A Midsummer Nights Dream performances at Berkeley Castle

We are very excited to announce that this year in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, we will welcome production of 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' back to Berkeley Castle. 

Did you know the play was originally written for a Berkeley family wedding?

On the 19th February 2016 we celebrated the 420th anniversary of the marriage between Lord Thomas Berkeley & Elizabeth Carey, the Berkeley couple whose wedding the world renowned William Shakespeare initially wrote A Midsummer Nights Dream for. This play evolved into one of the most well known and loved plays in theatre to this date. 

Producer Tom Berkeley from Split Second Productions originally contacted us back at the beginning of last year.  From the moment our team met him and his fellow actors their enthusiasm, passion and talent won us all over. 

"It’s a huge honour to bring ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, which holds such a  special place in my family history, back to Berkeley Castle. In July, history will repeat itself; never again will this play be performed at a venue so fitting on such a special anniversary- it is truly unique.This July, ‘The Dream’ comes home"

Tom Berkeley - Producer 

When & Where

Fingers crossed for a balmy summer, the play will be performed in the Berkeley Castle Grounds with the medieval fortress as the backdrop. Your picnic blankets can be spread out and camping chairs popped up, hampers full of homemade goodies opened and of course a glass of something yummy in hand! Then the magic is ready to begin.... 

The performance will feature live music and an array of talented actors & actresses including:

 Ross White as Oberon/Theseus, Hannah Baxter-Eve as Puck, Natasha Ravenscroft as Titania/Hippolyta, Cory Chambers as Lysander, Alex Myers-Allenas Demetrius, Alex Coppola as Bottom, Maddie Hatt as Hermia, Ocean Barrington-Cook as Helena, Jay Parsons as Quince, Angus Berryman as Egeus/Snug, Lucy-May Orange as Starveling and Jarrad Pugh as Flute. 

Tickets

Performances will take place on the following evenings in July this year: 
(for tickets click here)

Sunday 17th July
Monday 18th July
Tuesday 19th July
Wednesday 20th July
Thursday 21st July

Sunday 24th 
Monday 25th
Tuesday 26th 
Wednesday 27th 

Evening Tickets - £15 per adult; £10 per child; £45 for a family ticket 

(entry to the grounds will be from 6.30pm with the performance commencing at 7.30pm) 

There will also be Matinee performances on the following select days: 

(for tickets click here)

Tuesday 19th 

Wednesday 20th 

Thursday 21st

Matinee Tickets - £10 per adult or child 

(entry to the grounds from midday with the performance commencing at 1pm) 

For more information about bringing a large school or association group to a matinee performance please contact us on 01453 810 303. 

A Split Second and PRG Production 

Wedding Ideas Magazine Feature

Last year we were approached by Olivia from Host Event Management who was bubbling with ideas for a Highland Themed Wedding Shoot and we both agreed that Berkeley Castle would be the perfect location! At the end of the project we were delighted to have the shoot featured in Wedding Idea's Magazine which is a nationwide publication for engaged couples. 

Having had many planning and visually inspired meetings, the shoot day finally came with all the suppliers rocking up early in the morning to get cracking. 

Being late October, the grounds were looking gorgeous with rich orange leaves carpeting the grass. Remarkably, the gardens were still in bloom and we managed to get a gorgeous shot of Jack and Liz surrounded by shrubs & purple flowers which just so happened to be a key colour used in the styling.

Inside the Castle, Olivia & Catherine were hard at work styling. The top table was set in the Great Hall in front of the large open fire place and upstairs in the Long Drawing Room a Civil Ceremony was staged for 70 guests. Olivia's mood board was inspired by autumn and winter weddings wishing to create a moody, luxe and rich feel opposed to the usual whimsical summery shoots which you tend to see. Scottish tartan was a central fabric used to create the theme alongside deep purple's and red's. 

Luxury chargers, crockery and glassware helped to create an opulent feel with a gorgeous candelabra as the centerpiece. 

We loved working with all the suppliers on this project and meeting a few new faces - it all pulled together to be, what I hope you will agree, a stunning shoot full of inspiration for a bride & groom's dream autumn or winter wedding. Enjoy a browse through the pictures or pick up your copy of Wedding Idea's Magazine which is in stores now. 

Alternatively for more information on hosting your wedding day at Berkeley Castle please follow this link. 

Many thanks to all the fantastic suppliers involved in making the shoot such a success. 

