A new survey undertaken by our Northampton team on behalf of the Castle Studies Trust has revealed new details about how Fotheringhay Castle near Peterborough may have developed from a small motte and bailey into the favoured seat of generations of royalty. In this blog, Director of MOLA Northampton Steve Parry shares what has been learned…

Fotheringhay Castle has an illustrious history. It is thought to have been built in the 1100s, following the Norman Conquest, as the seat of the honour of Huntingdon. Whilst many similar castles fell out of use, Fotheringhay instead became the focal point of the House of York and its extensive midlands estates after Edmund Langley, first Duke of York, remodelled the original motte and bailey castle to create a ‘palace-fortress’ to reflect his status. The castle remained prominent throughout the fifteenth century, and in 1495, the castle was given by Henry VII to his queen, Elizabeth of York, establishing a tradition continued by his son, Henry VIII, who granted it to each of his six queens in turn.

The most important historic event associated with the castle is the trial and execution of Mary Queen of Scots on 8 February 1587, which is described as having taken place in a substantial hall 69ft by 21ft, giving a sense of its grandeur. The castle continued in royal possession until 1603 after which point it was sold several times, lost its significance, and was demolished by the early eighteenth century.

The earliest detailed depiction we have of Fotheringhay castle is a c.1640 map shows the main buildings as forming a quadrangle around the curtain walls of the inner bailey. The plan resembles near contemporary northern castles such as those at Lumley and Bolton.