Article on pages 10 - 11 of Dickon Independent issue 78

Kirby Muxloe Castle And Bosworth

Following our visit to Ashby de la Zouch Castle we completed the Hastings tour by going to Kirby Muxloe. Work started in 1480 but came to a halt after William Hastings’ execution in 1483. This castle is built of local brick with stone for windows and doors. It is surrounded by a lovely moat and the wooden bridge taking you into the gatehouse goes over the remains of the medieval bridge. The castle was restored in 2006.

The original building records for Kirby Muxloe still exist. Over £1000 had been spent on the site before work stopped, making it one of the most expensive residences of the time. Only the gatehouse and west tower remain. You can go upstairs to the first floor of the gatehouse and see a large room with the remains of windows and a fireplace. In the tower the stairs take you to all three floors, which would have been luxury accommodation. On the walls of the gatehouse the initials W H are picked out in dark bricks, and you can also see the sleeve of Hastings’ coat of arms, a ship and what looks like part of a figure.

After looking round Kirby Muxloe we moved on to the Bosworth Battlefield Centre for toilets and a picnic (eaten in the car while it rained!)

Admission to the exhibition is half price with English Heritage membership, so it cost us £3 each instead of £6. At the end is an account of the discovery of the new site, with maps showing how close other writers were to getting it right. Speed’s map of 1611 was the closest (see cover of Issue 77). Most of the finds are on display, although the beautiful silver boar is a replica as the original is in the British Museum being valued.

Back to contents page of magazine