Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire Family History Guide

Fotheringhay is an Ancient Parish in the county of Northamptonshire.

Alternative names: Fotheringay

Parish church:

Parish registers begin:

Parish registers: 1557
Bishop’s Transcripts: 1701

Nonconformists include:

Table of Contents

Adjacent Parishes

Parish History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

FOTHERINGHAY, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Oundle district, Northampton.

The village stands on the river Nen, near the boundary with Huntingdon, and near the Northampton and Peterborough railway, 3½ miles NNE of Oundle; was once a market-town; and has now a post office under Oundle, and a fair on the third Monday after 5 July.

The parish comprises 2,110 acres. Real property, £4,185. Pop., 246. Houses, 48. The property is all Lord Overstone’s.

A castle here was built, in the time of William the Conqueror, by Simon St. Liz, second Earl of Northampton; was rebuilt by Edmund, Duke of York, son of Edward III.; had a keep in the shape of a fetterlock; was the place of Edward IV. ‘s meeting with his queen, on his return from quelling the insurrection in the north; was the place also of that king’s receiving homage from Alexander, king of Scotland; was the birthplace of Richard III.; was settled by Henry VIII. on his first queen, Catherine; was the prison, the place of trial, and the execution-place of Mary Queen of Scots; and was dismantled about 1628.

A nunnery stood near the church in ancient times; was made collegiate by Edward of York, in 1412; and was given, by Edward VI., to Northumberland.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £200. Patron, Lord Overstone. The church is decorated English, of the time of Henry V.; was the burial-place of Shakspeare’s Edward of York who died at Agincourt, and of Richard Duke of York who was slain at the battle of Wakefield; contains a fine font, a finely carved pulpit, and some monuments erected by Queen Elizabeth to the Plantagenets; and is in good condition.

A grammar-school, founded by Queen Elizabeth, has £20: and other charities have £75.

The sub-district contains twelve parishes and four extra-parochial places. Acres, 26,110. Pop., 6,251. Houses, 1,353.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].