Ashby De La Zouche CastleLord William Hastings’ castle stands in the middle of the town off South Street and this is where we parked as only disabled visitors are allowed to park in the limited space by the castle.
The sky was blue with not a cloud in sight (nor any planes either!) The sun hadn’t quite got rid of the cold air though as we wandered round listening to the audio guide. It’s very entertaining - one re-enactor describes the various owners over the years and then each bit of the castle, while his fellow re-enactor constantly interrupts with comments and requests and is constantly spurned - “not yet” or “later”.
You can climb to the top of the tower for a good view of the castle and the town, and walk through a fairly dark tunnel linking the kitchen and the great hall.
The ruins are quite extensive and are fronted by a large grassy area which was the garden. Plenty of space for a picnic. There are toilets at the back of the visitor centre and shop.
Ashby was part of a large grant of land made to Lord Hastings in 1462. After King Edward IV regained the throne in 1471, Hastings’ influence increased and he became the most important magnate in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and parts of Warwickshire.
In 1474, Edward IV granted his friend and chamberlain William a licence to fortify Ashby de la Zouch. There was already a manor house at Ashby and he added a chapel and two towers, intending it to be his principal residence. One tower contains the remains of a kitchen and the other - the great tower - contains the living quarters. The Hastings’ coat of arms appears in several places on the outside wall of the great tower. There was a basement area for storage, a kitchen on the first floor, a parlour on the second floor, and the great chamber on the third floor where William would have received guests. Adjoining these rooms are smaller service rooms and a treasure room, which could only be entered by a trapdoor in the floor of the room above.
The separate kitchen tower shows the scale of Lord Hastings’ household - the cooking space was big enough for a royal palace.
After Hastings’ execution in 1483 his family continued to live at Ashby with Richard III’s permission. William is buried beside King Edward IV in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
During the Civil War it was partially demolished, then later repaired and re-occupied. In the nineteenth century it became a tourist attraction thanks to Sir Walter Scott’s novel Ivanhoe.