Berkshire History for Kids: Hamstead Marshall Park

Palace for a Princess

Hamstead Marshall is a small village to the west of Newbury.
There are the remains of three castle mottes there. Two were the original and replacement homes of the Marshal family who lived in Norman times. One was a siege castle built by King Stephen from which to attack them during his Civil War against the Empress Matilda.
The castle is sometimes called 'Newbury Castle'. After defeating John Marshal there, King Stephen took his son William as a hostage to make sure he behaved himself.
In Tudor times, Sir Thomas Parry was given the manor as a reward for loyal service to Queen Elizabeth I, when she was imprisoned by her sister, 'Bloody Mary'. He built a fine Tudor mansion there. A spooky old story suggests the unmarried Queen knew it rather well.
The house was probably ruined by Parliament's soldiers at the 1st Battle of Newbury during the English Civil War.
After the Earl of Craven bought the place, he decided to built a grand palace for Princess Elizabeth, the sister of King Charles I & Queen of Bohemia. He was madly in love with her. It was going to be like her old home, Heidelburg Castle in Germany.
Elizabeth died before the palace was even started, but the Earl still built it. His descendants lived there until it burnt down in 1718. They then built a new home at Benham Park.
One of the lodges was later made into a big house. Only the gate-posts of the original house survive.