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970
Queen Ælfgifu
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1066
Construction of Berkhamsted Castle
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1066
The Norman Conquest
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1100
Death of William; Henry I crowned
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1123
Castle Administered by Chancellors
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1135
King Stephen & Empress Matilda
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1155
Thomas Becket
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1156
Henry II grants Royal Charter to Berkhamsted
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1191
Richard the Lionheart and Berengaria
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1204
King John grants castle to Queen Isabella
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1216
The French Siege
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1216
First Barons’ War
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1222
St Peter’s Church consecrated
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1227
Earldom of Cornwall
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1270
Edmund founds Ashridge Priory
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1280
Edmund, Earl of Cornwall creates the Deer Park
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1290
Edward I holds Parliament at Ashridge
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1296
Edward I takes Scottish prisoners
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1307
Edward II and Piers Gaveston
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1327
King Edward III crowned
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1336
Edward III Renovates the Castle
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1337
Hundred Years’ War begins
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1337
Edward the Black Prince
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1346
Battle of Crécy
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1356
Battle of Poitiers
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1361
Joan, Countess of Kent
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1377
Richard II
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1388
Robert de Vere exiled
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1389
Geoffrey Chaucer is Clerk of Works
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1399
Henry IV Seizes the Throne
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1413
Henry V crowned King
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1415
Battle of Agincourt
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1429
Henry VI
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1455
Queen Margaret and the Wars of the Roses
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1461
King Edward IV seizes power
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1469
Cecily, Duchess of York
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1483
King Richard III
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Richard succeeds to the throne, the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty.
1485
End of the Wars of the Roses
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Richard III, the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty, is killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The Tudor King Henry VII is crowned, ending the Wars of the Roses.
1491
Henry VIII
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In the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547), Berkhamsted Castle is largely forgotten. In 1503, the castle in the care of an Under-Keeper for the king. Henry grants the Manor of Berkhamsted his successive wives: in 1509 to Catherine of Aragon, in 1533 to Anne Boleyn, and in 1536 to Jane Seymour, none of whom is known to have visited the town.
1495
Death of Cecily Neville
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1533
Elizabeth I
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1580
Berkhamsted Place built from Castle Stones
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1616
Charles, Prince of Wales, visits Berkhamsted
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The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles (later to become King Charles I) visits Berkhamsted. He visits his tutor, Thomas Murray, who leases Berkhamsted Place from the prince.
1628
King Charles I turns the deer park over to farmland
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1700
Castle in ruins
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1707
Acts of Union
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1761
Duke of Bridgewater
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1798
The Grand Junction Canal
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1809
Earl of Bridgewater
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In 1809, John Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater purchases the demesne (manorial lands) of Berkhamsted.
1837
The coming of the railways
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1850
Victorian Leisure in the Castle Ruins
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1861
J.R. Crawford’s Poem
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1864
Earl Brownlow
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The estates and park surrounding the castle are sold off altogether by the Duchy of Cornwall to John Egerton-Cust, 2nd Earl Brownlow. He also agrees to rent the castle from the Duchy for a nominal rent.
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1913
Balloon landing
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1922
Historical Pageant
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1929
Office of Works
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1935
Edward, Prince of Wales Visits the Castle
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1939
London Statues in WWII
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1962
Archaeological excavations
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Archaeological excavations are carried out at the SE tower of Berkhamsted Castle in 1962 and again in 1967, revealing the construction techniques of the flint curtain wall and tower. Items of pottery dated c 1250 are excavated is from a pit inside the tower. An English Heritage report of the findings describes Berkhamsted Castle as a "high-status residence" with a deer park and an administrative centre for its estates.
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1966
900th anniversary of the Norman Conquest
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1967
Graham Greene
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1983
English Heritage formed
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Berkhamsted Castle is brought under the care of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, a government body which operates under the name English Heritage.
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2013
Alderney Tapestry
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2015
Historic England formed
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Historic England takes over the statutory & conservation remit for ancient monuments from English Heritage. The management of historic properties and visitor experience continues to be run by English Heritage, including Berkhamsted Castle.
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2016
950th Anniversary of the Norman Conquest
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2018
Berkhamsted Castle Trust formed
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Berkhamsted Castle Trust is established by local volunteers, with the support and encouragement of English Heritage, to promote education about the history of Berkhamsted Castle and to assist English Heritage with the visitor experience and site preservation & maintenance.
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Opening hours
Daily 10:00—16:00
Closed now
Open tomorrow at 10:00
Berkhamsted Castle Trust
Berkhamsted Castle Trust manages the Berkhamsted Castle site in partnership with English Heritage under a Local Management Agreement.
Our volunteers rely on the generosity of the public.