Saturday 15 May 2021

The river still flows past Fotheringhay, but the currents of history have moved on.

 


The north-east corner of Northamptonshire is a rural backwater which has barely acknowledged the 20th century, let alone the 21st. A cluster of villages and small towns largely comprised of stone buildings nestle in a landscape of fields, through which the river Nene meanders towards Peterborough. Many of those houses are still owned by local estates such as Elton and Barnwell, although there has been some new development at Thrapston. There is a time capsule element to the area which is valued by many local people.

This state of affairs may seem to be natural, but it could have turned out differently. In amongst these villages is one, built on the river, barely ten miles from Peterborough, that six  centuries ago was at the centre of the political life of England; Fotheringhay.

Today, Fotheringhay is a hamlet with a population of less then two hundred people. It has an Inn, the Falcon, best described as a Gastro pub, quite close to its historic church and around forty houses. As you approach it you cross the river over an ancient stone bridge; looking to the right there is a mound.


This is the site of Fotheringhay castle, a Norman creation shortly after the conquest. At the beginning of the fifteenth century this was a family home for the Dukes of York. The first Duke, Edmund Langley, was the fourth son of King Edward the third. One of his sons died at Agincourt, the other, Richard, was executed before King Henry V left for France, for plotting to replace him with Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. His son, also called Richard, was a key player in the early rounds of the wars of the Roses.

Fotheringhay castle was therefore a significant locus for one of the factions and would have been visited by Yorkist supporters. Richard married Cecily Neville. Her family was a powerful one, especially in the North of England. She was the mother of two sons who would go on to be king. The second son, Richard, was born at Fotheringhay. His brother Edward reigned as Edward IV, supported by Richard. But when Edward died, his sons were pushed aside by their uncle, who became King Richard the third.

Fotheringhay might have developed into a significant town. Connected by the River Nene to Peterborough, a city that ranked with Norwich and Lincoln in importance during Medieval times, as well as Northampton to the west, there was no reason why it shouldn’t have expanded into a river port and trading town. The Great North Road (now the A1) ran north to Newark, Lincoln and York and south to London and lay less than ten miles to the east. History had other ideas, however. Two years after taking the throne, Richard died at the battle of Bosworth, fifty miles to the west of Fotheringhay. The castle now became suspect, a possession of the losing side. When Elizabeth the first visited, she found the tombs of Cecily Neville and other family members in a state of disrepair in the church.

The castle’s last act on the national stage was a tragic one. Elizabeth had her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, imprisoned there. The choice of prison was no doubt influenced by the fact that although a “royal” residence, it was remote enough and by then obscure enough to house a troublesome hostage. When Elizabeth decided Mary had to die, the execution took place “out of sight” at Fotheringhay, rather than in London. Mary’s death, ordered reluctantly by Elizabeth, further damaged the reputation of the place and hastened its demise. In 1632, the castle, by then partly ruinous, was demolished. Some of its stones, in a major act of recycling, went to Oundle to be used to construct the Talbot Hotel.


Since then, although the Nene still flows past the site, the currents of history have abandoned Fotheringhay. But if you stand on the Mound you see what a great location for a castle it was, dominating a bend of the river. For those who live there, it is no doubt just home, who appreciate the peace and quiet. For those with imagination or a romantic turn of mind, there is just a hint, if you allow your mind to wander, of the significance of the place in the national story. Fotheringhay in its current incarnation is obscure, yet the fame of the name lives on.




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