Beverstone Castle (also known as Beverston Castle)

An Anglo-Saxon castle, probably of timber, already existed at Beverston before 1051, when the powerful Earl Godwin occupied it. It was rebuilt in 1220 on a grander Norman scale in stone and became a possession of the Berkeley family. In mid-14th century it was ‘improved’ and partly extended, and given a new gatehouse. The entrance was defended by a portcullis and drawbridge over an inner moat of which only W and S parts now exist. An outer moat has disappeared. The Berkeleys sold the castle in 1597, and in 1612 it was bought by Sir Michael Hicks, a relation of Baptist Hicks who built Chipping Campden House. The castle was twice besieged in 1644 in the civil war. Surviving portions of the castle today are the W range and N part of gatehouse, but these are substantial structures, and provide a striking and ‘gothic’ background to the garden. The present William & Mary style house adjoining the Berkeley tower, on the site of the castle’s former 13th century south hall, was probably built after a major fire in 1691. It has been used as a farmhouse and also as a gentleman’s residence.

Berkeley Castle remained in the Hicks (and Hicks Beach) family until 1842. A print from a drawing by Thomas Hearne, inscribed to Michael Hicks esq and published in 1778, suggests that the terrace in front of the house was the only garden. Below the retaining wall there was a narrow piece of land separating it from the moat. The small square building, categorized as a ‘gazebo’, was here, but there was no bridge over the moat and the land south of the moat was farmland.

In 1842 Beverston Castle was bought by Robert Holford. Holford built new cottages in Beverston for his farmers’ labourers in a similar style to those at Westonbirt, and he may have been responsible for some tree planting. The ancient walnut tree in the courtyard, and another in the lawn south of the moat, mentioned in 1975 and 1987, and some other old trees in the ground beyond the moat, had probably been planted in the years that he owned the house, if not before. Ancient yews and beech trees, and a nut walk (Sales 1980), too, probably date from this period. But a photograph of the south side of Beverston in 1899 in Trans BGAS (1899) suggests that the field on the further side of the moat from the house was then farmland. The house has changed hands several times since.

In 1939 Vice-Admiral the Hon. Arthur & Mrs Strutt bought Beverston Castle. Mrs Strutt, previously Mrs C A Ward, was a keen gardener. Much of the present garden which has been developed in the former field beyond the bridge over the moat, is owed to her. Lawns with scattered trees, shrubs and a herbaceous border have been created, and there is a walled kitchen garden and greenhouses. Major & Mrs Rook continued to develop the garden.

Type

Garden

Purpose

Ornamental

Principal Building

Domestic / Residential

Period

Medieval (1066 to 1540)

Survival

Unknown

Open to the public

Yes

Civil Parish

Beverston