Page:Kirby Muxloe Castle near Leicester (1917).djvu/22

Rh Abbey"—not further described—and added to 33 cwt. already at Kirby; John Smythson the plumber sees to the melting of it. Building work goes on without a break through the winter, which must have been a mild one, and in January 1483 the centering for the vault over the gatehouse is being made. The new bakehouse and kitchen are now prepared for, their sites being levelled, and in February the gatehouse vault seems to be finished, and bricks are being laid over it. In March is an entry for "botaillying in lee vootte," which perhaps means filling in the haunches of the vault, and preparations are being made for the bridge leading to the gatehouse, the remains of which have lately been discovered. In March 1483 the foundations of the new kitchen are being laid, and at this date occurs an interesting account for brickmaking. Bricks seem to have been supplied by John Vaux or Fauxe, but the kiln in which they were burned is called John Eles Kiln. The burning of the bricks was under the charge of one Antony "Docheman," who was paid tenpence a week, as against eightpence for ordinary men, and was clearly a foreigner, a Fleming probably. He is mentioned later on as Antony Yzebrond, and is then working as a bricklayer. He burned 100,000 bricks in the kiln in a week, using 78 loads of wood, that is to say, brushwood and small stuff, and to make the newly-cut green wood burn he added "spyldyng," presumably dry twigs or the like. The site of the kiln, called the Breeke place, or Breke house, was evidently at no great distance from the castle, and affords one more proof, if proof were needed, that mediaeval bricks were commonly made in England and not imported. At the same time, the employment of a Fleming to superintend their making is worthy of note.

In December 1481, and again in April 1483, it is recorded that worked stones from "Swarston" Bridge (Swarkestone, Derbyshire) were brought for use at Kirby; evidently freestone was hard to get, and the temptation to despoil old buildings not to be resisted. The stones were used for the corbels of the machicolations, and probably the slabs resting on them. In May lead pipes and gutters were being fixed and soldered. Lord Hastings was beheaded on 14 June of this year, and his fall is reflected in the progress of Kirby Castle. The bricklayers and masons stop work at once, and from 23 June till 1 September accounts are rendered every three weeks instead of weekly. Practically nothing is done, but by September affairs have settled down, and the masons and bricklayers begin again. John Lyle travels between Ashby and Kirby " to speak with the Council," but the nature of his errand is not stated.