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The first castle, Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The name of the town derives drom the time in the 13th and 14th centuries when the manor was held by the Le Zouch family of Brittany.
In 1472, William Lord Hastings, Chamberlain to and friend of King Edward IV acquired the manor and began the process of rebuilding it into a grand fortress-palace in the latest style. Two of the planned four great towers were built, one housing the Great Kitchen and the other a suite of grand apartments. Work stopped however when Hastings was executed for failing to actively support King Richard III when the latter siezed power after the death of Edward in 1483.
The kitchen tower is on the left, the great tower on the right with the chapel beyond.
Although William Hastings was executed in 1483, his son continued to hold the manor and was responsible for creating an elaborate formal garden during the reign of king Henry VIII. This had three brick-built banqueting towers.
One of the banquetting towers in the formal garden.
Probable appearance of gardens and castle.
The kitchen tower. the protruding section in the centre houses latrine shafts, which can be seen where the masonry has fallen away at the bottom left.
Inside the great tower: The degree of erosion on parts of the spiral staircase is rather disturbing. Not really aparent here as the flash has filled the shadows in what really are quite deep holes. The stone is very soft in places and you could easily pick lumps out with your fingers.
There are 98 steps to the top level, so about 80-90 feet.
Looking down inside the Great Tower. There were four levels in this part: A cellar with stone vault over, a kitchen with a stone vault over, a large state room and at the top the Lord's private chamber with a magnificent fireplace.
There was another section of the tower containing no fewer than 6 levels, one of which appears to be a hidden strongroom.
In the great kitchen which fills the whole of the lower level of the kitchen tower. In the centre of this great fireplace was a cauldron with a fire under. To the right is an oven. Meat would have been roasted on spits in front of open fires.
More fireplaces in the kitchen. The door leads to a spiral staircase and the goods entrance passage.
This is the well that supplies the kitchen. There are two more wells in the courtyard.
Outside the front of the castle: The nearer arched doorway was the goods entrance where the massive omounts of food and drink consumed by the household were brought in on carts prior to being unloaded into the kitchen, buttery(for storing butts of beer and wine) and pantry(for storing bread, pain in French). The further doorway was the main entrance to the castle.
The Great Hall. The twin doors lead from the Great Kitchen via the entrance passage and between the buttery and pantry.
The chapel, also built under Lord Hastings. It is still used for family burials.
The 15th century chapel from the south.
Changes were made to the accommodation in the castle up to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1643 the castle was subjected to a major siege by the Parliamentarian forces in the civil war. The Royalists had prepared by building extensive outworks, batteries and bastions and several tunnels connecting various parts of the defences.
This tunnel, between the Great Tower and the Kitchen Tower, can still be visited.
The Royalist defenders eventually negotiated an honourable surrender of the castle and marched out with all their arms and belongings. The Parliamentarians immediately levelled the outworks and later, in 1648, much of the castle was "slighted" by being blown up with gunpowder. Later the Great Hall was repaired and parts of the accommodation were lived in for some considerable time.
Moving on, and about 15 miles eastwards, we come to Kirby Muxlowe castle. This site was acquired by Lord Hastings in 1480 and a grand, brick-built castle surrounded by a moat was planned for it.
Unfortunately King Richard III interfered with those plans by having Hastings' head chopped off in 1483. Only a small part of the castle had been built but it was occupied by the family for some time afterwards.
Above the gate to the left and right can be seen the initials "w", "h" for William Hastings in the brickwork.
Also high up on the right-hand turret there is a ship and below it a "maunch" - a detachable sleeve, a piece of female apparel which formed the hastings coat of arms.
The Maunch.
The castle courtyard from round the back. It was planned to be entirely surrounded by towers and other buildings.
Moving on again, we come to the Battlefield Line, a preserved railway in rural Leicestershire.
A Great Western 2-8-0 goods locomotive waits at the head of a train at Shenton Station. "King" and "Castle" are of course classes of Great Western 4-6-0 locomotive.
The train sets off for Shackerstone.
Close to Shenton Station is King Richard's Field. The railway is called the Battlefield Line because it runs across the traditional location of the battle of Bosworth Field of 1485, in which King Richard III was killed, after only 2 years on the throne. "Serves him bloody well right" was probably the thought of most of the Hastings family.
In Victorian times, it was deduced by a respected historian, after studying the sources, that the spot where Richard was killed was near here.
King Richard's Field. This stone was erected to mark the spot where Richard was thought to have fallen. He is still remembered to the degree that people leave cellophane-wrapped white roses here. The white rose is the badge of the house of York and Richard was a son of York.
There is a sign nearby that as archaeology has found the actual site of the battle a mile or so from where it was previously thought to be, the stone will be taken down this winter and re-erected at some point in the future at a more appropriate location.
