- Type
- Ruin
- Built
- c. 1100 · 11th century
- Location
- England, United Kingdom
- Coordinates
- 52.5242°, -0.4357°
History
The motte-and-bailey castle was raised around 1100 by Simon de Senlis, Earl of Northampton. In 1377 the estate went to Edmund of Langley, founder of the House of York, who rebuilt the castle in stone. The future King Richard III was born here in 1452. Elizabeth I made the castle the prison of Mary, Queen of Scots – her trial took place here in October 1586, and on 8 February 1587 she was beheaded in the great hall. Left empty, the castle decayed and was pulled down in the first half of the 17th century, its stone carted away for local buildings.
What to see
What survives is the tall motte above the Nene with traces of the moats, and at its foot a single fenced-off block of masonry – the only visible fragment of the building. Plaques recall Richard III and Mary Stuart. A few hundred metres away rises the collegiate church of St Mary and All Saints with the tombs of the Dukes of York, seen from the mound across the meadows.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1439593
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