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Name: | KIRBY MUXLOE CASTLE, OAKCROFT AVENUE |
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HER Ref: | MLE11083 |
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Parish: | Kirby Muxloe, Blaby, Leicestershire |
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Grid Reference: | SK 523 046 |
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Map: | Coming soon |
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Monument Types
- CASTLE (Late Medieval - 1480 AD to 1483 AD)
Summary
Small brick 'castle' or fortified manor house, built from 1480 by William, Lord Hastings, who was beheaded in 1483 leaving construction unfinished. Most of the foundations had been laid, the gatehouse largely built, and the western tower wholly built when work ceased.
Additional Information
Listed building description:
Ruins of castle. Begun 1480 for William, Lord Hastings, who was beheaded June 1483 leaving most of the construction incomplete. Narrow red brick with diapering and figured ornament in blue headers; some stone dressings. No roofs. Rectangular courtyard plan with towers projecting at corners and centres of each side. Surrounded by a moat. Only gatehouse at centre of north west side and west tower ever neared completion; remainder survives only in plan marked by foundations and low base walls. Foundations of earlier manor house are visible in courtyard. Gatehouse is of 2 storeys, with chambers flanking central entrance, large chamber above, and octagonal corner towers. To either side are the beginnings of spur walls of side ranges. Chamfered stone plinth with stone gunports above; chamfered stone string at first floor level. Large central gateway of moulded stone with 4-centred arch and ashlar panel above, all recessed behind slot for portcullis. Remainder of lower storey is blind on north front. Upper storey has 2 stone mullion and transom windows to main chamber each window with pair of arched lights in rectangular moulded surround. Central blind rectangular niche in carved stone surround, flanked by initials WH in blue header brick. Upper chambers of towers have single lights with arched heads and moulded surrounds. Walls of towers carry blue header motifs including a sleeve, a ship and a man. Courtyard front of gatehouse has 2-light stone windows flanking stone archway, and fragments of upper windows. Towers on this side have doorways with 4-centred stone archways to spiral staircases lit by single lights with depressed arches and double chamfered brick surrounds. Staircases have fine helical brick vaults. Lower chambers have brick barrel vaults, with vaulted garderobes in north towers. Inner doorways have depressed arches of chamfered brick. Similar surrounds to fireplaces. Upper part of north east tower converted to dovecote. West tower is 3 storeys high with taller square turret projections on north east and south east sides, the former with spiral staircase. Plinth, gunports and strings as on gatehouse; also battlements. Stone windows with arched lights, each chamber with a 2-light window to either north west or south west, and single lights to remaining sides. Scheduled Ancient Monument No 3. In care of English Heritage. (DOE guide, Kirby Muxloe Castle, by Sir Charles Peers, 1957 and 1983).
Year of construction: 1480
Scheduled Monument description:
The monument is situated on low-lying ground adjacent to a stream channel, on the north-eastern outskirts of Kirby Muxloe, and includes the standing and buried remains of a quadrangular castle which is in the care of the Secretary of State, and its associated leat and outlet channels. The manor of Kirby Muxloe was owned by the Pakeman family during the 14th century and the foundations of the hall of their stone-built manor house, constructed within a moat, are visible in the courtyard of the quadrangular castle which replaced it in the 15th century. The hall was of two bays with a passage at its south-western end to separate it from the service rooms. The foundations of the buttery, pantry and passage to the kitchen remain visible. The solar or great chamber of the 14th century house was situated to the north-east of the hall, but this area has been disturbed by later building work.
In c.1460, Kirby Muxloe Castle passed to the Hastings family through inheritance. Sir William Hastings undertook extensive building programmes at his residences in Leicestershire: Ashby, Bagworth and Kirby Muxloe. Although a license to crenellate was obtained in 1474, work did not begin at Kirby Muxloe until 1480. The earlier hall was initially retained but demolished later in order to use the stone for the foundations of the new buildings. In 1483, following the death of Edward IV, William Hastings was beheaded by the new monarch, Richard III, at which time Kirby Muxloe Castle stood incomplete and the site was Abandoned shortly afterwards.
