Page:Kirby Muxloe Castle near Leicester (1917).djvu/24

 HE castle stands back from the road running through Kirby Village, and is approached by a farm road which leads directly to the bridge and gatehouse on the north-west front. The moat has been completely cleared to its original width and depth, and being cut in the stiff marl which underlies the surface soil, the slope of its banks and level of its bed were perfectly evident. Its greatest width from north-east to south-west is 300 feet, and from south-east to north-west, 360 feet; the width of the arms at water level varying from 45 feet in the south-west arm to 70 feet in the north-east. In clearing its north-west arm the remains of an oak bridge were found, and may still be seen between the supports of the new bridge; it is reasonable to suppose that they belong to the bridge begun in 1483. At the inner end there was a drawbridge the position of which, with the holes through which its chains passed, and the pit which underlies part of the gateway passage, are still to be seen. Low parapet walls rose from the side walls of the pit, where they projected into the moat beyond the front of the gatehouse. A portcullis, the chase of which may still be seen, defended the gateway passage at its outer end, and there were pairs of doors at both ends of the passage, opening inwards. The outer doors, which had a wicket in the western leaf, have survived in a very ruinous state: they are of very plain workmanship for so prominent a position, and this may well be due to the failure of funds which followed Lord Hastings' execution. The gatehouse is built of thin red bricks, varied with patterns in black: above the gateway are the builder's initials, "W H"; on the right-hand turret the maunch or sleeve which formed the arms of Hastings, and above it a ship; on the left-hand turret what seems to be the lower half of the figure of a man. All angles are of brick, stone being used only for doorways, windows, and string courses. The four-centred arch of entrance is set in a square-headed stone-faced recess which runs up to the string course marking the first floor level, and was designed to contain the drawbridge when raised. Above it is a square-headed niche with a panelled base and carved ornament in head and jambs, which was intended to hold the 15