Groby Castle

Groby Castle stands in the village of Groby, just north-west of Leicester. It began as a Norman stronghold after the Conquest, when Hugh de Grandmesnil held the land. A stone tower once crowned an artificial mound, the motte, built in the 12th century. The castle was slighted on Henry II’s orders after the 1173–1174 revolt led by his son. By the 13th century a stone manor house occupied the site, though by the early 17th century only earthworks and trenches remained. The remains include a fragment of wall and a large earthen mound behind Groby Old Hall. Part of the site is now the church of St Philip and St James. Excavations in the 1960s and a 2010 Time Team dig uncovered further traces of the outworks. The castle is protected as a Scheduled Monument, recognised as nationally important. Its history spans the Domesday Book, medieval destruction and later manor-house building. Visitors find a quiet green mound with a surviving wall fragment and deep earthworks. The churchyard abuts the old ramparts, linking past and present. A lane runs past the north-east side where the motte once stood. The scene is calm, with no grand ruins to crowd the view. Only the land remembers the tower and the hall that once rose here.