Fotheringhay Castle - Photo ©
Smb1001, 26 January 2008
Fotheringhay Castle - Photo ©
Smb1001, 26 January 2008
Fotheringhay Castle was in the village of Fotheringhay 3½ miles (6 km) to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire.
King Richard III was born here in 1452 and it was also where Mary, Queen of Scots was tried and executed in 1587.
A Norman motte castle was first built on the north side of the River Nene by Simon de Senlis, Earl of Northampton around 1100.
The large motte, which was topped with a polygonal stone donjon, was surrounded by large water-filled moat. The inner bailey was protected by ramparts and a ditch. This enclosed a great hall and domestic buildings. The larger outer bailey was guarded by a gatehouse and a lake which was crossed by a bridge .
By the early 13th century it was held by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and also by Ranulf, Earl of Chester. In 1232 John of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon became Earl of Chester from Ranulph, his maternal uncle. John died in 1237. Henry III of England then acquired Fotheringhay and Chester from Ranulph's sisters through purchase. The king gave both castles to his son Prince Edward.
During the Second Barons' War, Fotheringhay and Chester Castle were taken by Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby. He held them from 1264 to 1265.
Mary, Queen of Scots, who had spent much of her 18 years of imprisonment at Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor, ended her days at Fotheringhay, where she was tried and convicted of treason. The queen was only given the verdict the day before her execution, and spent her final night praying in the castle's small chapel. She was beheaded on a scaffold in the castle's great hall on 8th February 1587.
There is a firsthand account of Mary's execution written by Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme. It was printed in 1665, and uses the spelling "Fotheringay" rather than "Fotheringhay". This perhaps explains why Sandy Denny used the former spelling for her musical folk group Fotheringay.
Despite the castle's size and importance, it then fell into disrepair throughout the later Elizabethan period. In 1627, shortly after Charles I came to the throne, Fotheringhay was completely demolished and the site cleared.
Today there is little to be seen apart from earthworks and some masonry remains. The site is open to the public during daylight hours.
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