Ashby de la Zouch Castle

The summer we left England Kassie became completely fed up with visiting manors, estates, gardens and mansions. However, one weekend she agreed to take a trip to see a castle…

Our research brought us to (relatively) nearby Ashby de la Zouch Castle, a partly ruined site, with a tower worthy of a climb. The site dates from before Alan la Zouch, a Breton nobleman, who obtained the manor in 1160 through marriage, but the remaining ruins have their roots in October 1464 when Edward IV granted the mansion to his Lord Chamberlain, William, Lord Hastings. Perhaps most exciting is the underground passage from Hastings Tower to the vast kitchen building, dating to the 17th century or even before. We could imagine the scene as Henry Hastings, a Royalist, and his supporters, endured the 2+ year-long siege only to succumb to plague and dwindling food supplies on February 28, 1646.

Date of Our Visit: August 2005