Donnington Castle Gatehouse

Hurtling down the very busy A34 road between the M4 Junction near Newbury in Berkshire, and to the border to North Hampshire, one may have just glimpsed a group of ruins on top of a hill, often obscured by trees. I have often wondered what they were after catching my eye on several occasions, and one day, once again my curiosity got the better of me, so I turned off the A34, and headed towards the villages of Donnington and Speen to investigate.

Donnington Castle in Berkshire, (not to be confused with Castle Donnington in Leicestershire), is built on a mound high on the summit of a hill overlooking Newbury less than a mile away. It is, or rather was, a functional castle, so it does not qualify as a folly, although had this been a sham, it would be incredible work, but the fabulous ruined gatehouse we see today is now fairly classed as a monument, so it worthies inclusion on this web site.

It was built by Richard Abberbury the Elder in 1386, making it medieval, under a license granted to him by King Richard II. It was rectangular, with a tower at each corner.

The poet Geoffrey Chaucer's son Thomas, bought the castle as a very grand home for his daughter Alice. She later went on to become the Duchess of Suffolk. But after a falling out with the Tudor monarchy, the castle later became royalty property. It was visited by King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.

During the civil war, the castle was parliamentarian owned by the Packer family. But It was lost to Sir John Boys during the First battle of Newbury, and was fortified further, as a major stronghold, guarding the major routes from Oxford to Southampton. The Second battle of Newbury in 1644, saw the castle besieged for a period 18 months by the Parliamentarians, before finally, the Royalists honourably surrendered it. They were then allowed to rejoin their garrisons in Wallingford, without losing too much face no doubt.

Incredibly, and for reasons I cannot fathom, The Parliamentarians demolished the castle in 1646. All that remains of it today is the beautifully ruined Gatehouse.

The ruined Gatehouse to the castle is rectangular, dressed in flint, comprising 3 stories and two round, tapering slender towers flanking the entrance, complete with bona fide arrow slits. The entrance being sadly sealed to the visitor by heavy iron portcullis gates. The gatehouse is surrounded by the ruined castle's ramparts. One tower's castellations remain, the others have mostly all fallen into decay. The ceiling inside the gatehouse is elaborately decorated.

Below: The gatehouse's patterned. ceiling. Going by the quality and detail of the work shown below, it merits that the rest of the castle's interior decoration must have surely been outstanding. Sadly lost forever.

Looking upwards at the turrets, one can make out a face carved into the stone peering down at the on-lookers. Perhaps the castle had many of these masks dotted around its walls when it was standing.

Below: The Gatehouse viewed from the rear from the far ramparts.

Standing here next to the monument, in its superb position overlooking the rolling Berkshire countryside in all its tranquility, it is hard to believe that the dreadful events that happened here, outside of the castle walls nearly 370 years ago, could ever have taken place.

Visiting:-

Donnington Castle is now owned by English Heritage. It is open daily, closing at dusk. Entrance to the monument is free and there is parking at the bottom of the hill. The castle is well signposted from Speen and Donnington. Definitely well worth a visit.

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