Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, Part III

Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire

Part III:  A look around town

This is the last of three parts dealing with Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire.

St Peter’s Church from Castle Street

St Peter’s Church

I made my way back to the High Street along Castle Street, the original access route to the castle.  It used to end at the South Gate, the main entrance to the castle.  However, both the gate and the moat in that part were knocked down to make place for the railway in the 19^th century.

I walked past Berkhamsted School to St Peter’s Church, at the corner of Castle Street and the High Street.

Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, Part II

Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire

Part II:  Berkhamsted Castle

This is the second of three parts dealing with Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire.

Castle Ruins

When I visited Berkhamsted, rather than the town itself, my first stop were the ruins of the castle. As the reason for my visit was to pay my respects to Cecily Neville, the mother of Richard III, it was only polite to go to where she had resided.

The castle is located a bit away from the town, on higher ground, instead of the marshy river area.  Berkhamsted was an important strategic location, as it was on one of the main routes between London and the Midlands, approx. 30 miles (= 48 km) from the capital.

Don’t be confused by today’s entrance to the castle area.  You will pass the Keeper’s House, but this is only from the 19^th century.

Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, Part I

Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire

Part I:  Historical background & References

This is the first of three parts dealing with Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. The posts are based on a talk I gave at the recent Ricardian convention at Albury, where members of the Richard III Society from Australia and New Zealand met.

(This post was updated 21 Dec. 2018)

Grand Union Canal in Berkhamsted

A few years ago, while visiting the UK, I decided to go to Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, where the mother of Richard III, Cecily Neville, duchess of York, had resided for a long period.

(Great) Berkhamsted is a town in western Hertfordshire.  Not to be confused with Little Berkhamsted, a village, also in Hertfordshire, approx. 6 km east of Hatfield.  When we lived in central Hertfordshire for five years in the 1990s, Little Berkhamsted was much closer to home and easily visited.  However, a trip to the other Berkhamsted so far west had been in the too hard basket at that time!

It took the distance from Australia to put things into perspective.  So, when, many years later, I was going to drive from St Albans to Oxford, it was the perfect opportunity to make up for my earlier negligence.  In anticipation of my trip, I told some friends that I would be going to meet up with Cecily Neville for a coffee.

Cecily Neville