Fotheringhay Castle Fotheringhay Castle ( also Fotheringay Castle ) was in the village of Fotheringhay to the north of the market town of Oundle , Northamptonshire ( ) . It was probably founded around 1100 by Simon de Senlis , Earl of Northampton . In 1113 , possession passed to Prince David of Scotland when he married Simon ' s widow . The castle then descended with the Scottish princes until the early 13th century when it was confiscated by King John of England . By 1220 , Fotheringhay Castle was controlled by Ranulf de Blondeville , 6th Earl of Chester . In January the following year , the castle was briefly captured by William II de Forz , 3rd Earl of Albemarle , in his rebellion against King Henry III . Forz abandoned the castle and Henry III took it under his control ; Fotheringhay remained in royal hands until the reign of Edward II . King Richard III was born here in 1452 and it was also where Mary , Queen of Scots , was tried and executed in 1587 . The castle is protected as a Scheduled Monument and is open to the public . History . William the Conqueror granted the area to Judith of Lens , wife of Waltheof , Earl of Northumbria . Their eldest daughter , Maud , inherited the lordship of Fotheringhay . Around 1090 , she married Simon de Senlis who was made Earl of Huntingdon . Probably in around 1100 , he founded Fotheringhay Castle , a Norman motte on the north side of the River Nene . Simon was dead by 1113 when King Henry I of England arranged for Maud to marry Prince David of Scotland . Through this marriage , David who later became King of Scotland , acquired Fotheringhay Castle as well as other properties in Huntingdonshire . Possession of the castle descended through the Scottish princes until the 13th century . Shortly after King John was excommunicated , he demanded his barons send him hostages to ensure their loyalty . In 1212 , he used this as leverage against David , Earl of Huntingdon and Prince of Scotland , to acquire Fotheringhay Castle . He wrote to the earl , saying " You have given us your son as a hostage , therefore we require you to yield to us your castle at Fotheringhay " . This is the first documented reference to the castle . The period 1208 to 1214 saw John confiscate many baronial castles ; this proved unpopular with the barons and , to appease them , John began reversing his actions in 1215 . Fotheringhay was amongst the castles he returned to their previous owners that year . David , Earl of Huntingdon , rebelled against the king , and his property was granted to William Marshal , 2nd Earl of Pembroke . In 1218 , Marshal had been ordered to return the earl ' s estates , but had retained possession of at least Fotheringhay Castle . When David died in June 1219 , the Earl of Pembroke still held Fotheringhay despite King Henry III of England . Alexander II , King of Scotland , had a claim to the castle through David and was to form part of the dowry of Joan , Henry III ' s sister who was to marry the Scottish king . On 3 December 1219 Marshal finally gave Fotheringhay Castle to the English king . According to the Barnwell chronicler , Hubert de Burgh , 1st Earl of Kent , was given custody of Fotheringhay Castle in 1221 when he married the King of Scotland ' s sister . The castle had yet been transferred to the control of the King of Scotland and was still effectively an English castle held under Henry III . William II de Forz , 3rd Earl of Albemarle , rebelled against Henry III late in 1220 , and in January the following year captured Fotheringhay Castle , installing his own garrison . He attacked several other castles the same month , but the capture of Fotheringhay was Forz ' s only success . According to a royal letter he " furtively and seditiously seized the castle of Fotheringhay . . . devastating and plundering our land and violently disturbing and infringing our peace and that of our kingdom " . Faced with a massing royal army , Forz fled north and Henry III took Fotheringhay and Castle Bytham . Henry III retained control of the castle , and it remained in royal possession until the reign of Edward II . During the Second Barons ' War , Fotheringhay and Chester Castle were taken by Robert de Ferrers , 6th Earl of Derby . He held them from 1264 to 1265 . Edward II granted Fotheringhay Castle to John of Brittany , Earl of Richmond . When John died in 1334 , his granddaughter inherited Fotheringhay Castle , Mary de St Pol , the widowed countess of Pembroke . She died in 1377 , and Edward III gave her property over to his son , Edmund Langley . In 1385 , he was made Duke of York by the king and Fotheringhay Castle became his principal seat . According to John Leland writing in 1540 , Langley spent a great deal on Fotheringhay Castle . Langley died in 1402 and was succeeded by his eldest son , Edward . He died without children of his own in 1415 , so his property passed to his nephew Richard . Fotheringhay Castle was a favoured residence of Richard , who became Duke of York and a powerful magnate . Married to Cecily Neville of the House of Neville , an influential family in northern England , he fathered two future kings : Edward IV and Richard III , and the latter was born at Fotheringhay Castle in 1452 . On 27 March 1454 , Richard , Duke of York was named " protector and defender of the realm " while King Henry VI was suffering from mental illness and remained in the position until 9 February 1455 . During the subsequent Wars of the Roses between the houses of York and Lancaster the Duke of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460 . Fotheringhay Castle remained a favoured residence of the family after Richard ' s death : Cecily often entertained guests there and in 1469 Elizabeth Woodville , Edward IV ' s queen , resided at the castle . On 11 June 1482 , the Scottish prince , Alexander Stewart , Duke of Albany made a treaty at the castle with Edward IV of England to supplant his brother on the throne of Scotland . Mary , Queen of Scots , who had spent much of her 18 years of imprisonment at Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor , spent her final days at Fotheringhay , where she was tried and convicted of treason . Mary was only given the verdict the day before her execution , and spent her final night praying in the castle ' s small chapel . She was beheaded on a scaffold in the castle ' s great hall on 8 February 1587 . Later period . Despite the castle ' s size and importance , it was allowed to fall into disrepair during the latter part of the Elizabethan period . By 1635 , less than 50 years after Mary , Queen of Scots ’ execution , it was reported to be in a ruinous state and was completely demolished soon afterwards . The castle is a Scheduled Monument , a " nationally important " historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change . Today there is little to be seen apart from earthworks and some masonry remains . Fotheringhay is open to the public during daylight hours and provides good views along the Nene valley demonstrating well its defensive position . Layout . Fotheringhay was a large motte and bailey castle . A large motte , which was surrounded by large water - filled moat , was topped with a polygonal stone keep . The inner enclosure , known as a bailey , was protected by rampart s and a ditch . This enclosed a great hall and other domestic buildings . The outer bailey had curtain walls and a gatehouse ; a lake was crossed by way of a bridge . Little is known about the structural history of the castle while Langley was the owner in the 14th century , ; however , it is thought that he was responsible for building the outer bailey and partially filling the eastern part of the ditch surrounding the motte . The motte is in diameter at the base and across the flat top , some above ground level . The inner bailey is broadly rectangular and measures approximately .