BERKELEY, market town, Gloucestershire, England, near the river Severn at the commencement of its estuary, on the G.W. and L.M.S. Railways. Pop. (1921) 790. It lies on a slight rise in the rich pastoral vale to which it gives name, celebrated for its dairies and "double Gloucester" cheese. The manor of Berkeley, whence the family of Berkeley (q.v.) takes its name, is said to have been owned by a nunnery before the Conquest. Charters and fairs were granted to the Berkeley family in the 13th and 14th centuries, and there are references to the settle ment as a borough. The corporation was dissolved in 1885.
The town has an Early English and Decorated church and a grammar school. It was the birthplace of Dr. Edward Jenner who is buried in the church. To the south-east is Berkeley castle, baronial fortress and seat. There is some trade in coal, timber, malt and cheese. The manufacture of cloth, for which Berkeley was formerly noted, had already declined by the i6th century. The Berkeley and Gloucester canal, navigable for vessels of 500 tons, connects Gloucester with the docks at Sharpness, avoiding the difficult navigation of the upper part of the Severn estuary.