Ashby de la Zouch Castle
Encyclopedia
Ashby de la Zouch Castle is in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch
, Leicestershire
, England
. The ruins have been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and they are a Scheduled Ancient Monument
. It is managed by English Heritage
.
fortified manor house in the 12th century founded by Alain de Parrhoet, la Zouch, out of Breton, France. During the next three centuries it was extended by his descendants, but when the Zouch succession line ended in the 14th Century, the castle changed ownership many times. In 1461, the castle reverted to the Crown after the then owner James Butler, the 5th Earl of Ormonde, was executed after the Battle of Towton
.
The castle remained within the Crown's hands for a few years until Edward IV
bestowed it upon William, Lord Hastings
. William was awarded a licence to crenellate in 1474 and quickly started major works to extend and improve the castle. The license also granted him the rights to empark 3000 acres (12.1 km²) of surrounding land. The principal building of this time was the Hastings Tower which was 90 feet (27 m) high. It is rectangular in shape measuring about 47 feet (14 m) by 41 feet (12 m) with walls nearly 9 feet (3 m) thick on the ground floor. The tower principal had four grand floors with an extension on the north-east side having seven floors. The tower and kitchens had their own well.
There was also a great hall and other grand rooms for entertainment sited to the north of the main tower. A visitor in 1644 described rich stained glass windows, depicting coats of arms. Williams descendants added to the castle and grounds, including for grand landscaped parks and gardens.
A Chapel was built by William on the northeast corner of the castle and was originally lavishly appointed and richly decorated, but was stripped bare during the reformation
at some time in the 16th Century when the Hastings family converted to Protestantism. Surviving artworks from the former period include for an altarpiece, The Virgin and Child with Saints and Donors, or the Donne Triptych as painted by Hans Memling
in circa 1478. It depicts Lord Hastings sister, Elizabeth, and her husband Sir John Donne
to either side of a central Virgin Mary and Christ child. The chapel is still in use as a family burial place today, most recent internments including for Barbara Abney-Hastings
(1919-2002), Peter Abney-Hastings (1924-2002), and their daughter Mary Flowers (née Mary Joy Abney-Hastings) (1957-1997).
The castle has been host to many royal visitors, including Henry VII
, James I
, and Charles I
in 1645. Mary, Queen of Scots was detained there for a while in 1569, under the custody of the Earl of Huntingdon, Henry Hastings
, and the Earl of Shrewsbury, George Talbot
.
stronghold during the Civil War
. Although the then heir to Ashby castle, Ferdinando Hastings, the 6th Earl of Huntingdon, was outwardly neutral during the English Civil War
, other members of the family, most notably his brother Henry Hastings
, were ardent Royalist
s. As such Ashby became a vital link between the Royalist south-west and the north – particularly as much of the rest of Leicestershire
supported the Parliamentary cause. In 1643 Henry Hastings provided many additional fortifications to the castle, and he may also have created the tunnels which linked various buildings and parts of the castle. He was made High Sheriff of Leicestershire by the King and became engaged in various skirmishes between the opposing forces, seeing action at the Battle of Hopton Heath
, fighting a small battle at Cotes Bridge near Loughborough
and later losing an eye to a pistol shot after an exchange near Bagworth
, all in 1643. Later that year, his forces captured and lost the town of Burton upon Trent
.
However, as the war progressed and Royalist fortunes waned, Ashby—already the target of action in 1644—was subject to a prolonged siege between September 1645 and its surrender in March 1646. Hastings, ennobled as the first Baron Loughborough on 23 October 1643, for his services to Charles I, marched out with the honours of war. The surrender terms however demanded that the Castle be slighted
(demolished), with the remaining Hastings family moving to Donington Hall
near Derby. The outer fortifications were immediately levelled, but the main castle buildings and towers survived until about 1648, at which point they were largely destroyed by the parliamentary forces.
shows the hall re-roofed and re-glazed, obviously repaired after the civil war, but by the time of the 19th century it had fallen into ruin.
The castle became a famous ruin after the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel Ivanhoe
, the success of which meant that the castle soon became a popular tourist destination.
. The ruins have for the large part been stabilised from further deterioration, and the grounds are all laid to grass. It is possible to climb to the top of the Hastings tower (there are 98 steps), and to explore the underground passage from the kitchen basements to the Hastings tower, which was probably created during the Civil War.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, — Zouch being pronounced "Zoosh" — often shortened to Ashby, is a small market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, within the National Forest. It is twinned with Pithiviers in north-central France....
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The ruins have been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and they are a Scheduled Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
. It is managed by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
.
Origins
The site originated as a NormanNorman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
fortified manor house in the 12th century founded by Alain de Parrhoet, la Zouch, out of Breton, France. During the next three centuries it was extended by his descendants, but when the Zouch succession line ended in the 14th Century, the castle changed ownership many times. In 1461, the castle reverted to the Crown after the then owner James Butler, the 5th Earl of Ormonde, was executed after the Battle of Towton
Battle of Towton
In 1461, England was in the sixth year of the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster over the English throne. The Lancastrians backed the reigning King of England, Henry VI, an indecisive man who suffered bouts of madness...
.
The castle remained within the Crown's hands for a few years until Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
bestowed it upon William, Lord Hastings
William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings
William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings KG was an English nobleman. A follower of the House of York, he became a close friend and the most important courtier of King Edward IV, whom he served as Lord Chamberlain...
