5 Old Ruins to Explore in Berkshire
Checkout places to visit in Berkshire
This romantic county is renowned for its connections with the Royal Family, the River Thames meandering along the northern edge and its many beautiful gardens ablaze with colour. Berkshire was recognised by the Queen as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974.
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Old Ruins to Explore in Berkshire
The Donnington Castle is a ruined medieval castle that was held by the Abberbury family from 1287. It consists originally of a curtain wall with four round corner towers, two square wall towers, and a substantial gatehouse, constructed around a courtyard in the style typical of the fortified residences of the period. The site is under the care of English Heritage and is protected from unauthorised change as a scheduled ancient monument.
Frogmore House, Standing about half a mile south of Windsor Castle in Windsor Home Park. gardens at Frogmore House have been an enduring attraction for monarchs and their families since the house was purchased by Queen Charlotte in 1790. At one time the house was the home of Queen Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent. After her death, her son-in-law, Prince Albert, commissioned the building of an elegant mausoleum to hold her remains.
TReading Abbey was founded in 1121 by King Henry I, youngest son of William the Conqueror. He intended it to be his own burial place and memorial, and although he died in France, he was buried in Reading before the Abbey’s High Altar in 1136. The impressive ruins consist of the south transept, the treasury, the chapter house, the dormitory, and the refectory . The chapter house is an impressive space and is the most complete room within the Abbey Ruins.
Wayland's Smithy is an atmospheric historic site about a mile's walk along the Ridgeway from the Uffington White Horse. This two-phase Neolithic tomb was a mortuary structure of stone and wood. After a short period of disuse, this was encased within a second, larger, barrow double its height, which remained in use for about 100 years. Archaeologists have established that the monument was built by pastoralist communities shortly after the introduction of agriculture to Britain from continental
West Green House Garden is a unique attraction nestling in a woodland corner of Northern Hampshire. Renowned for its theatricality and colour for all seasons, the surprises range from a chinoiserie chicken pavilion to a restored 18th century walled garden with a striking moongate. This is the gateway to a staircase framed by rills which rises to an unusual folly - the Nymphaeum - designed by the neoclassical architect Quinlan Terry.