More information : Mount House is described in its Listed Building description as 15th or 16th century. It is a low triangular, two-storey sandstone building with a flat roof and equal sides, measuring 36ft , though now much extended. It is located on high ground to the east of Ashby de la Zouch Castle. It has been erroneously identified as the 'Irish Fort' built in 1644 as a fortified outpost and garrison related to the Civil War defence of the castle. The construction of a substantial two-storey blockhouse of this nature during the Civil War is unknown: earthwork and timber bastioned defences were favoured. A triangular building would have given narrow fields of fire and three large blind-spots. Furthermore the building has no loops, embrasures or flanking capability and this building was left standing when Hastings' tower and the other town defences were slighted after the end of the war.
Other triangular buildings in Britain were intended to convey a message rather than be defensible, such as Rushton Triangular Lodge, built 1593 between 1597 to symbolise the Catholicism of its owner. The sandstone construction of Mount House suggests that it relates to the same period that saw Hastings' Tower built at the castle in the late 1400s. It might have been some form of hunting stand or lodge with viewing platform, however it does not afford the most commanding views of the Little Park and some larger windows might be expected. An alternative interpretation may be as a warren lodge sited to make a visual impact as people travelled along the Leicester Road. Grand 15th-century warren lodges, such as at Thetford, are well documented, though the 33ft triangular lodge at Rushton was not built until the 1590s. (1)
Designated Grade II (2)
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