Fotheringhay Castle, also known as Fotheringay Castle, was a
High Middle Age Norman Motte-and-bailey castle in the village of
Fotheringhay to the north of the market town of
Oundle
Oundle () is a market town and civil parish on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 6,254 at the time of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is north of London and south-wes ...
, Northamptonshire, England (). It was probably founded around 1100 by
Simon de Senlis, Earl of Northampton.
In 1113, possession passed to Prince
David of Scotland when he married Simon's widow. The castle then descended with the Scottish princes until the early 13th century, when it was confiscated by King
John of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
.
By 1220, Fotheringhay Castle was controlled by
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester. In January the following year, it was briefly captured by
William II de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle, in his rebellion against King
Henry III. Forz abandoned the castle, Henry III took it under his control, and Fotheringhay remained in royal hands until the reign of
Edward II. It was a favoured residence of the
Dukes of York, and King
Richard III was born there in 1452. It was also the final place of imprisonment of
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
, who was tried and executed in the castle in 1587.
The castle was dismantled in the 1630s and most of the masonry was removed, leaving only the
earthworks. The site is protected as a
Scheduled Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
and is open to the public.
History
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
granted the area to
Judith of Lens, wife of
Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria. Their eldest daughter,
Maud, inherited the lordship of Fotheringhay. Around 1090, she married
Simon de Senlis who was made Earl of Huntingdon, and about 1100 he founded Fotheringhay Castle, on the northern side of the
River Nene.
[ Simon had died by 1113 when King Henry I of England arranged for Maud to marry Prince David of Scotland. Through this marriage, David, who later became King of Scotland, acquired Fotheringhay Castle, as well as other properties in Huntingdonshire. Possession of the castle descended through the Scottish princes until the 13th century.]
Shortly after King John was excommunicated, he demanded his barons send him hostages to ensure their loyalty. In 1212, he used this as leverage against David, Earl of Huntingdon and Prince of Scotland, to acquire Fotheringhay Castle. He wrote to the earl, saying "You have given us your son as a hostage, therefore we require you to yield to us your castle at Fotheringhay". This is the first documented reference to the castle. The period 1208 to 1214 saw John confiscate many baronial castles; this proved unpopular with the barons and, to appease them, John began reversing his actions in 1215. Fotheringhay was among the castles he returned to their previous owners that year.
David, Earl of Huntingdon, rebelled against the king, and his property was granted to William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. In 1218, Marshal had been ordered to return the earl's estates, but had retained possession of at least Fotheringhay Castle. When David died in June 1219, the Earl of Pembroke still held Fotheringhay despite King Henry III of England's wish for its return. Alexander II, King of Scotland, had a claim to the castle through David and it was to form part of the dowry of Joan, Henry III's sister who was to marry the Scottish king. On 3 December 1219 Marshal finally gave Fotheringhay Castle to the English king.
According to the Barnwell chronicler, Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent
Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent ( , ; – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Justiciar, Chief Justiciar of England (1215–1232) and Chief governor of Ireland, Justiciar of Ireland (1232) during the reigns of King John, K ...
, was given custody of Fotheringhay Castle in 1221 when he married the King of Scotland's sister. The castle had yet been transferred to the control of the King of Scotland and was still effectively an English castle held under Henry III. William II de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle, rebelled against Henry III late in 1220, and in January the following year captured Fotheringhay Castle, installing his own garrison. He attacked several other castles the same month, but the capture of Fotheringhay was Forz's only success. According to a royal letter he "furtively and seditiously seized the castle of Fotheringhay ... devastating and plundering our land and violently disturbing and infringing our peace and that of our kingdom". Faced with a massing royal army, Forz fled north and Henry III took Fotheringhay and Castle Bytham.[ Henry III retained control of the castle, and it remained in royal possession until the reign of Edward II.][
During the ]Second Barons' War
The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in Kingdom of England, England between the forces of barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of Henry III of England, King Hen ...
