Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle, Leicestershire

Ashby-de-la-Zouch is a small market town in the far west of Leicestershire, within easy reach of all the major cities of the region via the motorway network. Its chief feature is undoubtedly its partially-ruined castle, which is well worth a visit.

The castle must be approached on foot, although there are car parks in the town not far away. The feature that strikes the visitor first and foremost is the massive tower on the right-hand side of the range of buildings. This is the 80-foot high Hastings Tower, but you may want to leave its exploration until last.

Ashby Castle dates from the mid-12^th century, when the manor of Ashby was held by the Zouch family, but the remains you can see cover a range of dates up to 1483, when the Tower was completed by William, Lord Hastings, who lost his head on the orders of King Richard III in that same year.

One way to explore the castle is to work your round from left to right, starting at the kitchen and ending at the tower, or there is another, very unusual, way, which will be mentioned soon! The buildings you can see are in various stages of ruin, with nearly all the rooms open to the sky and some of the walls reduced to outlines on the ground, although others reach two or more storeys high.

Much of this ruination was deliberate, as the castle was one of many that were “slighted” during the English Civil War, with the destruction at Ashby taking place in 1648. The slighting of a castle meant the blowing up with gunpowder of one complete side of each building, thus causing roofs to collapse. Local builders would have helped themselves to free building stone over the coming years, thus leaving the site in a condition close to what can be seen today.

The kitchen complex is of considerable size, and, with a little imagination, one can picture the hive of activity that this would have been during the heyday of the castle when the Lord of the Manor was feasting in the great hall. You can see two massive fireplaces, a cauldron recess and an oven in the remaining walls, and there may have been more in the west wall, now missing.

Any children in your party will probably be far more interested in the “secret” passage that leads underground from the kitchen to the Hastings Tower, which is the alternative means of exploration mentioned above. When I first visited Ashby Castle, some years ago, this passage was unlit, which meant a slightly scary experience as you felt your way along in pitch darkness. However, health and safety rules have now meant that you are less likely to bump into somebody coming the other way, although the passage is still narrow, not straight, quite low, dim and damp, especially after heavy rain.

Continuing round the buildings from the kitchen you come to the buttery and pantry, which were originally the solar, and then the great hall, which would have been the heart of the castle, used not only for meals but holding court and as the dormitory for most of the castle’s inhabitants. You can make out where the hearth would have been, this being an open fire near the centre of the hall, the smoke of which would have escaped via windows or a hole in the roof.

Next is the solar, being the private quarters of the lord’s family, which would have been on two floors with divisions into separate rooms. Then visit the chapel, much of which was built at the same time as the tower and would have been a very impressive building, both in size and quality. The adjoining “priest’s rooms” are unlikely to have been used for this purpose.

The Hastings Tower, when complete, was virtually a castle within a castle, as it rose to 90 feet when first built, part of it comprising four storeys and part of it seven, thus allowing for plenty of accommodation. The tower would have had its own kitchen, water supply and latrines, and therefore have been self-contained as a fortified manor house during a time of conflict. Given that its builder, Lord Hastings, was an active participant in the Wars of the Roses, it is hardly surprising that he had this aim in mind.

Although the bulk of the tower has been lost, one important feature still remains, this being the spiral staircase that leads all the way to the top, and which is perfectly safe to climb. As you pass each doorway on the way up or down, there is somewhere to stand aside so that you can pass people going the other way. Take care when climbing the stairs, especially on a wet day, because many of the stones are worn and uneven, although some have been replaced by modern steps, especially near the top.

The climb is well worth the view you get from the top, where there is room to stop and look around without getting in anyone else’s way. You can see right over the town of Ashby and across into the Leicestershire countryside. Keep an eye on the children, though, because it is possible that someone could fall over the edge, and it is an 80-foot drop to the grass below.

There is a large grassy area adjacent to the castle, this being the site of the original garden and fish ponds. This is great for allowing children to run around in, especially as there are safe grass slopes to roll down! On certain days of the year this area is used for historical displays and reconstructions.

West Leicestershire is not normally on the tourist trail, but Ashby is not far from the popular destination of Burton-on-Trent, famous for its brewing connections, and is close to the A42 main route from Birmingham to Nottingham. Ashby is itself an interesting town to wander round, and an hour’s break to visit the town and its castle would be well repaid.

© John Welford