St Mary's Berkeley Christmas Tree Festival - Friends' Tree

St Mary's Berkeley hosted a Christmas Tree Festival last weekend (12th/13th).  Various local organisations and charities decorated trees and will share in the proceeds from the event.

Here's a photo of the Friends' tree - bought by our very own Chairman and kindly donated back to the church.

FoBC Tree

The event was a great success with more than 200 visitors over the weekend and in excess of £450 raised for the participating charities and organisations.

Battle of Agincourt Talk

We celebrated the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt by hosting a talk by medieval archery expert Neil Eddiford.

Neil came equipped (armed?) with a vast array of weaponry, as shown in these photos.

Harvest Festival

On Sunday 4 October, the Castle hosted a Harvest Festival.

Here's some of our favourite photos from the day.

Summer Party

FoBC members enjoying our annual Summer Party at Berkeley Castle last Sunday, hosted by Charles Berkeley and attended by other members of the Berkeley family.  Some sixty Friends enjoyed Pimms and canapés on the garden terrace.  Funding for the Friends objectives was assisted by a well supported raffle organised by deputy chair Diana Merrett, pictured with FoBC chairman Paul Walkden.

Countess of Wessex at Berkeley Castle

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited the Castle on 10 September.

She was greeted by rapturous applause from the children of Berkeley Primary School, shown round the Castle by Charles Berkeley and then presented to the Friends' Committee, guides and volunteers, and the Berkeley family.

Here are a couple of photos from a very memorable occasion:

Charles Berkeley giving a guided tour

Paul Walkden introduces the Committee to the Countess

Waterloo Commemoration

Friends enjoyed watching a commemoration of the 200^th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo organised by the Royal Society of St George Gloucestershire branch.  A detachment from the 23^rd Regiment of Foot, the Royal Welch Regiment Fusiliers, fresh from the recent re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo, together with Sandham’s 9^th Company of the 3^rd Battalion Royal Foot Artillery, fired muskets and cannon from the Castle Gun Terrace:

Archeological Dig Tour 2015

Photos from today's tour, led by Dr Stuart Prior of Bristol University: