On this episode of the History Roadshow we visit Ashby de la Zouch Castle
A manor had existed at Ashby de la Zouch from at least 1086. The lands
acquired by Robert de Beaumont the Count of Meulan and later Earl of Leicester, in 1100.
He established the Belmeis family there as his tenants and, and after the
Belmeis family line died out in 1160 the Earl's of Leicester reassigned
the estate to the la Zouch family from whom the manor took its later name.
The la Zouch line died out in 1399 leaving the inheritance of the family estates
uncertain, the manor probably passed to Sir Hugh Burnell and, or around 1420 onto
James Butler the Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire.
Constructed on the site of the older manor house, with two large towers and various small buildings
Ashby de la Zouch castle today is a ruined fortification. It was built by William,
Lord Hastings a favourite of Edward IV after 1473
and it was accompanied by the creation of a 3,000 acre park.
In 1474 Edward granted William the right to fortify his manors
William set about developing the old manorial complex at Ashby de la Zouch
with new buildings, his intent appears to have been to construct a substantial
castle similar to the Royal fortifications at Tutbury and Nottingham.
Work appears to have already started on the site the year before permission was
formally given although it is uncertain whether this referred to the
construction of the castle's chapel or if William had already begun work on the
first tower gambling that the king would subsequently approve it.
Edward IV died in 1483 leaving the kingdom to his young son Edward V
but his uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester had his own ambitions for the throne.
Lord Hastings was unwilling to support the deposition of Edward V
and as a consequence Richard executed him that June ahead of his own coronation.
This left Ashby de la Zouch Castle only partially completed.
The War of the Roses broke out in England during 1455 between the rival
supporters of the Lancastrian and Yorkist factions. James Butler who owned the
estate was a Lancastrian, he was captured at the Battle of Towton by the
Yorkist leader Edward IV in 1461 and executed.
The crown seized his estates including the then manor of Ashby de la Zouch.
In the 16th century Edward Hastings and then his son George took over control of
the estate, George was a favourite of Henry VIII and so much so he was
made the Earl of Huntingdon in 1529 which led him to rebuilding parts of the
castle in brick and redesigning the gardens.
In 1642 the English civil war broke out between the supporters of Charles I
and parliament. The castle was strategically well placed linking the
royalist territories in the north and west of England and giving easy access to the River Trent.
The castle was a main base of operations
across the region, buildings in the town of Ashby de la Zouch were pulled down to
provide material to refortify the castle and escape tunnels were dug.
Henry who was a key royalist commander in the Midlands and Henry Hastings youngest son
returned to the castle from Leicester in September 1644 where another 600 royalist
soldiers soon joined him and it's 60-man garrison. After an outbreak of the plague
Parliament began to raid the town again the cause looked lost but after many
discussions he agreed to the surrender of the castle on good terms this was
achieved in February 1646 and allowed for the release of himself the garrison and their weapons.
In 1648 William Bainbrigg was ordered
to slight the castle, to put it beyond military use he carried out his orders
immediately demolishing one side of the great tower and the kitchen tower
undermining the foundations and deploying gunpowder charges.
One can only imagine just how magnificent this castle would have looked in its heyday, but what we
see now is a shell of it's former self, but it's history is rich and significant.
Why not discover yourself this prominent architectural treasure of Ashby de la Zouch castle.