Location: Berkshire Map
Constructed: 1386 by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder
Donnington Castle is a medieval castle situated near village of Donnington, North of town of Newbury in the Berkshire County in England. It was constructed in 1386 by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder following a crenellation permit issued by King Richard II of England in 1386. Donnington castle was later purchased by Thomas Chaucer, son of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, as a residence for his daughter Alice de la Pole, future Duchess of Suffolk. It passed it on to the Tudor family, and the building becomes royal property. King Henry VIII lived tere, along with his daughter, future Queen Elizabeth I; the latter even asked to live there in 1554 during her imprisonment by her sister, Marie Ire, but was not allowed to do so.
The settlement of Donnington has been in the
possession of the Abbenbury family since 1292. The castle itself, with
the permission of King Richard II, was commissioned by Richard Abbenbury
in 1386. In 1398 the building was purchased by Thomas Chaucer as a
residence for his daughter Alice, the future Duchess of Suffolk. After
the settlement of the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, the castle underwent
redevelopment.
Later, due to the conflict between the Suffolks
and the Tudors, the castle became royal property. Charles Brandon, 1st
Duke of Suffolk lived in Donnington from 1514 to 1516. In 1539, Henry
VIII visited the castle, and in 1568 his second daughter, Elizabeth,
stayed there.
In 1600, Elizabeth granted the castle to Charles
Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham. By the beginning of the English Civil
War, the castle became the property of John Packer, but after the Battle
of Newbury in 1643, the castle was captured by John Boyce. In October
1644, Beuys, along with his associates, laid siege to the castle. In
1646, the siege was lifted, and the castle itself was destroyed in the
same year.