Albert Palmer Photography 

Jessica Mills Make-Up Artist 

Lisa Elliott Floral Design

Pretty Amazing Cakes  

Cotswold Letterpress

Veils of Berkeley 

Mens Hire Bristol

Vanessa Hambly Hair 

Models: Liz McMenamin & Jack Bain


www.berkeleycastleweddings.co.uk

The end of a fantastic season at Berkeley Castle

                                              (Berkeley Castle)

The dust has settled since we closed our gates to visitors for the season just over a month ago! A massive thank you to everyone involved in making 2015 such a fantastic year – from all our wonderful visitors, school groups and the annual dig, to our brilliant team of staff and volunteers who have such an outstanding knowledge of the Castle & its history and who keep everything ticking along.

I caught up with Operations Manager, Jackie, following the closure of the gates. From great visitor numbers to wonderful TripAdvisor reviews…. Jackie has been absolutely delighted with how successful the open season has been this year.

(The Apostles Porch)

Introducing a more family friendly approach with a whole range of fun activities including jester activity sheets, arts and crafts and a dressing up area was all greatly welcomed by our younger visitors (and even some of the parents!). One of the highlights for the year for Jackie was the Easter Dragons, which proved so popular we will be having them back for four whole days from Good Friday next year. The year saw many other entertainers at Berkeley Castle, including: falconry shows; deer hound racing; battling knights; medieval jesters and beastly Berkeley. But one of the most heart-warming aspects of the job for Jackie is seeing happy visitors wandering through the castle with the appreciation that there really is something for everyone here. Whether that be the aforementioned children’s activities, our historical tours of the castle, a peaceful moment of tranquility in the garden, transporting yourself to a tropical paradise in our butterfly house or a delicious afternoon cream tea in the Yurt…. No matter what age, everyone was able to find their own little slice of Berkeley Castle heaven.

(Family Fun) 

Easter is always the busiest time of the year at Berkeley so it is no surprise that Easter Monday saw our highest ever number of visitors, it is truly lovely to think that families make a trip to Berkeley Castle as an annual event. Often we will hear of several generations having visited the castle & grounds with many past generations also having made the trip all those years ago. For example, one of our lovely visitors left us a note to thank us and said that the purpose of their trip was to bring her children after her first visit some 35 years ago! Jackie has also been overwhelmed with the number of people who have taken the time to write such kind comments on our TripAdvisor page. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g503817-d215314-Reviews-Berkeley_Castle-Berkeley_Cotswolds_England.html

                                  (Jackie & Roland meeting her Royal Highness)

                                                 

A personal highlight for Jackie was our visit from the Countess of Wessex to open our Hidden Treasures Exhibition. The Countess of Wessex arrived at Berkeley Castle by helicopter, welcomed by the children from Berkeley Primary School on arrival. Charles Berkeley then proceeded to give her Royal Highness Sophie a private tour of the Castle. Castle staff & volunteers then gathered in the Great Hall with a select few able to meet her Royal Highness… and of course a classic British Cream Tea was enjoyed by all. Welcoming her Royal Highness to Berkeley Castle was not only an honour but it was also a privilege to meet such a kind and caring member of the royal family.

                                                                                   (Berkeley Castle Grounds) 

After such an exciting year in 2015… You might be asking yourself what you can expect to see next year at Berkeley Castle. Well…. we plan to continue developing the family activities, making sure there is fun for all the family. As well as that we will be putting on a Tudor Festival in May Half Term and also a fantastic performance of the Midsummer Night’s Dream play in celebration of the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Did you know that the play was inspired by a Berkeley Family Wedding? As well as weekly activities during the school holidays such as our entertaining jester, archery, arts & crafts and much more… we also have a very exciting surprise lined up for Easter Weekend! But you will have to keep your eyes and ears open to hear what that is… whilst you wait, here is a lovely video to remind you of lots of the happy times at Berkeley Castle from this year! 

Berkeley Castle will re-open for Easter Weekend from Friday 25th March to Monday 28th  March 2016 and then every Sunday – Wednesday from the 3rd April to 26th October 2016.

National Gardening Week

National Gardening Week- A Chat with Head Gardener Chris Gill 

To celebrate National Gardening Week I sat down with our head gardener, Chris Gill, to chat to him about the gardens at Berkeley Castle. Chris has worked his way up to earn himself the position of Head Gardener over 25 years of working the soils of the castle gardens. Stemming from a hobby, and an initial job in the local garden centre, the hobby quickly turned into a passion, and after a stint of learning on the job… Chris was rewarded with the esteemed position of Head Gardener for the Berkeley Castle Estate.

