James Berkeley James Berkeley James Berkeley (died 1327) was Bishop of Exeter for a period of three months in 1327, which term was cut short by his death or possible murder. Berkeley was a younger son of Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (1245-1321), "The Wise", feudal baron of Berkeley of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, by his wife Joan de Ferrers, a daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby by his wife Margaret de Quincy, a daughter of Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester. Berkeley was elected bishop on 5 December 1326 and was consecrated on 22 March 1327.
Berkeley Castle from the Minstrels' gallery. His tomb is in St Mary's churchyard which stands besides the castle. Adjoining the Great Hall was the Chapel of St Mary (now the morning room) with its painted wooden vaulted ceilings and a biblical passage, written in Norman French. In the late 16th century Queen Elizabeth I visited the castle and played bowls on the bowling green. During the English Civil War, the castle still held sufficient significance for it to be captured in 1645 by Colonel Thomas Rainsborough, for the Parliamentarian side and after a siege which saw cannon being fired at point blank