Fotheringhay
Fotheringhay | |
---|---|
Fotheringhay, across the River Nene | |
Location within Northamptonshire | |
Population | 119 (2011) |
OS grid reference | TL0593 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Peterborough |
Postcode district | PE8 |
Dialling code | 01832 |
Police | Northamptonshire |
Fire | Northamptonshire |
Ambulance | East Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Fotheringhay is a village and
As the home of the great Yorkist line, the village was, for a considerable part of the 15th and 16th centuries, of national standing. The death of Richard III at Bosworth Field altered its history irrevocably. As the historian John Nicholls stated, "Fotheringhay has been distinguished beyond any other place in Britain, except the Capital, by the aggravated misfortunes of Royalty."[1]
At the time of the
History
The first written mention of a settlement here was in 1060, and the Domesday Book of 1086 lists the site as 'Fodringeia'. John Leland wrote this as 'Foderingeye' or "Fodering inclosure", referring to the section of the forest that is segregated for the purpose of producing hay.[1] During the medieval period the village was variously mentioned as Foderingey, Foderinghay, Forderinghay, and Fotheringhaye.
Access to the village was formerly via a
In medieval times, it hosted a weekly market, held between at least the start of the fourteenth century and around the mid-fifteenth century, and was also the site of an annual fair beginning on the eve of
Sixteenth-century Fotheringhay, as observed by Leland, consisted a single street of around 40 houses and a population of around 300. In the 17th century the population dropped sharply when the castle was destroyed. By 1811 it had risen to a peak of around 310 but has fallen steadily since.[4] The present population is 125 (2006 est.).[5]
The village was formerly home to a renowned grammar school, believed to have been formed as the continuation of the collegiate church and probably founded by
Notable former residents include Walter de Foderingey, the first principal of Balliol College, Oxford in 1282.
The lordship of the town and the castle passed through many hands through the years. From the Earl of Newport, the lordship passed to George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, and thence to his son, William Savile, the second Marquis, who died without issue. The manor and castle were then sold by his father-in-law, Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, to Hewer Edgeley Hewer (heir to William Hewer, Samuel Pepys' onetime servant and later protégé in the Admiralty). Hewer himself died without issue on 6 November 1728, when it passed to Hewer's heirs, the Blackborne family.[6][7] In 1797 Samuel Pepys's great-great-nephew Samuel Pepys Cockerell sold the estate of Rev. Abraham Blackborne in Fotheringhay.[8]
Eventually the lordship of the manor and castle came to the Belsey family.
Fotheringhay Castle
After the manor came into the possession of
Fotheringhay is also where
Church of St Mary and All Saints
The work on the present church was begun by Edward III who also built a college as a cloister on the church's southern side. After completion in around 1430, a parish church of similar style was added to the western end of the collegiate church with work beginning in 1434. It is the parish church which still remains.
The large present church is named in honour of St Mary and All Saints, and has a distinctive tall tower dominating the local skyline. The church is
The church contains a notable 15th-century painted
The birthday of Richard III is commemorated annually by the
References
- ^ a b c d Henry Kaye Bonney (1821). Historic Notices in Reference to Fotheringhay.
- ^ "Fotheringhay CP". Parish headcounts. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ "Fotheringhay AP/CP: Total population". visionofbritain.org.
- ^ "East Northamptonshire Population Figures". East Northamptonshire District Council. 2006. Archived from the original on 25 April 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
- Henry Kaye Bonney, 1821.
- ^ Thoroton v. Blackbourne, William Kelynge's Reports in Chancery, Great Britain Court of King's Bench, 1764
- ^ Archbishop of Canterbury Archives, Lambeth Palace Library, The National Archives, nationalarchives.gov.uk
- ^ Historical display in Fotheringhay Church, 2007
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links
- Pictures of Fotheringhay
- Map sources for Fotheringhay