Monument record 805/6 - The College of the Blessed Virgin & All Saints

Cluniac nunnery founded circa 1141 which moved to Delapre circa 1145. This was succeeded by a secular college founded on the site in 1411 and associated church circa 1460. Dissolved 1548. Archaeological excavation in 1926 identified parts of the cloister and adjacent buildings.

{1} The college was founded in 1411 by Edward of York, carrying out the wishes of his father Edmund Langley, Duke of York, who had already built a chancel, now demolished, onto the end of the existing medieval church. Work on rebuilding this church and erecting the conventual buildings began in 1415, but was cut short by Edward’s death in the same year. Work was restarted in 1432, by which time the coventual buildings seemed to have existed. The contract for the church was made in 1434, but buildings were still incomplete in 1460 when Edward IV granted a new charter and refounded the college. The college consisted of a master, 12 chaplains or fellows, 8 clerks and 13 choristers. It was dissolved in 1539, and later the buildings were granted to Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. He pulled down the chancel of the church, leaving the nave as the parish church, and removed the roofs of the college buildings. A detailed description of the college buildings as they were in 1550 survives. Among the places mentioned are ‘the cloister’, with at least nine chambers around it, ‘a house called The Vestry’, with a chamber over, a library, a hall, kitchens, lodgings, wood-yard, courts, brew-house, stables, barns etc. Shortly afterwards all these buildings were pulled down.

The remains of the college buildings are in poor condition and provide little indication of the original plan. Immediately S. of the church is a large sub-rectangular platform, some 2.5 m. above the river terrace to the S., which is likely to be the site of the cloisters, and traces of wall footings of a long range of buildings exist on the W. side. The rest of the platform is uneven and much disturbed. To the W. are some small platforms and scarps, but these form no coherent pattern. Excavations on the site in 1926 by Oundle School are alleged to have discovered wall foundations, stained glass, glazed tiles and other material, but no report was written.

{2} Excavation undertaken in 1926 by Oundle School; revealed wall foundations of medieval college cloisters; medieval green glazed floor tiles and stained glass and wall plaster was retrieved.

{3} Six human skeletons were found during the 1926 excavation, three buried along the line of the wall, and apparently in the foundations, two under the pavement of the cloister walk and one on the edge of the garth: these were all skeletons of full-grown men, possibly lay servants of the college, though there is a local tradition that some men killed in the Civil War were buried somewhere near the church.

{4} Earthworks; terraces and platforms of medieval college; natural and man-made scarps of no coherent plan; some ruined walls still survived in vicarage garden on south side of church in late C18th.

{7} [Area centred on TL 06109305]. Fortheringhay College, founded in 1411, was built upon 6 acres of land between the castle and the rectory house, the site of the former Cluniac nunnery. The college consisted of a master, twelve fellows, eight clerks and thirteen choristers. At the dissolution in 1548 the college buildings were unroofed, but in 1597 the mansion or chief house was still in use as a dwelling place.

{11} Monastic establishments: Section 5 in main report.
Fotheringhay College of priests, dedicated to the Annunciation and St Edward the Confessor, was founded in the castle at some time before 1398 by Edmund Langley. In 1411 this was transferred to a new site with 6 acres being allocated for it by the king. It was wholly integrated with the parish church, the claustral buildings being laid out on a site immediately south of the church. It was constructed as a mausoleum for the House of York, a number of family being buried there. The last building to be constructed was the hospitium, a guest house or hospital. There was some rebuilding of the choir between 1480-3. The exact extent of the choir is not known. The college was re-founded by Edward IV. It was dissolved in 1548 and the property was given to the Duke of Northumberland. In 1558 the site and its lands were sold to the Crew or Cruys family and converted as a large house occupied by the lessee of the manor. The choir of the church was dismantled in 1573 and various parts of the structure reused in various buildings in nearby villages. The north claustral range was demolished before 1603 but the rest shortly after 1662. In c.1720 there were still some ruins surviving in the vicarage garden on the south side of the church, with part of the college wall running towards the river. Their outline was recorded by excavations in 1926 and are recognisable as an earthwork.