The site has external dimensions of 110m north-east/south-west and 90m north-west/south-east. The waterfilled moat arms are up to 21m wide and the inner face is revetted in brick. The remains of an oak bridge were found in the north-western arm of the moat, and may be seen between the supports of the new entrance bridge. The moat is fed by a 110m long leat which connects with the stream to the south of the castle, while the outlet channel is visible in the north-western part of the site. The water flow was originally controlled by a series of sluice gates, the brick bases of which can be seen southern end of the leat. The remains of a brick-built weir are visible within the stream bed, adjacent to the southern end of the leat, and are included in the scheduling. At the point where the leat enters the moat, there is a further weir with a sluice at its base to control the supply of water entering the moat. This sluice stood within a vertical brick shaft and a wooden plug remains in situ. Beyond the south-western moat arm, undulations in the ground surface are thought to represent the site of a building. There is little evidence to indicate the character and function of this structure but it will survive as a buried feature and is included in the scheduling. The moated island is rectangular in plan and measures 80m x 60m.
Although Kirby Muxloe Castle was never completed, the standing remains (which are Listed Grade I and included in the scheduling) provide evidence for the layout of the site. Most of the foundations had been laid, the gatehouse largely built, and the western tower wholly built when work was brought to an abrupt halt by the execution of the owner. Except for the stone dressings it has been constructed throughout in brick, and is one of a group of early brick buildings in the Midlands. Square towers were to be constructed at each corner of the moated island, rectangular projecting towers were placed centrally within three of the sides, and a gatehouse is located in the central part of the fourth (north-western) side. The gatehouse and towers were to be of three storeys and were to be connected to each other by ranges of two storey buildings.
Access to the moated island is via the gatehouse passage, although there are documentary references to a postern gate. The gatehouse has a rectangular plan with octagonal turrets at each of the four corners and its outer face has been provided with gunports. The turrets which face onto the courtyard contain spiral staircases, apparently to give access to lodgings situated on the first and second floors of the gatehouse (although the latter was never completed). The ground floor chambers are brick-vaulted, with those on either side of the passage serving as a guardroom and a porter's lodge. The front of the gatehouse bears the initial W H (William Hastings) with his badge, both picked out in vitrified brick.
The three storeyed, south-western tower (the only one of four to be completed) has gunports, which face onto the moat, built into the external brickwork. Each floor has a large room and an antechamber and there is evidence of fireplaces and latrines within the walling. The three unbuilt corner towers were clearly intended to be similar to the completed south-western tower. Of the building ranges which were to be constructed between the towers, the north-western range is the most complete. There is little evidence to indicate the character of the ranges and, except for a short length of walling to the north of the gatehouse, none of the 15th century work stands more than a few courses high. It seems likely that the great hall was to be constructed in the south-eastern range, and the rectangular projecting tower near the centre of the south-east curtain was to be built off-centre in order to accommodate it.
All fence posts and the modern bridge across the north-western moat arm are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath is included.
Small brick 'castle' or fortified manor house built by William, Lord Hastings, in the 1470s and 80s. The gateway and a corner tower survive to almost their original height. Clearance of the monument revealed the foundations of an earlier manor house. A sherd of glazed C14th pottery was found amongst these foundations. (PL)
<1> Peers, C, 1957, Kirby Muxloe Castle (Bibliographic reference). SLE6205.
HMSO Guide Book?
<2> 1866, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 1, Vol 1 (1866), p362-7 (Journal). SLE5936.
James Thompson "The Castle of Kirby Muxloe"
<3> Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 1870, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 2, Vol 2 (1870), p112-4 (Journal). SLE4983.
Rev. Prebendary Trollope "Kirby Muxloe Castle"
<4> 1913-20, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 11, Vol 11 (1916), p193-345 (Journal). SLE5988.
A Hamilton Thompson "The Building Accounts of Kirby Muxloe Castle, 1480-1484"
<5> Pevsner N, 1984, The Buildings of England Leicestershire and Rutland, p192-4 (Bibliographic reference). SLE4.
"The brick building whose ruins looks so impressive belongs to the hastened work of Lord Hastings of Ashby Castle, who had obtained licence to empark in 1474 and began work in 1480. The accounts are preserved. They cease at the end of 1484. Lord Hastings had been beheaded in June 1483. The controller was Roger Bowlett (Bowlot, Boulot), and many of the workmen's names were Welsh. The master mason was John Cowper with Robert Steynforth under him. They were both sent at different times to Tattershall, no doubt to study Lord Treasurer Cromwell's spectacular brick keep or gate tower of 1431-9. Kirby Muxloe is brick too, with diapers, some figurative, of vitrified blackish-blue headers. Stone is used only for doorways, windows, and string courses. It is really a fortified manor house (no licence to crenellate) and laid out round a single courtyard. It needed no compromise with pre-existing work, though there was on the site indeed a moated C14 house (its hall with porches, buttery, and pantry on the right and projecting solar wing on the left are set out in the lawn within the courtyard); this was meant to come down when Lord Hastings had finished. His plan is still that of such a late C14 castle as Bolton: an oblong with three-storey angle towers, a big and broad gatehouse, projections in the middle of the other sides, and two-storey ranges of domestic buildings arranged against the walls. The hall was intended to be in the range opposite the gatehouse which, with the W tower, is the only piece standing to a substantial height. The whole castle, because of the water supply to the moat, lies surprisingly low.
