Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

Mediaeval Castles in Leicestershire

I went the other day to a meeting of the Vaughan Archaeological and Historical Society in Leicester.

The society's meetings are held at Vaughan College, and it was the first time I had attended one.

The attraction was a talk by local archaeological expert Peter Liddle, on "Mediaeval Castles in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland".

Peter's talk, illustrated by slides, was most interesting and enjoyable.

He talked about a number of sites which were indisputably castles, and some others where there is still some doubt.

The most obvious today in terms of buildings are Leicester Castle and Oakham Castle, where in each case there is a surviving Norman Great Hall.

Other places where the remains are not so obvious include Castle Donington, Earl Shilton, Groby, Hallaton, Hinckley, Ingarsby (Monk's Grave), Kibworth, Mountsorrel and Sauvey.

The motte at Groby has within it the remains of an unexplained stone tower, which clearly predates the earthwork so is presumably from the Anglo-Saxon period.

There is also Belvoir, whose 19th century fairytale castle stands on a site originally built on in the Norman period.

And then there are the later remains of Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle and Kirby Muxloe Castle, both constructed by Lord Hastings in the 15th century.

What an interesting talk!

Peter Liddle manages the 13th century stone Manor House at Donington-le-Heath.

Posted by colin on Monday 26th February, 2007 at 12:08pm