When discussing the parts of the job he enjoys most, Chris comments that it is the variety in his day to day jobs that keeps him happy. He also likes that, on the whole, the job is quite peaceful (apart from the occasional roar of a strimmer) with him being able to manage his own time and escape the normal busy office routine.

An average day will see Chris arrive at work to his first duty of checking on the seedlings and keeping an eye out for any that are ready to be planted. Next on his list is a gardener’s favourite…. watering the grounds, a crucial part of the job in order to keep the gardens hydrated and looking fresh. There’s very much a team spirit work ethic here at Berkeley Castle, and thus Chris spends a fair bit of his time helping out other members of staff in the Butterfly House and with general castle maintenance.

Another key  aspect of the job includes the maintenance of the lawns… did you know that it used to take Chris all day to complete the mammoth task of mowing the lower lawns, but now thanks to a fantastic new mower… it takes just two hours! However all of these activities are dictated by the great British weather… and therefore a task he puts on his list to do tomorrow, may not be doable if we have an overnight downpour.

Over the next few weeks there will be many beautiful and interesting species coming into bloom, including the colourful collection of Peonies which have just started to show. We can expect to see the Clianthus with white, pink and red flowers blooming in the Kitchen Garden in the visitor entrance area. Plus, one of our exotic plants, the Caesalpinia, is expected to bloom by the end of the month, and is sure to be a beautiful flower to keep an eye out for on the lower terrace.

Chris comments that the soil in the borders are particularly rich thanks to many centuries of tending, and are especially good to plant in as they drain so well. Back in the 1910’s/ 1920’s you would have expected to see around 30 gardeners working on grounds this size, with the job being much more labour intensive and many more shrubbery borders being cared for.

With eight acres of grounds surrounding the Castle there is an array of different areas to explore, from the wilder woodlands with fresh garlic growing, to the neat boarders on the terraces and the kitchen gardens with individual vegetable patches. There really is such variety to see in the Berkeley Castle Gardens. Plus, since last being open to the public, Chris has been busy planting plenty of exotic bulbs ready to pop up this Spring and Summer, which will be able to be seen in the borders throughout the gardens.  

Finally, I asked Chris if he could garden anywhere in the world where would it be? He gave the very modest answer of right here in England…. or perhaps South of France, so the temperature didn’t drop off quite so much in the winter months. Chris trusts that with a little protection from the elements, you can grow plants from nearly every corner of the world and that is enough to keep his garden happy.

Plant Sales & New Gardeners Range in the Shop

We’ve got a fantastic selection of plant sales this year from the brilliant Sunnyside Nurseries and local supplier Chris Pattison. Why not pop along to Berkeley Castle for a little garden inspiration and then visit the Plant Sales Area to spruce up your own garden at home?

We also have a lovely new gardener’s range in the shop, with items varying from muscle soak for those long days spent pruning, dibbers for planting, to quaint seed tins and “Grandad’s Garden” signs.

Berkeley Castle is open every Sunday-Wednesday from 11am to 5pm and looks forward to welcoming you for a visit soon. 

Berkeley Castle used for BBC Period Drama Wolf Hall filming

After being sworn to secrecy for many months, we are now officially allowed to talk about the fantastic filming for BBC One Period Drama "Wolf Hall" which took place here at Berkeley Castle last year. 

The Castle was taken over by the film crew for many weeks whilst they transformed rooms and worked their magic with props and lighting. A lucky few members of staff were able to catch a glimpse of Mark Rylance and Clare Foy acting out scenes, which was a real treat. 

Several rooms throughout the castle can be spotted in various Wolf Hall scenes, whilst they also utilized the beautiful Bailey Gates and Inner Bailey. Filming spots included The Great Hall, Kitchens, The Long Drawing Room and the Buttery, the history of which are all discussed when you visit Berkeley Castle and join one of the free informative and very interesting tours. 

Come along from April 1st to see if you can recognize parts of the Castle which were used for filming! Walk in the footsteps of the real historic characters... and the actors who played them! 

Berkeley Castle will be open from April 1st until April 8th with fantastic Easter activities taking place and then following this will open every Sunday- Wednesday until the end of October. 

Find out more about what's going on here: 

http://www.berkeley-castle.com/whatson.html