A lone twin-towered gatehouse above Newbury, all that outlasted a punishing Civil War siege that wrecked the rest
Open accessfree to visit at any reasonable time
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
What survives at Donnington is the gatehouse and little else — two tall round towers flanking the old entrance, standing almost whole on a hill above the River Lambourn. Sir Richard Abberbury was licensed to build the castle in 1386, a neat square (quadrangular) plan with a tower at each corner and this gatehouse in front. Its fame comes from the Civil War: held for the King by Sir John Boys, the castle came under repeated Parliamentary siege from 1644, and the defenders threw up a star-shaped earthwork around it to mount their own guns, the low banks of which still ring the ruin. The garrison held out until 1646, but Parliament had the castle slighted (deliberately wrecked so it could not be held again) afterwards, leaving only the gatehouse upright. English Heritage keeps it, about two miles from Newbury, with the Battle of Newbury ground close by.
More at the National Heritage List entry
