The Jenner family, as all clergy and vicars of the Town, had very close relationships with the Berkeley family; and living so close to the Castle, inevitably became involved in the day-to-day life of the Earls of Berkeley. Edward's father, the Reverend Stephen Jenner, was tutor to the Berkeley family.  

At 2pm on 2nd September 1784, less than 12 months after the Montgolfier brothers launched the very first hot air balloon in Paris and assisted by the fifth Earl Berkeley, Jenner launched an unmanned balloon from the Keep of Berkeley Castle, seen in the photograph above. It flew ten miles north eastwards, landing in a field at Kingscote. He had followed its flight on horseback which resulted in his first meeting with Catharine Kingscote, daughter of the local landowner, a lady he subsequently married on March 6th, 1788.

Relaunched, the next day it drifted north along the line of the hills for a further fourteen miles, coming down again east of Gloucester, on the escarpment at Birdlip.  A local pub, known since the 1820s as the Balloon Inn and latterly called the Air Balloon, may be named after this event. Sadly the Inn is now closed and facing demolition to make way for major road improvements to the nearby road.
 
Standing outside the arched gateway to the private entrance to the Castle, you can see in front of you the Keep on the left of the building, with a very visible missing section of wall. Like many major strongholds in England, Berkeley Castle was caught up in the English Civil War. The parliamentarians laid siege to the castle in 1645 and eventually captured it from the Royalist defenders. To ensure that the Castle could not become a fortress again the victors demolished this vital section of the defences and insisted that it should never be rebuilt.

Please do not enter the Castle through this private gateway. Well worth spending a day exploring however. For more information and visiting times for the Castle see https://www.berkeley-castle.com/

Near the top of the lane on the left can be seen the Church of St Mary the Virgin. Enter the churchyard through the gate on the left and walk across the end of the church.  Turn right at the end of the building and enter the Church's covered porch.  The location plaque is inside on the left in the community noticeboard.  Enter the church but please be aware there may be a service in progress.  You can click the QR code on the Plaque or click here for information on Location 8.