carried out repairs to the castle. By the 19th century the ruins were covered in ivy; by the early 20th century, trees were growing out of the tops of the walls, which were frequented by grazing goats and cattle. Much of the moat had silted up and the remains of the bridge had been buried by the accumulated debris. By 1911, the owner Major Richard Winstanley was unable to pay for the upkeep of the castle and, concerned about its deteriorating condition, proposed placing the property into the guardianship of the Commissioners of Works. Following a survey by the architect Sir Frank Baines, which showed the ruins to need immediate repairs, the Commissioners took over the castle the following year. It was restored by Sir Charles Peers, the Inspector of Ancient Monuments, between 1912 and 1913. He stripped away any remains of the farm, cleared the vegetation from the walls and repaired the brickwork, re-cutting the moat and reconstructing a replica of the medieval bridge. There had been hopes of finding additional remains during Peers' archaeological investigations but, although the foundations of the original manor house were uncovered, few other items were discovered. The complete financial records of the castle's construction, however, were found in the archives of the Hastings family by the historian Thomas Fosbrooke while he was investigating Ashby by de la Zouch castle, who passed them to Peers; they have since provided what the historian John Goodall describes as "a fascinating insight" into medieval building operations. In the 21st century, Kirby Muxloe Castle is managed by English Heritage as a tourist attraction, receiving 2,461 visitors in 2015. Substantial restoration work was carried out in 2006, including extensive replacement of much of the brickwork. The castle is protected under UK law as a Grade I listed building, and Historic England considers it to be a "spectacular example of a late medieval quadrangular castle of the highest status". Architecture Location Kirby Muxloe Castle is positioned set back from the village of Kirby Muxloe on low-lying land; the castle's gardens and orchard probably stood to the north and west of the current site. John Goodall suggests that the earlier residence on the site was built around two courts, one of which survives within the later castle, with the other on the north-west side of the site. The historian Anthony Emery, however, argues that the earlier manor was similar in size