Donnington Castle Donnington Castle is a ruined medieval castle , situated in the small village of Donnington , just north of the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire . It was founded by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder in 1386 and was bought by Thomas Chaucer before the castle was taken under royal control during the Tudor period . During the First English Civil War the castle was held by the royalist Sir John Boys and withstood an 18 - month siege ; after the garrison eventually surrendered , Parliament voted to demolish Donnington Castle in 1646 . Only the gatehouse survives . The site is under the care of English Heritage and is protected from unauthorised change as a scheduled ancient monument . History . The manor of Donnington had been owned by the Adderbury family since 1292 , Donnington Castle was built by its original owner , Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder , under a licence granted by Richard II in 1386 . The surviving castle gatehouse dates from this time . In 1398 , the castle was sold to Thomas Chaucer , son of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer , as a residence for his daughter Alice , who later became Duchess of Suffolk . The Duke of Suffolk William De La Pole made Donnington his occasional residence , and considerably enlarged the buildings . This family later fell out with the Tudor monarchs , and the castle became a royal property . In 1514 it was given to Charles Brandon , 1st Duke of Suffolk . Though Brandon appears to have stayed at the Donnington Castle in 1516 , by the time the castle and manor returned to the Crown in 1535 the structured was in a state of decay . Both King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I visited Donnington Castle , in 1539 and 1568 respectively . In 1600 , Elizabeth I gave the castle and surrounding manor to Charles Howard , 1st Earl of Nottingham . By the time the English Civil War broke out in 1643 , the castle was owned by the Parliamentarian John Packer family but after the First Battle of Newbury it was taken for the King , Charles I , and held by Sir John Boys . They quickly enhanced the castle ' s defences by adding earthworks in a star shape to provide gun emplacements . Parliamentarians laid siege to the castle in October 1644 and the garrison held out for 18 months . With permission from the king , Boys surrenedered the castle in April 1646 and was allowed to leave with all his men . In 1646 Parliament voted to demolish the castle ; only the gatehouse was left standing though the 17th - century earthworks can still be seen . The castle is now in the care of English Heritage and is a scheduled ancient monument number 233041 . The castle stayed in the Packer family until the mid 18th century , when Robert Packer married Mary Winchcombe , and the property passed into the Winchcombe family tree . From 1833 - 1881 the manor and castle was owned by Winchcombe Henry Howard Hartley , Layout . Donnington Castle was originally built in a roughly rectangular form , though the west facade projected outwards irregularly . It was enclosed by a curtain wall , with a round tower at each of the four corner . Roughly halfway along the two walls running from west to east were to square towers . The courtyard enclosed by the curtain walls would probably have contained a hall , kitchens , and accommodation for guests . Measured from the inner sides of the curtain walls , the courtyard measured north to south and east to west . During the Civil War star - shaped defences were built around the castle to facilitate gun emplacements . Only the gatehouse , crested by battlements , survived the castle ' s destruction in 1646 ; standing three storeys high , it measures internally . Modern walls standing high outline the original layout of the demolished castle . The star - shaped earthworks added during the Civil War are still visible , surviving to a height of .