Fotheringhay Castle
Fotheringhay Castle, also known as Fotheringay Castle, was a High Middle Age Norman Motte-and-bailey castle in the village of Fotheringhay 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire, England (grid reference TL061930). It was probably founded around 1100 by Simon de Senlis, Earl of Northampton.[1] 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.
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, 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 and is open to the public.
Layout[edit]
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. The inner enclosure, or bailey, was protected by ramparts 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;[25] 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 70 m (230 ft) in diameter at the base and 30 m (98 ft) across the flat top, some 7 m (23 ft) above ground level. The inner bailey is broadly rectangular and measures approximately 50 by 65 m (164 by 213 ft).[26]
In popular culture[edit]
In Gaetano Donizetti'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.[27] It appeared in 1969 on What We Did on Our Holidays, her first album with the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. Denny's band after leaving Fairport Convention was named Fotheringay. That band released one self-titled album in 1970 before disbanding.