, Fotheringhay and Chester Castle were taken by Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby. He held them from 1264 to 1265. Edward II granted Fotheringhay Castle to John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond. When John died in 1334, his niece Marie de St Pol, the widowed countess of Pembroke, inherited Fotheringhay Castle. She died in 1377, and Edward III gave her property over to his son, Edmund Langley.[ In 1385, he was made ]Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
by the king and Fotheringhay Castle became his principal seat. According to John Leland writing in 1540, Langley spent a great deal on Fotheringhay Castle. Langley died in 1402 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
. He died without children of his own in 1415, so his property passed to his nephew Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
.
Fotheringhay Castle was a favoured residence of Richard, who became Duke of York and a powerful magnate. Married to Cecily Neville of the House of Neville, an influential family in northern England, he fathered two future kings: Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
and Richard III
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
, and the latter was born at Fotheringhay Castle in 1452.[ On 27 March 1454, Richard, Duke of York was named "protector and defender of the realm" while King Henry VI was suffering from mental illness and remained in the position until 9 February 1455. During the subsequent ]Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
between the houses of York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and Lancaster the Duke of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. Fotheringhay Castle remained a favoured residence of the family after Richard's death: Cecily often entertained guests there and in 1469 Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's queen, resided at the castle.[ On 11 June 1482, the Scottish prince, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany made a treaty at the castle with ]Edward IV of England
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
to supplant his brother on the throne of Scotland.
Fortheringhay and nearby Collyweston Palace were repaired in 1566 for Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
. Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
, 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
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
. In this time it was used as a state prison. She attended her own trial in the Great Hall on 5 October 1586, which lasted two days. After waiting over two months for Elizabeth to officially sign her death warrant, Mary was told the sentence would be carried out the day before her execution. She spent her final night praying in the castle's small chapel. She was beheaded on a scaffold in the castle's great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages. It continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great cha ...
on 8 February 1587.
Later period
Despite the castle's size and importance, it was allowed to fall into disrepair during the latter part of the Elizabethan period
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the Golden age (metaphor), golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of ...
. By 1635, less than 50 years after Mary, Queen of Scots' execution, it was reported to be in a ruinous state and was completely demolished soon afterwards.
The castle is a Scheduled Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
,[ a "nationally important" historic building and ]archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...
which has been given protection against unauthorised change. Today there is little to be seen apart from earthworks and some masonry
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
remains. Fotheringhay is open to the public during daylight hours and provides good views along the Nene valley demonstrating well its defensive position.
Layout
Fotheringhay was a large motte-and-bailey castle. A large motte, which was surrounded by a large water-filled moat, was topped with a polygonal stone keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
. The inner enclosure, or bailey, was protected by rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department
** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...
s and a ditch, and its structures included a great hall and other domestic buildings. The outer bailey had curtain walls and a gatehouse; a lake was crossed by way of a bridge. Little is known about the structural history of the castle while Langley was the owner in the 14th century; however, it is thought that he was responsible for building the outer bailey and partially filling the eastern part of the ditch surrounding the motte. The motte is in diameter at the base and across the flat top, some above ground level. The inner bailey is broadly rectangular and measures approximately .
In popular culture
In Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...
's 1835 opera '' Maria Stuarda'', Fotheringhay Castle is the setting of three of the opera's scenes.
" Fotheringay" was the title of a song written about the imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Sandy Denny
Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...
. It appeared in 1969 on '' What We Did on Our Holidays,'' her first album with the British folk rock band Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
. Denny's band after leaving Fairport Convention was named Fotheringay. That band released one self-titled album in 1970 before disbanding, with a second album being stitched together by surviving members from old and new recordings in 2008.
See also
* Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
* List of castles in England
References
Notes
Bibliography
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{{authority control
1100 establishments in England
Buildings and structures completed in 1100
11th-century fortifications
Castles in Northamptonshire
1627 disestablishments
Scheduled monuments in Northamptonshire
Execution sites in England
Richard III of England
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York