Berkeley family Constable (Alnod), a high official under King Edward the Confessor. Berkeley Castle, the "caput" of the barony, and the adjoining town of Berkeley are located in the county of Gloucestershire and are situated about five miles west of Dursley and eighteen miles southwest of Gloucester, and northeast of Bristol. The location has conferred various titles on the family over the centuries, including Baron Berkeley (barony by writ), Earl of Berkeley, and Marquess of Berkeley. Berkeley Castle was originally granted by William the Conqueror to the Norman Roger de Berkeley, feudal baron of Dursley, under the feudal tenure of fee-farm. However,
Are Castle which, in combination with a wall, barred the way to the castle hill. The structure comprised a gatehouse over the access road, an attached castle house ("Burghaus"), with a basement and two floors housing living accommodation, and an attached tower. It took its name from the House of Gymnich. Several members of the family held the castle in fief (they were ‘’Pfandnehmer’’) in the 14th and 16th centuries. It is suspected that the gate system was built during this time. From time to time the Gymnicher Porz was an independent fief ("Burglehen") of the House of Gymnich. From 1997 to