{14} The remains of the cloister was the subject of a small excavation by Oundle School in 1926, which recovered wall foundations, portions of window tracery, two stones dressed into cusps, Collyweston slates, pavements of 15th century glazed tiles, a monastic tally, a missal clasp, lead cames and stained glass. Finds of the late 18th century suggest the building retained some form of usage up until this date (the finds cannot be traced).

{20} NGR as in authority {17} substantiated by plan in St.Mary's Church drawn by P.G.Dickinson, 1944 which is noted as being made from foundation lines seen from the top of the tower. A model of the College by W.Gooch, 1961 is also on show in the church, this reconstruction is based on the above plan. The site is now under pasture, there are many ground irregularities but no surveyable feature is evident; blocked doorways in the south-west face of the church indicate a former cloister porch, also confirming the location.

{21} No change.

{22} A brief description of the college and church. Also details of stained glass dated to around 1461-1475. Details of the stained glass is recorded in some depth by Bridges in the C18th.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.188/Site 35 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<2> OUNDLE SCHOOL, 1927-32, Oundle School: Extracts from Commemoration Book, 1927 p.38-40 (checked) (Extract). SNN47497.

<3> OUNDLE SCHOOL, 1927, Humaniora, p.8 (checked) (Extract). SNN60093.

<4> Anon, 1787, History and Antiquities of Fotheringhay, (unchecked) (Book). SNN47494.

<5> Brown A.E.; Hadman J.A., 1976, Some Forgotten Northamptonshire Excavations, p.177 (unchecked) (Article). SNN107522.

<6> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.46 site 35 (checked) (Series). SNN77379.

<7> Serjeantson R.M.; Ryland W. (Editors), 1906, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, pp.170-7 (checked) (Series). SNN100369.

<8> 1904, The Archaeological Journal (61), pp.241-75 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN6583.

<9> Muntz, R.A., Some Ancient Interests of Fotheringhay, (unchecked) (Book). SNN108296.

<10> IVENS R.J., 2007, Report on An Archaeological Watching Brief at Castle Farm, Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire, 2007, p.6 (checked) (Report). SNN106007.

<11> FOARD G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Fotheringhay (Medieval and Post Medieval), (checked) (Digital archive). SNN100481.

<12> 1696, Fotheringhay 1696, (unchecked) (Map). SNN100483.

<13> 1793, Fotheringhay Inclosure Map 1793, (unchecked) (Map). SNN100484.

<14> Johnston G., 2000-01, Excavation of an Ossuary at Fotheringhay Church, Northamptonshire, p.162 (checked) (Article). SNN103949.

<15> Foard, G. and Britnell, T., 2003, Fotheringhay: A New Perspective from the 1640's, pp.140-3 (checked) (Article). SNN103924.

<16> Knowles; Hadcock, 1971, Medieval Religious Houses England and Wales, p. 222 (Book). SNN10192.

<17> Ministry of Works, 1955, A.M.S. England & Wales, p. 50 (Book). SNN113323.

<18> Annotated Record Map, Ministry of Works 6" sheet (Map). SNN112961.

<19> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), OS 25" (Map). SNN112944.

<20> Colquhoun, FD, 1961, Field investigators comments, F1 FDC 04-MAY-62 (Notes). SNN113017.

<21> Colquhoun, FD, 1970, Field Investigator's Comments, F1 FDC 22-OCT-70 (Notes). SNN111540.

<22> Marks, R, 1978, The Glazing of Fotheringhay Church and College, p. 79-109 (Article). SNN113324.

<23> Manuscript, BM Harl. Ms 608 f. 6IV 62-62V (Document). SNN22572.

<24> RCHME, Undated, RCHME Inventory: Northamptonshire I (North-East), 890505 (Archive). SNN113295.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 7:17PM