Monument record 1876/1 - Possible Medieval Road Route to London

{1} To the east of the castle the road from Warmington, surviving as a hollow way, diverts northward to skirt the castle. The alignment if continued through the castle roughly matches the alignment of the present main street. There may also have been significant realignment as a result of the laying out of the market place in the early 14th century.
(See section 10 'Historical Topography' in main report.)
In the medieval period it is likely that a major road from London to the north ran through Fotheringhay. Westward the road through Fotheringhay joined the Oundle to Stamford road near Walcot bridge, formerly Walcot ford. Eastward the road to London must originally have run past the castle on its north side, onto the island and thence crossing the Nene at Warmington. This would have placed the crossing on the alignment of, but some two or three kilometres north west of, what in 1620 was known as the London Road, running up from the Giddings and west of Lutton towards Warmington. However by 1620 the London Way turned north before it reached Warmington and ran up to Wansford bridge on the great north road. The control of this road may have been one of the reasons for the siting of a castle at Fotheringhay. The traffic it brought may have been one of the reasons for the foundation of a market in the village and the demise of the route by the early 17th century may in part explain the demise of the market. (See section 9 'Communications' in main report.)

<1> FOARD G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Fotheringhay (Medieval and Post Medieval), (unchecked) (Digital archive). SNN100481.

Record last edited

May 30 2012 10:42AM