Christmas Concert

Christmas may be a distant memory, but our Christmas Concert with The University of the West of England choir, a barbershop quartet and a brass quintet will live in the memory for a long time. 

Here's a few photos from what was a great evening:

Quiz Night

We held our ever popular Quiz Night back in October.  Eight teams battled it out in a keenly fought contest, covering typical quiz subjects but also included a round about paintings and artefacts in the Castle.  The questions were pitched at just the right level - so much so that victory was decided by a single point......

See you there next year!

Tapestry Conservation

We have recently embarked on a major project to repair and conserve some of the tapestries in the Castle.

These are important artefacts, many of which are in a poor state of repair and so prompt action is required to preserve them for future generations.

Here are a couple of photos showing work on the tapestries in the Dining Room.

Watch this space and the Buttress for updates.....

Harvest Celebration

In October, the Castle hosted a Festival of Harvest, celebrating all aspects of the harvest.

Here are a couple of photos from that event, showing traditional logging techniques and making linen from flax.

Visit to St Mary's, Berkeley

In September, the Friends visited St Mary's Church in Berkeley.  We were treated to a very interesting talk and tour by Peter Yardley, focusing on the many and varied links between the Church and Castle.  An excellent afternoon was rounded off by plenty of tea, coffee and an array of home-baked cakes!

Friends of Berkeley Castle Summer Party

On Sunday 17^th August 40 Friends of Berkeley Castle & their guests enjoyed the annual Friends’ Garden Party hosted by Charles & Daisy Berkeley. The refreshments were of the usual high standard, and this year we had the pleasure of a sunny evening in the shelter of the keep garden. 

Dr Stuart Prior, of Bristol University, and his wife Catherine were our guests. This year Stuart has made some fascinating discoveries in one of the outer keep walls which provide compelling evidence that the castle keep used to be much larger than the structure that we see today. Stuart led a number of intrepid Friends to the top of the keep wall to see this architectural evidence - as well as to enjoy the spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.

Come and join us next year!

Berkeley Show 2014

Despite a wet Berkeley Show, Friends and visitors were welcomed onto the Friends stand to relax and share a drink......