A dear friend of mine, who came to us for Christmas lunch, gave me this original watercolour he painted of Fotheringhay Bridge. He is a super artist and I’m going to try and copy this in glass for him.
Fotheringhay is a close village to us and is steeped in history, most notably Fotheringhay Castle was the death place of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587, where she was beheaded.
The access to the village was formerly via a ford and the first bridge was built in 1753 at the behest of Elizabeth I. The present bridge was built by George Portwood of Stamford in 1722 under the orders of the Earl of Nottingham. Here is a photo from New Year’s Day 2013 – we are not on the right side of the river to match the painting.
Sadly, the castle no longer exists and was in ruins only 50 years after Mary’s trial and execution. Small parts of the ruins remain….