Leicester Castle

Leicester Castle occupied approximately four acres, originally laid out as a motte-and-bailey castle, a common Norman design featuring a raised earthwork mound (the motte) surrounded by an enclosed courtyard (the bailey). The castle’s early defenses included an oval-shaped earthwork and ditch, crowned by a wooden palisade and a tower atop the motte. Today, no wooden building survives, apart from the robust stone base of a large bridge that once supported the wooden citadel, measuring about nine meters in height and more than thirty meters in width.

In the 12th century, the castle’s defensive and residential structures were reconstructed in stone. The wooden curtain walls were replaced by stone walls integrated along the motte’s outer edge, enhancing the site’s fortifications. Key stone buildings from this period include the Church of St Mary de Castro, smaller than previous wooden versions, and the Great Hall. The Great Hall remains a significant survivor, its interior supported by two rows of wooden columns which divide the space into three sections and create passageways along each side. Elements of the original 12th-century masonry and timber columns are still visible within this hall.

Thick stone walls enclosed three sides of the castle precinct, featuring two substantial gate towers—one positioned to the south and the other at the northeast corner. The northeast tower survives today as the Powder Tower or Turret Gateway, a notable remnant of the castle’s entrance defenses. Access to the castle was originally through a grand triple-arched vaulted gatehouse, emphasizing the site’s importance and strength.

To the south of the castle, the 14th-century hospital and religious precinct formed an important complex linked to the castle’s expanding non-military role. The hospital, designed to care for up to one hundred patients, included a church and buildings for a community of collegiate clergy. Although the hospital chapel experienced later damage from fires and rebuilding, its remains survive, offering insight into this charitable institution’s scale and function.

The Great Hall’s appearance was altered in 1695 when it received a brick frontage in the Queen Anne style, reflecting continued use and adaptation. By the 19th century, the hall was divided internally to form two courtrooms separated by a central staircase, continuing its role as a legal venue. Defensive walls near the Turret Gateway were adapted during the English Civil War with gun loops for musket or cannon use, evidencing the castle’s brief return to military relevance. The top storey of the Turret Gateway was destroyed during political riots in 1832, leaving the structure partially ruined.

The castle complex also includes the Church of St Mary de Castro, of which the oldest parts date back to the 12th century and which continues today as an active parish church. Surrounding the castle, gardens border the nearby Grand Union Canal, adding to the historic landscape’s character.

Additional features such as the motte mound itself and “John of Gaunt’s cellar,” historically misidentified as a torture chamber, remain visible on site. Various medieval stonework and decorative elements originally part of the church and Great Hall survive internally, preserving the legacy of the castle’s centuries-long development.