Berkeley Castle
"Mark the year, and mark the night, When Severn shall
re-echo with affright, The shrieks of death thro'
Berkeley's roof that ring, Shrieks of an agonizing King
! The year was 1327, the night a wild and tempestuous
one, when through howling winds and rattling rain these
shrieks of despair penetrated the thick walls of
Berkeley, reaching to the village beyond the castle
itself. There frightened men and pious women listened in
dismay, praying the while for the parting soul of Edward
II. anointed King of England. Finally the cries ceased,
the hellish deed was done, the murderers could rest.
There was nothing to fear from that still form stretched
on the narrow bed in the prison room now become the
chamber of death ; and beneath clearing skies, with
fitful moonlight touching donjon keep and battlemented
walls, Berkeley stood grand, and dark, and silent."
Extract from "Glimpses of Old English Homes" (Open Library)
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