Berkhamsted Castle

DTM- (Digital Terrain Model, i.e. No buildings or foliage) Lying just to the northeast of Berkhamsted high street (A4251: Roman Road: Akeman Street) is the English Heritage Motte and Bailey site, Berkhamsted Castle. We visited this yesterday and were impressed by the double moat, so I thought I'd smash-out a LiDAR this morning. Castle construction (during Norman conquest): c1066AD on the orders of William the Conqueror. Castle given to Thomas Becket by Henry II in 1155. (Castle extended at this point) Taken back by the king in 1164 when he fell out of favour. Henry II liked the site so much he spent a lot of time here. Berkhamsted as a town recognised by Henry II in 1156. King John owned the site until his death in 1216 when the castle was sieged by Louis VIII with new trebuchets from France. The inhabitants lasted two weeks before surrendering to the 'damnable stones'. The last occupant was Cecily Neville, the duchess of York and then abandoned after her death in 1495. The site was then robbed of its stone to build Berkhamsted Place (demolished in 1967). There is so much history relating to this castle I left out quite a bit from the timeline (1200-present day) as it would be pages long. (Scheduled Monument) [Any descriptive text attributed to the Atlas of Hillforts & Historic England websites]