Maurice was the eldest son of Sir Charles Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth Killigrew, and was baptized on 15 June 1628.
Berkeley held local office under the Protectorate: he was a commissioner of assessment for Somerset in 1657, and was again appointed to the commission in January 1660.
[1] Appointed a captain of militia horse in April 1660, he obtained a pass to travel overseas and brought to the court of Charles II the news of Monck's declaration in favour of restoration.
Berkeley also briefly enjoyed two revenue posts as treasurer and receiver of the Dunkirk garrison from December 1660 to 1661, and joint agent for wine licenses from 1661 to 1662.
Locally, he was appointed to the commission for oyer and terminer on the Western circuit in July and for sewers in Somerset in December.
[1] In England, he was appointed to the commission on loyal and indigent officers in Bristol in 1662 and was made a deputy lieutenant of Somerset.
He died on 13 June 1690 and was succeeded by his younger brother John in his Irish peerage, while his English baronetcy became extinct.