. William was awarded a licence to crenellate in 1474 and quickly started major works to extend and improve the castle. The license also granted him the rights to empark 3000 acres (12.1 km²) of surrounding land. The principal building of this time was the Hastings Tower which was 90 feet (27 m) high. It is rectangular in shape measuring about 47 feet (14 m) by 41 feet (12 m) with walls nearly 9 feet (3 m) thick on the ground floor. The tower principal had four grand floors with an extension on the north-east side having seven floors. The tower and kitchens had their own well.
There was also a great hall and other grand rooms for entertainment sited to the north of the main tower. A visitor in 1644 described rich stained glass windows, depicting coats of arms. Williams descendants added to the castle and grounds, including for grand landscaped parks and gardens.
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
at some time in the 16th Century when the Hastings family converted to Protestantism. Surviving artworks from the former period include for an altarpiece, The Virgin and Child with Saints and Donors, or the Donne Triptych as painted by Hans Memling
Hans Memling
Hans Memling was a German-born Early Netherlandish painter.-Life and works:Born in Seligenstadt, near Frankfurt in the Middle Rhein region, it is believed that Memling served his apprenticeship at Mainz or Cologne, and later worked in the Netherlands under Rogier van der Weyden...
in circa 1478. It depicts Lord Hastings sister, Elizabeth, and her husband Sir John Donne
Sir John Donne
Sir John Donne was a Welsh courtier, diplomat and soldier, a notable figure of the Yorkist party. In the 1470s he commissioned the Donne Triptych, an triptych altarpiece by Hans Memling now in the National Gallery, London. It contains portraits of him, his wife Elizabeth and a daughter...
to either side of a central Virgin Mary and Christ child. The chapel is still in use as a family burial place today, most recent internments including for Barbara Abney-Hastings
Barbara Abney-Hastings, 13th Countess of Loudoun
Barbara Huddleston Abney-Hastings, 13th Countess of Loudoun , was a Scottish countess.Loudoun was the oldest daughter of Reginald Mowbray Chichester Huddleston and Edith Abney-Hastings, 12th Countess of Loudoun, great-great-great-granddaughter of Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of...
(1919-2002), Peter Abney-Hastings (1924-2002), and their daughter Mary Flowers (née Mary Joy Abney-Hastings) (1957-1997).
The castle has been host to many royal visitors, including Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, and Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
in 1645. Mary, Queen of Scots was detained there for a while in 1569, under the custody of the Earl of Huntingdon, Henry Hastings
Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
Sir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG KB was the eldest son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole.-Ancestry:...
, and the Earl of Shrewsbury, George Talbot
George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal was a 16th century English statesman.-Life:...
.
English Civil War
The castle was a RoyalistCavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
stronghold during the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Although the then heir to Ashby castle, Ferdinando Hastings, the 6th Earl of Huntingdon, was outwardly neutral during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, other members of the family, most notably his brother Henry Hastings
Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough
Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough was an English Royalist army commander in the Midlands during the English Civil War.-Life:...
, were ardent Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
s. As such Ashby became a vital link between the Royalist south-west and the north – particularly as much of the rest of Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
supported the Parliamentary cause. In 1643 Henry Hastings provided many additional fortifications to the castle, and he may also have created the tunnels which linked various buildings and parts of the castle. He was made High Sheriff of Leicestershire by the King and became engaged in various skirmishes between the opposing forces, seeing action at the Battle of Hopton Heath
Battle of Hopton Heath
The Battle of Hopton Heath, in Staffordshire, was a battle of the First English Civil War, fought on Sunday 19 March 1643 between Parliamentarian forces led by Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet and Sir William Brereton and a Royalist force under Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton...
, fighting a small battle at Cotes Bridge near Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
and later losing an eye to a pistol shot after an exchange near Bagworth
Bagworth
Bagworth is a village in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester.-History:There are records of the manor of Bagworth from the early 14th and early 15th centuries, when it was held by the same feudal lords as the neighbouring manor of Thornton....
, all in 1643. Later that year, his forces captured and lost the town of Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
.
However, as the war progressed and Royalist fortunes waned, Ashby—already the target of action in 1644—was subject to a prolonged siege between September 1645 and its surrender in March 1646. Hastings, ennobled as the first Baron Loughborough on 23 October 1643, for his services to Charles I, marched out with the honours of war. The surrender terms however demanded that the Castle be slighted
Slighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...
(demolished), with the remaining Hastings family moving to Donington Hall
Donington Hall
Donington Hall is a house and residual estate in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire, located close to the city of Derby. The Hall serves as the headquarters for airline BMI....
near Derby. The outer fortifications were immediately levelled, but the main castle buildings and towers survived until about 1648, at which point they were largely destroyed by the parliamentary forces.
Post Civil war
The great hall was rebuilt and adapted sometime between the 14th and 17th centuries. A 1730 engraving by Samuel and Nathaniel BuckSamuel and Nathaniel Buck
Samuel and Nathaniel Buck were brothers who lived in England in the 18th century and were engravers and printmakers. Samuel did much work on his own but, when the brothers worked together, they were usually known as the Buck Brothers. More is known about Samuel than about Nathaniel.Samuel Buck...
shows the hall re-roofed and re-glazed, obviously repaired after the civil war, but by the time of the 19th century it had fallen into ruin.
The castle became a famous ruin after the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while...
, the success of which meant that the castle soon became a popular tourist destination.
Today
The castle is a popular tourist attraction, managed by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The ruins have for the large part been stabilised from further deterioration, and the grounds are all laid to grass. It is possible to climb to the top of the Hastings tower (there are 98 steps), and to explore the underground passage from the kitchen basements to the Hastings tower, which was probably created during the Civil War.