The Early History of The Church and Castle Sites at Berkeley
SAXON
There are records of a 8th Century Abbey. Two abbots, one in the 8th Century and one in the 10th Century, became Bishops of Worcester. Berkeley Abbey was one of the most substantial church landowners in Gloucestershire There was a convent on, or near, the site of the present church.
SAXON CHURCH
There is little doubt that there was a Saxon Church on the site. The present tower is built on the foundations of a medieval tower that had a church attached. There is some suggestion that this was the site of a Saxon Church. Stones with Saxon carvings on them have been found on the site and there is some reuse of carved stone within the present church building.
GODWIN
There is a tradition that Earl Godwin, father of King Harold, acquired the convent before 1066 and it is his Saxon chalice we see in the castle. The chalice was engraved and re-gilded in Tudor times and the top was added; there is an inscription inside.
AFTER 1066
Berkeley was given to the Earl of Hereford and some sort of stronghold was probably built. About 1088 Roger de Berkeley I (sometimes called Roger de Dursley I) was in possession of the site. Roger II entertained King Henry II at Easter 1121 so there must have been a building of some kind. Roger III lost the castle in 1153 to Robert FitzHarding of Bristol. The castle keep dates from about 1153. (Alice, the daughter of Roger III, married Maurice, son of Robert FitzHarding.)
NORMAN CHURCH
The post-Norman Conquest Church on this site was important. It was a collegiate or prebendral church with its priests serving district churches covering a large area. Its importance declined in the mid-12th Century (but in a document of 1338, ten chaplains are mentioned).
During the 12th Century the Church was given to St. Augustine's Abbey Bristol. Robert FitzHarding built and endowed St. Augustine's Abbey (now Bristol cathebg). He is also supposed to have built a Norman Church on our present church site.
There are records of a 8th Century Abbey. Two abbots, one in the 8th Century and one in the 10th Century, became Bishops of Worcester. Berkeley Abbey was one of the most substantial church landowners in Gloucestershire There was a convent on, or near, the site of the present church.
SAXON CHURCH
There is little doubt that there was a Saxon Church on the site. The present tower is built on the foundations of a medieval tower that had a church attached. There is some suggestion that this was the site of a Saxon Church. Stones with Saxon carvings on them have been found on the site and there is some reuse of carved stone within the present church building.
GODWIN
There is a tradition that Earl Godwin, father of King Harold, acquired the convent before 1066 and it is his Saxon chalice we see in the castle. The chalice was engraved and re-gilded in Tudor times and the top was added; there is an inscription inside.
AFTER 1066
Berkeley was given to the Earl of Hereford and some sort of stronghold was probably built. About 1088 Roger de Berkeley I (sometimes called Roger de Dursley I) was in possession of the site. Roger II entertained King Henry II at Easter 1121 so there must have been a building of some kind. Roger III lost the castle in 1153 to Robert FitzHarding of Bristol. The castle keep dates from about 1153. (Alice, the daughter of Roger III, married Maurice, son of Robert FitzHarding.)
NORMAN CHURCH
The post-Norman Conquest Church on this site was important. It was a collegiate or prebendral church with its priests serving district churches covering a large area. Its importance declined in the mid-12th Century (but in a document of 1338, ten chaplains are mentioned).
During the 12th Century the Church was given to St. Augustine's Abbey Bristol. Robert FitzHarding built and endowed St. Augustine's Abbey (now Bristol cathebg). He is also supposed to have built a Norman Church on our present church site.