From Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales, Their Legendary Lore and Popular History, by John Timbs, re-edited, revised, and enlarged by Alexander Gunn, Volume II.; Frederick Warne and Co.; London; pp. 63-64.
About a mile from the town of Newbury, on an eminence thickly wooded, at the base of which runs the river Kennet, are the remains of Donnington Castle, understood to have been erected by Sir Richard Abberbury, the guardian of Richard II. during his minority, and who was expelled the Court in 1388 by the Barons, for his adherence to the cause of that monarch. It has been asserted that Chaucer, the poet, was possessor and inhabitant of this place, but the assertion is not borne out by evidence, more than a supposition that the Castle was purchased about this time by his son, Thomas, who had married a rich heiress. After Thomas Chaucer’s death, the estates was settled upon his daughter, Alice, through whom William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, the lady’s third husband, obtained possession of it, and enlarged the buildings. Upon the attainder of the above Duke, Henry VIII. granted the estate, with the title of Duke of Suffolk, to Charles Brandon. Camden describes the Castle as a small but neat structure. It was garrisoned for the King in the beginning of the Civil War, being a place of considerable importance as commanding the road from Newbury to Oxford. It was first attacked by the Parliamentarians under Major-General Middleton, who, to a summons of surrender, received a spirited reply from Captain John Boys, the King’s officer. The place was accordingly assaulted, but the besiegers were driven back with great loss. On the 29th September, 1644, Colonel Morton invaded Donnington, and having raised a battery at the foot of the hill near Newbury, continued for twelve days so incessant a fire, that he reduced the Castle almost to a heap of ruins; three of the towers and a part of the wall being knocked down. A second summons was now sent, but still in vain; and, although the Earl of Manchester came to join in the attack, and the Castle was again battered for two or three days, every effort to take the place failed, and ultimately the Parliamentarians raised the siege. Captain Boys was knighted for his services on this occasion.
After the second battle of Newbury, the same gallant army officer secured the King’s artillery under the walls, while the latter retired towards Oxford; upon which the Castle was once more attacked, the Earl of Essex being the leader, but as fruitlessly as ever. In a few days, the 64 King was allowed to revictual the garrison without opposition. The only part of the Castle now remaining is the entrance gateway, with its two towers, and a small portion of the walls. The principal entrance was to the east. The western part of the building terminated in a semi-octagon shape, and the walls were defended by round towers at the angles. The gateway is in good preservation, and the place for the portcullis is still visible. Round the Castle, occupying nearly the whole eminence, are the remains of entrenchments thrown up during the Civil War, and the evident strength of which helps to explain the successful defence of Donnington.
It is related in Knight’s Journey : a book of Berkshire, that in the second battle of Newbury, the King’s troops were posted at Shaw Place, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Page, who, being attacked by a large body of foot, repulsed them with great loss. A basket-full of cannon-balls thrown either during the battle of Newbury or in the siege of Donnington Castle, and picked up from different parts of the grounds, is still preserved. In the old oak wainscot of a bow-window is a small hole about the height of a man’s head, which, according to tradition, was made by a bullet fired at the King whilst dressing at the window, and which very narrowly missed.