Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society 71

This paper analyses three aspects of the study of early castles in Leicestershire. Two detailed case-studies of individual castle sites emphasise the often complex and multi-phase nature of their development. Further attention is given to some of the problems in identifying early castles, whilst the final section turns to viewing relationships between early castles and medieval settlement patterns. In all cases it is suggested that castles must be re-integrated within the context of their surrounding landscapes in order to fully understand their role and development.

In recent years some historians have taken a slightly more sympathetic approach to the troubled reign of James II (1685-1688). This article attempts to extend this approach to one of his more controversial supporters, Theophilus Hastings, seventh Earl of Huntingdon, a member of a family that had once been all-powerful in Leicestershire. The rise and fall of Huntingdon coincided with the reigns of the last two Stuart kings, Charles II and James II. Huntingdon had been a Whig and had supported attempts to exclude James, then Duke of York, from the throne, but with the defeat of the Whigs, he returned to the royalist fold. Gaining the favour of Charles II and his brother, he did much to restore the Hastings family's political fortunes, becoming a privy councillor and eventually Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, and briefly eclipsing his main aristocratic rivals in the county, the Earls of Rutland and Stamford. He was one of James I's most loyal and trusted servants. Huntingdon has been the subject of some fierce criticism from historians. Yet despite his reputation as a turncoat, Huntingdon proved unwilling or unable to change sides at the Revolution of 1688 and his fall from power was inevitable. He ended his days a Jacobite, openly hostile to the Williamite regime. The Hastings family were destined never to recover their political influence after his disgrace

Archaeology in Leicestershire and Rutland 1996

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