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 Since then the castle has been a ruin. Reusable materials such as wood and stone were used as construction materials for the rebuilding of the district house ("Amtshaus") at the foot of the castle hill. A Sigewin of Are, Archbishop of Cologne is mentioned in the records as early as 1087, but Dietrich I of Are is viewed as the primogenitur of the House of Are. The comital family named themselves after the river Ahr, whose surrounding area they owned. In 1140 the family divided into the lines of Are-Hochstaden and Are-Nürburg. Members of the family include: Are Castle Are