Hope you enjoy!
In 1472, William Lord Hastings, Chamberlain to and friend of King Edward IV acquired the manor and began the process of rebuilding it into a grand fortress-palace in the latest style. Two of the planned four great towers were built, one housing the Great Kitchen and the other a suite of grand apartments. Work stopped however when Hastings was executed for failing to actively support King Richard III when the latter siezed power after the death of Edward in 1483.
The kitchen tower is on the left, the great tower on the right with the chapel beyond.
Although William Hastings was executed in 1483, his son continued to hold the manor and was responsible for creating an elaborate formal garden during the reign of king Henry VIII. This had three brick-built banqueting towers.
One of the banquetting towers in the formal garden.
Probable appearance of gardens and castle.
The kitchen tower. the protruding section in the centre houses latrine shafts, which can be seen where the masonry has fallen away at the bottom left.
Inside the great tower: The degree of erosion on parts of the spiral staircase is rather disturbing. Not really aparent here as the flash has filled the shadows in what really are quite deep holes. The stone is very soft in places and you could easily pick lumps out with your fingers.
There are 98 steps to the top level, so about 80-90 feet.
Looking down inside the Great Tower. There were four levels in this part: A cellar with stone vault over, a kitchen with a stone vault over, a large state room and at the top the Lord's private chamber with a magnificent fireplace.
There was another section of the tower containing no fewer than 6 levels, one of which appears to be a hidden strongroom.
In the great kitchen which fills the whole of the lower level of the kitchen tower. In the centre of this great fireplace was a cauldron with a fire under. To the right is an oven. Meat would have been roasted on spits in front of open fires.
More fireplaces in the kitchen. The door leads to a spiral staircase and the goods entrance passage.
This is the well that supplies the kitchen. There are two more wells in the courtyard.
Outside the front of the castle: The nearer arched doorway was the goods entrance where the massive omounts of food and drink consumed by the household were brought in on carts prior to being unloaded into the kitchen, buttery(for storing butts of beer and wine) and pantry(for storing bread, pain in French). The further doorway was the main entrance to the castle.
The Great Hall. The twin doors lead from the Great Kitchen via the entrance passage and between the buttery and pantry.
The chapel, also built under Lord Hastings. It is still used for family burials.
The 15th century chapel from the south.
Changes were made to the accommodation in the castle up to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1643 the castle was subjected to a major siege by the Parliamentarian forces in the civil war. The Royalists had prepared by building extensive outworks, batteries and bastions and several tunnels connecting various parts of the defences.
This tunnel, between the Great Tower and the Kitchen Tower, can still be visited.
The Royalist defenders eventually negotiated an honourable surrender of the castle and marched out with all their arms and belongings. The Parliamentarians immediately levelled the outworks and later, in 1648, much of the castle was "slighted" by being blown up with gunpowder. Later the Great Hall was repaired and parts of the accommodation were lived in for some considerable time.
Moving on, and about 15 miles eastwards, we come to Kirby Muxlowe castle. This site was acquired by Lord Hastings in 1480 and a grand, brick-built castle surrounded by a moat was planned for it.
Unfortunately King Richard III interfered with those plans by having Hastings' head chopped off in 1483. Only a small part of the castle had been built but it was occupied by the family for some time afterwards.
Above the gate to the left and right can be seen the initials "w", "h" for William Hastings in the brickwork.
Also high up on the right-hand turret there is a ship and below it a "maunch" - a detachable sleeve, a piece of female apparel which formed the hastings coat of arms.
The Maunch.
The castle courtyard from round the back. It was planned to be entirely surrounded by towers and other buildings.
Moving on again, we come to the Battlefield Line, a preserved railway in rural Leicestershire.
A Great Western 2-8-0 goods locomotive waits at the head of a train at Shenton Station. "King" and "Castle" are of course classes of Great Western 4-6-0 locomotive.
The train sets off for Shackerstone.
Close to Shenton Station is King Richard's Field. The railway is called the Battlefield Line because it runs across the traditional location of the battle of Bosworth Field of 1485, in which King Richard III was killed, after only 2 years on the throne. "Serves him bloody well right" was probably the thought of most of the Hastings family.
In Victorian times, it was deduced by a respected historian, after studying the sources, that the spot where Richard was killed was near here.
King Richard's Field. This stone was erected to mark the spot where Richard was thought to have fallen. He is still remembered to the degree that people leave cellophane-wrapped white roses here. The white rose is the badge of the house of York and Richard was a son of York.
There is a sign nearby that as archaeology has found the actual site of the battle a mile or so from where it was previously thought to be, the stone will be taken down this winter and re-erected at some point in the future at a more appropriate location.
Hope you enjoy!
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