"The GATEHOUSE is a symmetrical composition with a broad centre and sturdy polygonal towers with staircases towards the courtyard, rooms and garderobes (discharging into lower chambers) towards the moat. The gateway, originally with a portcullis, has a four-centred arch. It is set in a rectangular recess to accommodate the drawbridge when raised. Above it is a panel for an armorial display, now empty, with charming leaf-trails in the frame. To the right and left of this symmetrically placed two-light windows with arched lights. The height and upper finish are not certain, but can be guessed from the W tower. This is castellated, with two oblong higher turrets (for newel stair and garderobes) in the lines of the walls to the N and E. The staircase in this tower and the gatehouse are of brick covered by continuous helical brick vaults. The ground floor of the gatehouse was brick-vaulted throughout. One of the most interesting features of Kirby Muxloe is the gun ports. They are among the earliest in England. Their shape is circular, and they have above a vertical slit for sighting. Apart from the gatehouse and the W tower no more is standing fairly high up than a short stretch of wall NE of the gatehouse showing the remains of a garderobe and a fireplace. The rest survives to a few courses high. The moat which surrounded the castle is c.360ft by 300ft."
<6> Liddle, P., 1983, A Guide to 20 Archaeological Sites in Leicestershire, p18-19 (Bibliographic reference). SLE2990.
<7> 1977-8, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 53, Vol 53 (1977-8), p36 (Journal). SLE5951.
Cantor "Medieval Castles of Leicestershire"
"There was an old manor house on this site for which, in 1474, Lord Hastings acquired a licence to crenellate. Work on the castle lasted from 1480 to 1484, by which time Hastings had been beheaded. Built of red brick and surrounded by a moat, it consisted of an oblong with angle towers, a big gatehouse and ranges of buildings round an inner courtyard. The gatehouse and west tower are the only remains which still stand to a substantial height. Among its most interesting features are its gun-ports, among the earliest in England."
<8> Elkin, Kathleen (ed), 2015, Medieval Leicestershire: Recent Research on the Medieval Archaeology of Leicestershire, p134, "Medieval fortified sites of Leics & Rutland", Richard Knox (Bibliographic reference). SLE5149.
"Having received a licence to crenellate the existing manor house at Kirby Muxloe in 1474, William, Lord Hastings began work on his brick built fortifications in 1480, before the completion of Ashby Castle. Left unfinished by his family after Hastings' execution in 1483, the building was robbed of some of its valuable brick, but an impressive gatehouse, with low level cannon loops and the Hastings crest set into the octagonal towers survives as does one of the four intended square corner towers. The brick footings remain for the three other corner towers and three rectangular bastions set between them. The site is enclosed by an almost rectangular moat, which was recut during the excavation and restoration of the site in 1911-13. Within the curtain walls lies the stone footprint of a 13th or 14th century manor house of the Pakeman family, which the building accounts suggest was still in use during the erection of the defences (Goodall 2007, 19)."
Sources
<1> | Bibliographic reference: Peers, C. 1957. Kirby Muxloe Castle. |
<2> | Journal: 1866. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 1. Vol 1 (1866), p362-7. |
<3> | Journal: Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. 1870. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 2. Vol 2 (1870), p112-4. |
<4> | Journal: 1913-20. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 11. Vol 11 (1916), p193-345. |
<5> | Bibliographic reference: Pevsner N. 1984. The Buildings of England Leicestershire and Rutland. p192-4. |
<6> | Bibliographic reference: Liddle, P.. 1983. A Guide to 20 Archaeological Sites in Leicestershire. p18-19. |
<7> | Journal: 1977-8. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 53. Vol 53 (1977-8), p36. |
<8> | Bibliographic reference: Elkin, Kathleen (ed). 2015. Medieval Leicestershire: Recent Research on the Medieval Archaeology of Leicestershire. p134, "Medieval fortified sites of Leics & Rutland", Richard Knox. |
Associated Finds
Designations
- Listed Building (I) 1177213: KIRBY MUXLOE CASTLE
- Scheduled Monument 1013323: KIRBY MUXLOE CASTLE
Associated Images
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