Monument record 805 - Fotheringhay

Fotheringhay was called 'Foderingeia' in the 11th century, and up to the 16th century was called 'Foderingeye'. The village is mentioned in Domesday and from before the conquest until the 13th century, was owned by the Earls of Huntingdon. Medieval settlement earthworks survive around the village.

{5} Fotheringhay was called 'Foderingeia' in the 11th century, and up to the 16th century was called 'Foderingeye'. The name is thought to originate from the Saxon family name 'Fothere' and the final syllable which means island. The village name therefore means 'the island of the people of Fothere'.
The village is mentioned in Domesday and from before the conquest until the 13th century, was owned by the Earls of Huntingdon.

There are several unlocated monuments within the village. A pinfold [pound] existed in the village, for repairs are recorded in 1470-1but its location has not been established.

In c.1141 Simon de Senlis, Earl of Northampton and Huntingdon, founded a Cluniac nunnery at Fotheringhay but moved it about four years later to Delapre by Northampton. The site of the nunnery is said to have been later used for the College. However in 1322-3 Delapre Abbey held land between the church and the tenements fronting the road to the north. It is possible that this was merely land belonging to the Rectory but could perhaps have been the site of the original monastery.

A school was founded in Fotheringhay by Elizabeth I, the master having a house in the churchyard. The school still existed in 1849.

The rectory was held by Delapre Abbey from the 12th century, following the transfer of the abbey from Fotheringhay to Northampton. In 1254 the profits were valued at 15 marks. This property was transferred to the College in Fotheringhay when it was founded by the Dukes of York. In 1806 there was a Rectory and Parsonage, established after the dissolution from property formerly of Fotheringhay College, as well as a Vicarage.

In 1535 Sawtry Abbey held a watermill called a 'fullyngmyll', apparently in Fotheringhay.
The record of a fulling mill at Fotheringhay in the mid 16th century would indicate that it had a role in the cloth industry in the Tudor period. In 1689 there was still at least one weaver living in the village. The presence of a Drying Close in 1716, immediately north of the village, is of uncertain derivation but may prove to have some significance in this connection.

{10} Two pedigrees relating to Fotheringhay, also a letter.

{11} Partial remains include a broad hollow way running parallel to the village street for 300m. A second hollow way runs NNE from a junction with the first to the edge of a brook. Possible house sites indicated by low banks and scarps. Hollow ways marked on map c.1716 but no buildings.

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

<2> 1696, Fotheringhay 1696, (unchecked) (Map). SNN100483.

<3> 1793, Fotheringhay Inclosure Map 1793, (unchecked) (Map). SNN100484.

<4> 1806, 1806 Schedule to 1716 map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN100482.

<5> Johnston G., 2000-01, Excavation of an Ossuary at Fotheringhay Church, Northamptonshire, p.161 (checked) (Article). SNN103949.

<6> FOTHERINGHAY CHURCH RESTORATION COMMITTEE, 1987, A History of Fotheringhay, (unchecked) (Book). SNN71485.

<7> Foard, G. and Britnell, T., 2003, Fotheringhay: A New Perspective from the 1640's, pp.140-3 (checked) (Article). SNN103924.

<8> Foard G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Fotheringhay (Medieval and Post Medieval), (unchecked) (Report). SNN106658.

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

<10> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, DR/25/116/3-5 (Archive). SNN115.

<11> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p. 47/Site 38 (Series). SNN77379.

Record last edited

Jan 31 2025 2:58PM