Fotheringhay Castle
Fotheringhay Castle was in the village of Fotheringhay 3½ miles (6 km) to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire (grid reference TL061930).
King Richard III was born here in 1452 and it was also where Mary, Queen of Scots, was tried and executed in 1587.
Contents |
[edit] History
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 shell keep, 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.[1]
David, Earl of Huntingdon, owned the castle by 1212, but that year it was confiscated by King John.[2] William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, held the castle in the early 13th century. It was later passed to Ranulf, Earl of Chester. In 1232 John of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon became Earl of Chester through Ranulph, his maternal uncle. After John died five years later, Henry III of England acquired Fotheringhay and Chester Castle 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.[3] Edmund Langley, uncle of Richard II was made Duke of York in 1385 by the king. Fotheringhay Castle became his principal seat. Little is known about the structural history of the castle while Langley was the owner.[4] According to John Leland writing in 1540, Langley spent a a great deal on Fotheringhey Castle.[5] On 11 June 1482, the Scottish prince, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany made a treaty at the castle with Edward IV of England to supplant his brother on the throne of Scotland.[6]
[edit] Trial and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots, who had spent much of her 18 years of imprisonment at Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor, spent her final days at Fotheringhay, where she was tried and convicted of treason. Mary 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 8 February 1587.
An account of Mary's execution, written by Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme, was printed in 1665 using an alternative spelling "Fotheringay". The account was the basis for the song of the same name written by Sandy Denny, which she wrote and performed while she was a member of the English folk-rock group Fairport Convention, and later again used the name "Fotheringay" for the group she formed after her departure.
[edit] Later period
Despite the castle's size and importance, it was allowed to fall into disrepair during the latter part of the Elizabethan period. In 1627, shortly after Charles I, the grandson of Mary, Queen of Scots, came to the throne, Fotheringhay was demolished and the site was completely cleared.
[edit] Present day
The castle is a Scheduled Monument,[7] a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change.[8] Today there is little to be seen apart from earthworks and some masonry remains. Fotheringhay is open to the public during daylight hours and provides good views along the Nene valley demonstrating well its defensive position.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ "Fotheringhay Castle". CastleUK.net. http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/142/fotheringhaycastle.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
- ^ Brown 1959, p. 255
- ^ Maddicott, J. R. (2004). "Ferrers, Robert de, sixth earl of Derby (c. 1239–1 279)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198614111.
- ^ Goodall 2011, p. 305
- ^ Goodall 2011, p. 305, n. 10
- ^ Foedera, vol.5 part 1 (1741), p.121.
- ^ "Fotheringhay Castle", Pastscape (English Heritage), http://www.pastscape.org/hob.aspx?hob_id=361605, retrieved 2011-10-06
- ^ "Scheduled Monuments", Pastscape (English Heritage), http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/scheduled-monuments/, retrieved 2011-10-06
- Bibliography
- Brown, R. Allen (April 1959), "A List of Castles, 1154–1216", The English Historical Review (Oxford University Press) 74 (291): 249–280, JSTOR 558442
- Goodall, John (2011), The English Castle 1066–1650, London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-11058-6
[edit] Notes
- Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, The David & Charles Book of Castles, David & Charles, 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3
