The 700 year old Royal Scream

Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire

The year was 1327 when that most unfortunate King, Edward II, was put to death.

The place was Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire. Within this Castle is a deep dungeon where the bodies of animals were left to decompose with, it is said, the bodies of those who had fallen out of favour with the Berkeley family. The stink from this disease ridden hole, the foetid air, the rats, maggots and other loathsome by-products of death left small chance of life for those who were cast there while still living. This is where Edward found himself.

King Edward II

His story is one of great sadness where opportunity was handed to him by his father, but his character was such that it all just slipped away. When he was deposed by his wife and her lover his list of crimes at his trial was huge, including pursuing occupations unbecoming to a King (probably referring to his bi-sexuality), military defeats which lost Scotland (remember Bannockburn, possibly the greatest English defeat for 300 years), losing land in Ireland and France, damaging the Church (a most serious crime in those days) and a more general charge of losing the trust of his people while not giving the noble families the respect due to their rank.

So he had to go. However to execute a King in those days was a step too far, so another way had to be found. He could be allowed to die from natural causes, so he suddenly found himself in that nauseous pit in Berkeley Castle. But he proved to be too resilient so he needed to be “helped” on his way. His body however should not be allowed to show any external signs of force. Quite a quandary, but one which the medieval mind thrived on.

A particularly unpleasant death was devised. A tube was inserted up his “fundament”... a particularly elegant euphemism ... with a red-hot poker then pushed down the tube into his innards. This, after much excruciating pain, killed him from inside leaving no visible cause of death. It was considered a most satisfactory result, but one of intense agony for Edward.

Now, even today, if you walk around the Castle on the anniversary of his death, September 21st, you can often hear screams which echo far beyond the Castle walls. Or it might be just the keening wind swirling around the massive fortifications. Either way, it is a most eerie sensation.

In Association with the Western Gazette 

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