Fotheringhay Castle 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
Fotheringhay 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. In this time it was used as a state prison. She attended her own trial in the Great Hall on October 5, 1586, where it lasted two days. After waiting over two months for Elizabeth I of England to officially sign her death warrant, Mary was only given the verdict the day