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It is best known for its medieval castle. Now ruined and in the care of English Heritage, this was at one time the home of Edward, the Black Prince and his wife, Joan of Kent.

The English poet William Cowper was born in Berkhamsted in 1731 .

The town is also home to the prestigious Berkhamsted Collegiate School, founded in 1541 and attended by the celebrated author Graham Greene. The town now thrives as a wealthy settlement for those working in London and the South East.

It is also the home of the British Film InstituteThe British Film Institute BFI is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to "encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary lif's National Film and Television ArchiveThe British National Film and Television Archive collects, preserves, restores and then shares the films and television programmes which have helped to shape and record British life and times since cinema was invented in the late nineteenth century. The c, the largest film archive of its kind in the world.

Berkhamsted was also the terminating point of the Norman invasion of 1066Events January 6 Harold II is crowned King of England the day after Edward the Confessor dies. Tostig Godwinson and Harald Hardraada of Norway invade England. September 25 Harold II defeats Tostig and Harold Hardraada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, kil. The invading army encircled London from the south east, then across to the west and north through WallingfordWallingford is a small town in Oxfordshire in southern England. It is a strategically important crossing point on the River Thames, where the invading armies of the Norman conquest of 1066 crossed the Thames from south to north. Wallingford itself sits on, and finally stopping at Berkhamsted, at which point the conquest was effectively complete. Edgar AthelingEdgar Atheling Ruled October 14, 1066- December, 1066 Predecessor Harold II Date of Birth circa 1052 Place of Birth Hungary Wife Margaret of Scotland Date of Death circa 1126 Place of Death Place unknown Buried Place unknown Parents Edward the Exile and A submitted to William the ConquerorWilliam I c. 1027 September 9, 1087), was King of England. Known alternatively as William of Normandy William the Conqueror and William the Bastard he was the illegitimate and only son of Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva, the daughter here and William was offered the crown of England, but declined saying he would rather receive the keys to London in Berkhamsted and would have the crown in London. This is the probable source of a local legend that Berkhamsted is the real capital of England.

The town is also as the Port of Berkhamsted as it stands on the Grand Union Canal (built by the Duke of Bridgewater who lived in nearby Ashridge House) and the River Bulbourne. The local council have restored the "port" signs on the tow path and the town is a popular stop for cyclists and boaters alike with many canal side pubs.

Recently ( 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap), upon renovation of a chemists shop at no.173 Berkhamsted High Street, it was discovered that the property was much older than believed. The Victorian facade hid a medieval building. The building has been dated via dendrochronology of structural timbers to between 1277 and 1297. This is the oldest known shop in the United Kingdom. It is believed that one of the older or even original uses for the shop may have been as a jeweller or goldsmith.