Berkeley, Gloucestershire
Encyclopedia
Berkeley is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire
, England. It lies in the Vale of Berkeley between the east bank of the River Severn
and the M5 motorway
within the Stroud
administrative district. The town is noted for Berkeley Castle
where the imprisoned Edward II
was murdered.
and Gloucester
. It is built on a small hill in the Vale of Berkeley. The town is on the Little Avon River
, which flows into the Severn at Berkeley Pill. The Little Avon was tidal, and so navigable, for some distance inland (as far as Berkeley itself and the Sea Mills at Ham) until a 'tidal reservoir' was implemented at Berkeley Pill in the late 1960s.
Berkeley was a significant place in medieval times. It was a port and market-town, and the meeting place of the hundred of Berkeley
. The parish of Berkeley was the largest in Gloucestershire. The parish included the tithings of Alkington
, Breadstone, Ham, Hamfellow and Hinton
, and the chapelry of Stone
, which became a separate parish in 1797. Hinton became a separate civil parish, and the separate ecclesiastical parish of Sharpness with Purton, in the 20th century.
Berkeley was also the site of Berkeley nuclear power station
, which has two Magnox
nuclear reactor
s. This power station, the first commercial British reactor to enter operation, has since been decommissioned and all that remains are the two reactors encased in concrete. The administrative centre adjacent to the station is still active however - the centre was founded as Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories in the early 1960s and was one of the three principal research laboratories of the CEGB
.
, one of the most inland in Britain. The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal (originally known as the Gloucester & Berkeley canal) starts here.
From 1876 to 1964 the town had a railway station
, originally on a branch from a junction at Berkeley Road
on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway
. From 1879 the branch became a through-route to Lydney
when the Severn Railway Bridge
was opened. However, the bridge was damaged beyond repair by a ship collision in 1960.
There are also serveral bus services running to and from the town.
. Berkeley also has a small primary school.
, the originator of vaccination
. After studying medicine in London
he returned home to work as the local doctor, and in 1796, realising that milkmaid
s didn't catch smallpox, he performed a pioneering experiment by inoculating his gardener's son James Phipps
with cowpox, thus preventing infection from smallpox
. The Chantry, Jenner's home in Berkeley for 38 years, is now a museum. John Fitzhardinge Paul Butler
VC was also born here.
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England. It lies in the Vale of Berkeley between the east bank of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
and the M5 motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
within the Stroud
Stroud (district)
Stroud is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. It is named after its largest town, Stroud, and has its administrative headquarters in Ebley Mill, in the Ebley area on the outskirts of the town.thumb |left |Ebley Mill...
administrative district. The town is noted for Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK . The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.The castle has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the...
where the imprisoned Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
was murdered.
Geography
Berkeley is located mid-way between BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. It is built on a small hill in the Vale of Berkeley. The town is on the Little Avon River
Little Avon River
The Little Avon River is a small river partly in southern Gloucestershire and partly in South Gloucestershire. For much of its length it forms the boundary between the county of Gloucestershire and the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire. It rises to the east of Wickwar, near Horton, passes...
, which flows into the Severn at Berkeley Pill. The Little Avon was tidal, and so navigable, for some distance inland (as far as Berkeley itself and the Sea Mills at Ham) until a 'tidal reservoir' was implemented at Berkeley Pill in the late 1960s.
History
Berkeley was first recorded in 824 as Berclea, from the Old English for "birch-tree wood or clearing".Berkeley was a significant place in medieval times. It was a port and market-town, and the meeting place of the hundred of Berkeley
Berkeley (hundred)
The hundred of Berkeley was one of the ancient hundreds of Gloucestershire, England. It was divided into two separate parts, the Lower Division and the Upper Division.The Lower Division consisted of several detached parts, including the ancient parishes of...
. The parish of Berkeley was the largest in Gloucestershire. The parish included the tithings of Alkington
Alkington, Gloucestershire
Alkington is a civil parish in the district of Stroud, Gloucestershire. It had a population of 638 in the 2001 census. There is no Alkington village, the parish consists of various hamlets, including Woodford, Newport and Lower Wick....
, Breadstone, Ham, Hamfellow and Hinton
Hinton, Gloucestershire
Hinton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is one mile north of Dyrham and forms part of the civil parish of Dyrham and Hinton.The Bull is the local pub.-External links:...
