Donnigton Castle originates from the late 14th Century, built by Richard Abberbury the Elder who was granted a license to situate his manor at Donnington by Richard II in 1386. The present castle gatehouse dates from this time. The castle was later bought by Thomas Chaucer, Constable of Wallingford Castle, as a home for his daughter Alice and her first husband Sir John Philip when they married in 1415. The castle then came into Royal hands and King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I both visited in their time. The latter wanted to live there during her imprisonment by her sister, Queen Mary, but the monarch would not allow it. By the time of the Civil War, the castle was owned by the Parliamentarian Packer family, but, at the commencement of hostilities, it was quickly taken for the King and held by Sir John Boys. It was besieged for most of the war, but still succeeded in guarding the major routeways from London to the West and Oxford to Southampton. Legend has it that the ghost of a trooper stands by the remaining gatehouse, quickly vanishing after being seen. It is also said that a white dog haunts the hill on which the castle stands, often bounding towards the nearby woods where it disappears.