CASTLE VIEW
Castle View was a liberty consisting of the precincts of Leicester castle. The exclusion of the
borough's authority from the castle no doubt
originated in the fact that it was the seat of the town's
overlords, the earls of Leicester and later the earls
and dukes of Lancaster. The existence of this franchise, near the centre of the town but yet outside the
borough boundary, became in time a source of grievance to the corporation. Castle View is not mentioned in Elizabeth I's charter of 1599, by which
other liberties near the town were, subject to some
reservations, placed under the borough's control, (fn. 1)
but during the 18th century the borough authorities
made attempts to bring Castle View under their
jurisdiction. (fn. 2) During the struggle for control the
borough authorities refused in 1766 and 1767 to
have the mace lowered in salute within the castle
precincts when the mayor went to take the oath of
allegiance on appointment. In 1767 the Duchy of
Lancaster's steward refused to allow the mayor to
enter the castle unless the mace was lowered, on the
grounds that the castle was outside the borough's
jurisdiction. Subsequently it was agreed that the
oath should be sworn privately. (fn. 3) Castle View was
finally brought within the borough under the Municipal Corporations Act. (fn. 4)
Leicester castle stands on a slight hill overlooking
the river, west of the castle church of St. Mary. (fn. 5)
Three parts only of the medieval structure remain—
the mound, the hall and some cellars, with gateways
and some fragments of the enclosure wall. The
mound of the Norman castle, which was probably
thrown up in 1068, stands rather to the south of the
present hall and slightly nearer to the Newarke. It is
now about 30 ft. high and about 100 ft. across at the
top, and was lowered about 1840 by 12 or 15 ft. The
Norman castle was of the motte and bailey type, and
the first buildings which stood upon the motte were
certainly of wood, although these were replaced by
others of lead and stone, probably by Robert de
Beaumont at the beginning of the 12th century. At
the same time some domestic buildings were probably erected in the bailey, which extended northwards from the motte. The building of the stone
hall in the bailey is generally attributed to Robert
le Bossu, son of Robert de Beaumont, who suc
ceeded his father in 1118. On stylistic grounds the
hall can probably be assigned to the middle of the
12th century. It now consists of a nave and aisles of
six bays, with thick walls of Dane Hills sandstone.
The building was divided by timber arcades, some
of which survive, although obscured by modern
alterations. The original entrance was probably in
the southern bay of the east wall, which has now
been removed. The original south gable remains,
with two round-headed windows resting on a
string-course.
In 1173 the castle was held against royal forces by
the Earl of Leicester's vassals in the revolt against
Henry II which broke out in that year and in which
the earl played a leading part. The castle was surrendered to the king in 1174 and was ordered to be
dismantled. (fn. 6) It seems probable that the buildings
within the fortifications were not destroyed as the
great hall seems to date from a period earlier than
1174. The castle continued to be used as a residence
by the earls of Leicester. In 1265 it was granted to
Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Leicester. Throughout the 13th and 14th centuries the earls and dukes
of Lancaster continued to use Leicester castle as a
residence and as one of their chief administrative
centres. After 1399 the castle was used less as a house
than as an estate office. (fn. 7) The Earl of Lancaster's
prison in the castle is first mentioned in 1298. (fn. 8) It
was used for the detention of prisoners taken on the
earl's lands. (fn. 9) The castle prison is last mentioned in
1323. (fn. 10)
Of the other domestic buildings known to have
existed, nothing remains except the cellar known as
John of Gaunt's cellar, dating from the 14th century,
but there were other buildings, including a great
chamber, a dancing room and a chapel to the north of
the hall, and a kitchen block to the south between the
hall and the existing cellars. This was converted to a
coach-house in 1715. (fn. 11) The sites of other buildings,
including the treasury and other official rooms and
the extensive stables, are unknown. The Castle Mill
stood on the river to the north-west of the castle. (fn. 12)
The enclosure wall, part of which still stands, was
built in the early 15th century. St. Mary's Church
had been included in the original bailey, but the new
wall ran between the church and the castle to the
turret gateway and then westwards to the river.
Some fragments of the wall survive to the north of
the castle but its exact course is hard to determine
because of the lack of remains on the north-east side.
Two of the castle gates still stand. The turret gate
was built in 1422–3 and connected the castle enclosure with the Newarke. It was of two stories, with
an entrance and lodge below and a portcullis chamber and other rooms in the upper story. This gateway was partially destroyed in an election riot in
1832. The other gateway stands close to the north
door of St. Mary's Church, to which it was joined by
houses until these were demolished in 1848. (fn. 13) It is
probably the structure which was repaired and virtually rebuilt in 1446–7 after a fire had badly damaged the former building. (fn. 14) This gatehouse is a timbered building of three stories with a slate roof. The
archway itself is of moulded wood. The approach to
the entrance was probably once narrowed by a
barbican. The Castle House stands close to the entrance. It is an early-19th-century house of red
brick, with a Tuscan porch in stucco, behind which
is a dignified entrance surmounted by a fanlight.
After the end of the 15th century the castle fell
into decay, and surveys made during the 16th and
17th centuries speak of ruined and derelict buildings. In 1650 the castle was put up for sale, but returned to the Crown at the Restoration. About 1690
the east wall of the hall was taken down and rebuilt
in brick, and although the other surviving buildings
were leased privately from 1660 onwards, the hall
remained in Crown hands and was used as an assize
court, a practice dating from at least 1273. (fn. 15) About
1821 the hall was divided into two courts and various
other rooms, (fn. 16) so that its original internal structure
is now almost wholly obscured. In 1875 the castle
site, excluding the buildings but including the
mound, was purchased by the county, and in 1888
the county justices bought the hall and the neighbouring houses, which had been the subject of
negotiations with the Crown since about 1803. (fn. 17)
Most of the other buildings were destroyed in the
18th century. The interior of the hall was again
altered in 1856, under the supervision of William
Parsons, the county surveyor. (fn. 18) The castle remained
in 1956 the property of the county and was still used
as a court of law. In 1926 the area between the castle
and the river was opened as a garden, thus making
possible the preservation of fragments of the boundary wall and enhancing the interest of the castle site.
This area had formerly been used as a corporation
rubbish dump. (fn. 19)
Besides the castle itself, the liberty of Castle View
included a few houses built round the castle to the
north and north-east. In 1801 the population of the
liberty was 52. By 1831 it had risen to 127 and in
1891, the last year in which a separate census figure
for Castle View was returned in the census, the
population was 136. (fn. 20) Castle View ceased to exist as
an administrative unit in 1896. (fn. 21)