, and the chapelry of Stone
Stone, Gloucestershire
Stone is a small village in Alkington parish, Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the A38 road, just south-west of its crossing of the Little Avon River, roughly halfway between Bristol and Gloucester. It is adjacent to the county boundary with South Gloucestershire. The part of the...
, which became a separate parish in 1797. Hinton became a separate civil parish, and the separate ecclesiastical parish of Sharpness with Purton, in the 20th century.
Berkeley was also the site of Berkeley nuclear power station
Berkeley nuclear power station
Berkeley nuclear power station is a disused Magnox power station situated on the bank of the River Severn in Gloucestershire, England.-History:The construction of the power station, which was undertaken by a consortium of AEI and John Thompson began in 1956....
, which has two Magnox
Magnox
Magnox is a now obsolete type of nuclear power reactor which was designed and is still in use in the United Kingdom, and was exported to other countries, both as a power plant, and, when operated accordingly, as a producer of plutonium for nuclear weapons...
nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
s. This power station, the first commercial British reactor to enter operation, has since been decommissioned and all that remains are the two reactors encased in concrete. The administrative centre adjacent to the station is still active however - the centre was founded as Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories in the early 1960s and was one of the three principal research laboratories of the CEGB
CEGB
The Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
.
Transport
Just north of Berkeley lies the port of SharpnessSharpness
Sharpness is an English port in Gloucestershire, one of the most inland in Britain, and eighth largest in the South West. It is on the River Severn at , at a point where the tidal range, though less than at Avonmouth downstream , is still large .The village of Sharpness is pronounced with the...
, one of the most inland in Britain. The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal (originally known as the Gloucester & Berkeley canal) starts here.
From 1876 to 1964 the town had a railway station
Berkeley railway station
Berkeley railway station served the town of Berkeley in Gloucestershire, England. The station was on the Sharpness Branch Line, part of the Midland Railway , which connected the Bristol and Gloucester Railway main line at Berkeley Road station with the docks at Sharpness.-History:The Midland...
, originally on a branch from a junction at Berkeley Road
Berkeley Road railway station
Berkeley Road railway station served the towns of Berkeley and Dursley in Gloucestershire, England.-History:The station was one of the first six stations built on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, originally a broad gauge line overseen by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but later taken over by the...
on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway
Bristol and Gloucester Railway
The Bristol and Gloucester Railway opened in 1844 between Bristol and Gloucester, meeting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. It is now part of the main line from the North-East of England through Derby and Birmingham to the South-West.-History:...
. From 1879 the branch became a through-route to Lydney
Lydney
Lydney is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is located on the west bank of the River Severn, close to the Forest of Dean. The town lies on the A48 road, next to the Lydney Park gardens with its Roman temple in honour of Nodens.-Transport:The Severn Railway...
when the Severn Railway Bridge
Severn Railway Bridge
The Severn Railway Bridge was a crossing across the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney, Gloucestershire. It was badly damaged in an accident involving river barges in 1960 and demolished in 1970.-Construction:...
was opened. However, the bridge was damaged beyond repair by a ship collision in 1960.
There are also serveral bus services running to and from the town.
Education
The local secondary school is in Wanswell, Berkeley is Vale of Berkeley CollegeVale of Berkeley College
The Vale of Berkeley College is a small school located in Wanswell Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England. the school is due to close in 2011.- External links :* *...
. Berkeley also has a small primary school.
Notable people
Berkeley was the birthplace of Edward JennerEdward Jenner
Edward Anthony Jenner was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire...
, the originator of vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
. After studying medicine in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
he returned home to work as the local doctor, and in 1796, realising that milkmaid
Milkmaid
A milkmaid is a girl or woman employed to milk dairy cows. She also used the milk to prepare dairy products such as cream, butter, and cheese...
s didn't catch smallpox, he performed a pioneering experiment by inoculating his gardener's son James Phipps
James Phipps
James Phipps , as an eight year old boy, was the first person given the cowpox vaccine by Edward Jenner.Edward Jenner , a British rural physician, was variolated as a boy. He had suffered greatly from the ordeal but survived fully protected from smallpox...
with cowpox, thus preventing infection from smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. The Chantry, Jenner's home in Berkeley for 38 years, is now a museum. John Fitzhardinge Paul Butler
John Fitzhardinge Paul Butler
John Fitzhardinge Paul Butler VC DSO was a British Army Officer during the First World War, and English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Background:Butler was born...
VC was also born here.