a half weeks of Lent, Christians remember the events leading up to the death of Jesus Christ. Following the English Reformation, when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Catholic church, fasting during Lent was seen by some reformers as a Catholic tradition. However, Lent continued to be observed in Elizabethan times, festivities were discouraged, and diet was restricted during this period of self-denial. In the late Middle Ages, meat, eggs and cheese were not allowed to be eaten during Lent, but by Queen Elizabeth I’s reign it was only meat that was prohibited.

Elizabethans were encouraged by the government to eat only fish on fasting days although this was not a religious requirement but a way of supporting English fisheries. Refraining from eating meat was not strictly observed, with Queen Elizabeth herself flouting the law.6 However, fish was a large part of the Elizabethan diet as it was cheap, available fresh in most of the country and could be preserved.

Although the Berkeley family continued their celebrations into Lent, from Ash Wednesday onwards the dinner menu was significantly altered to include more fish such as ling, red and white herring, sprat, carp, salmon, skate, perch and sturgeon. However, the household continued to eat meat, but greatly reduced their diet to a few meat dishes at dinner and supper, eating roast hens, lamb, woodcock and blackbird. The family did not eat beef or venison during the whole of Lent.

The last wedding guests left after breakfast on Monday 1st March, although the newlyweds remained at Caludon Castle until after the Easter festivities, finally leaving for the groom’s home in Derbyshire on 10th May.7

Queen Elizabeth I

The Berkeley family passed the rest of the Lenten season quietly. They had little company and continued their restricted diet of predominantly fish with few meat dishes. The household also observed Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death, holding a strict fast and eating only ‘sallete and fruite and honie sopps.’8 Fasting on Good Friday was inherited from the traditions of the Catholic Church and was continued in Queen Elizabeth’s reign.9 Catholic ceremonies performed on Good Friday such as the Creeping of the Cross, when the congregation went barefoot on hands and knees to kiss the crucifix laid in front of the altar, and the Easter Sepulchre, a miniature tomb prepared in the north side of the chancel where the host and the crucifix were deposited to commemorate Christ’s entombment and resurrection, had been swept away during the Elizabethan era. However, the religious significance of Good Friday was upheld with an emphasis on preaching with sermons on the passion of Christ.10 Meanwhile, the kitchen began to prepare for the Easter feast by baking gammon, a hare and two capons.

Easter was the most important feast on the English Church calendar, celebrating triumph over death. In Protestant England it was marked by sermons on the resurrection. It was also one of the biggest holidays of the Elizabethan year which included the Monday and Tuesday after Easter, known as Hocktide, which was celebrated until the 19th century when bank holidays were introduced which cut the Easter holidays back to Monday alone.11 With the eating of meat once again allowed, Easter was a time of great celebration. New clothes were worn and it was also traditionally a time to clean and put fresh rushes and flowers on the floor.12 On Easter Monday, there were sports such as archery contests and fairs to enjoy. The Berkeley family no doubt savoured their Easter dinner, comprising a full range of meat, without a fish in sight.

Capon in white brothe and

mutton stewed beofe boiled

veale and bacon. Beofe

roste and a pestle of lambe

Baked, pigge, veale and

capon roste. Rabbette

chickins and pigions roste

tarte and a hare pye

lambe baked and a gamon

of bacon and red dere.13

 The Clerk of the Kitchen Accounts 1585

1 Smyth, J. The Berkeley Manuscripts: The Lives of the Berkeleys, Lords of the Honour, Castle and Manor in the County of Gloucester, from 1066 – 1618 (Gloucester, 1883) Vol. II p. 362

2 Hutton, R. The Stations of the Sun: a History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford University Press, 2001) p.152

3 Broadway, J. The Wives of the Berkeleys: Families and Marriage in Tudor and Stuart England (Xmera Ltd, 2021) p. 54

4 Clerk of the Kitchen Book 1584-1585, Berkeley Castle Muniment Room

5 Hutton, R. The Stations of the Sun: a History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford University Press, 2001) p.152

6 Singman, J.L. Daily Life in Elizabethan England (Greenwood Press, 1995) p. 133

7 Clerk of the Kitchen Book 1584-1585, Berkeley Castle Muniment Room

8 Clerk of the Kitchen Book 1584-1585, Berkeley Castle Muniment Room

9 Webster, T. Godly Clergy in Early Stuart England: The Caroline Puritan Movement, c. 1620-1643 (Cambridge University Press, 1997) p. 61

10 Hutton, R. The Stations of the Sun: a History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford University Press, 2001) p. 192

11 Hutton, R. The Stations of the Sun: a History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford University Press, 2001) p. 204

12 Hutton, R. The Rise and Fall of Merry England: the Ritual Year 1400-1700 (Oxford University Press, 1994) p. 25

13 Clerk of the Kitchen Book 1584-1585, Berkeley Castle Muniment Room

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