Kirby Muxloe Castle, East Midlands, England

Kirby Muxloe, the castle that never was.  Building work started in 1480 by Lord William Hastings, Chamberlain of England and loyal supporter of Edward IV.  The castle is built of brick, which at the end of the 15th century was a relatively new building material in England.  Hastings designed it to show his wealth and prestige and surrounded it by a moat on leave ground, this would not have been very useful for defence but it would have been an impressive sight.

The castle we see today is almost exactly as Lord Hastings left it.  After the death of Edward IV in 1483, Hastings was at the forefront of the events in London after the death of the king. Much uncertainty surrounds the events at this time, although many different versions exist, we do not know with any certainty exactly what occurred.  The outcome was that Lord Hastings was accused of treason on the orders of Edward IV’s brother, Richard of Gloucestershire and soon afterwards he was beheaded on Tower Green.  This left Kirby Muxloe without the funds needed for its completion.

The castle is set on low ground and located near a stream, as the stream was needed for the moat.  It was planned in rectangular form 53 meters (175 feet) by 75 meters (245 feet.), with square towers at each corner. The gatehouse and towers were to be three stories tall, joined to each other by two story ranges of buildings with a central courtyard. These buildings were set back from the moat, unlike the towers, which rise from it.

Unusually the complete buildings accounts have survived.  So we know that from the 22nd of October, 1480 to the 6th of December 1484 the total building cost for the four years was £1,088, 17 shillings and 6d.