Berkeley family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Berkeley family has an unbroken male line of descent from a Saxon ancestor before the Norman conquest of England in 1066 to the present day. The family reputedly descends from Harding, the son of Eadnoth (Alnod), who as "Marshal" or "Staller" was a high official under King Edward the Confessor. The town of Berkeley is located in the county of Gloucestershire and is situated about five miles west of Dursley and eighteen southwest of Gloucester, and northeast of Bristol. It was chartered by King Edward I to be governed by a mayor and alderman, but the corporation was annulled in 1885. The place confers the title of Earl and Baron on the Berkeley family. The manor embraces nearly thirty parishes and is one of the largest in England; it was given by William the Conqueror to Roger de Berkeley, Lord of Dursley. From "The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of the British Empire", "The Earl of Berkeley", pp 70-71 (1882).
The Berkeley family of Berkeley Castleis, according to an article by James Lees-Milne in the 18th edition of Burke's Peerage or Burke's Landed Gentry, volume 1, one of three families in England that can trace its lineage in the male line back to Saxon times. The other two are the Arden family and the Swinton family. Of the three, the Swinton family is the oldest.
