Berkhamsted Castle

Berkhamsted Castle stands on a low hill beside the town of Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. Built in the 11th century after the Norman Conquest, it was one of the first castles placed on the route from London into the Midlands. A motte-and-bailey design was chosen, with a tall mound and two walled enclosures covering more than ten acres of earthworks. A wide ditch and bank surrounded the whole site, and a nearby deer park supplied venison for the household. The castle also had its own vineyard and several mills in the valley below. The castle played a part in every major crisis of the 12th and 13th centuries. It was besieged for twenty days in 1216 by Prince Louis of France, who used heavy siege engines against its walls. Later it became the favourite residence of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, who added a three-storey tower in 1254. Edward III gave the castle to his son, the Black Prince, who enlarged the hunting grounds. Royal prisoners were once held here, including a king of France captured in battle. Today the ruins show the great tower’s foundations and the line of the shell keep. Visitors walk over grassy mounds that mark the inner and outer baileys. The wide ditches still hold water, and the motte offers a view across the valley to the town. English Heritage keeps the site open so people can trace the castle’s long history from Norman fortress to royal residence.