A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers: 'N' Nene, Nidd

I remember the River Nene in Northamptonshire from the days in the late 1950s when I used to play cricket for Peterborough on Sundays. Our route from Stamford took us down the A1 almost to Wansford and then along the A47 to Peterborough almost parallel to the course of the Nene.

Gardens beside the River Nene in Wansford

City Centre River Near Peterborough

The Nene is the 10th longest river in England rising in Northamptonshire. It forms the boundary with that county and Cambridgeshire and runs into the Wash.

River Nidd at Knaresborough, Yorkshire

A path beside the river takes you by a cave which legend says was the birthplace of soothsayer and prophetess Ursula Southheil, aka Mother Shipton. She is reputed to have foretold the Great Fire of London and the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

Mother Shipton's Cave

This is the entrance to her 'birthplace'.

The Mother Shipton Park is a major tourist attraction with the cave and a petrifying well where objects are turned to stone by the minerals in the water.

The Dropping Well

View of the River Nidd from above Mother Shipton's Cave

Photo attributions:

• River Nene in Wansford: 26 August 2013 by Forester2009 - CC BY-SA 3.0 licence
• City Centre River near Peterborough: June 1988 ex geograph.org.uk by John Goldsmith
• River Nidd at Knaesborough: 11 February 2004 by CambridgeBayWrather - CC BY-SA 3.0 licence
• Mother Shipton's Cave: 5 June 2010 by chris - CC BY 3.0 licence
• The Dropping Well: 6 August 2005 ex geograph.org.uk by Chris Gunns - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence
• River Nidd from above Mother Shipton's Cave: 6 August 2005 ex geograph.org.uk by Chris Gunns - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence

Fotheringhay Castle and Mary Queen of Scots

 A-Z Challenge - F

Fotheringhay Castle and Mary Queen of Scots

The village of Fotheringhay is situated six kilometres north east of Oundle in the county of Northamptonshire. There is nothing left of its castle today other than the motte on which it was built which provides excellent views of the River Nene.

Site of Fotheringhay Castle - 2009

Site of Fotheringhay Castle The motte and bailey is all that remains of Fotheringhay Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was executed. Behind is the modern Castle Barn and beyond, Fotheringhay Church. 

The Norman castle was built around 1100. The motte topped by a stone keep was surrounded by a moat. King Edward III (1312-77) rebuilt the Norman castle and granted it to his son, Edward, Duke of York. In 1452 the wife of a later Duke of York gave birth to the future Richard III. The reign of Richard III was short (1483 – 85) as he was killed at the Bosworth during the War of the Roses.

Henry VIII gave it to Catherine of Aragon as part of her dowry but she refused to go there. The castle became infamous as the site for the imprisonment and execution of the tragic Mary, Queen of Scots. She was tried and convicted for treason and beheaded in the Great Hall on 8^th February 1587.

(If you are squeamish you may want to give the video a miss)

 The castle fell into disrepair and in 1627 it was razed to the ground, its fixtures and fittings sold. The great horned windows and the staircase down which Mary walked to her execution ended up in the Talbot Hotel in Oundle. Reputedly Mary’s face is seen occasionally gazing out at passers-by.

 Hilary Melton-Butcher's Castle E - Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire

Attributions

• Site of Fotheringhay Castle:  By Ian Simpson 2009 – Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. (Geograph Project Collection)
• Video: Execution scene taken from the BBC series 'Elizabeth R' (1971). Starring Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth and Vivian Pickles as Mary, Queen of Scots. No copyright infringement intended