Society Archive 2003

A Plaque for Fotheringhay

The Society considered that, as the chronicles are obscure and give a conflicting message regarding Margaret's birthplace, it was necessary to mark the birth of Margaret of York not only at Waltham Abbey but at Fotheringhay as well, Fotheringhay being the alternative site given. As Fotheringhay had also been the birthplace of several of Margaret's siblings, especially her brother Richard, later Richard III, this was also seen as an ideal opportunity to mark that fact also.

At noon on Sunday, 14 December, 2003, over 60 Ricardians assembled at the east end of the village around a building once called the New Inn, next to the lane that leads to the ruins of the castle. After saying a few words of welcome, the Chairman asked Juliet Wilson to unveil the plaque. This she did after having reminded the assembled members that the main road through Fotheringhay had once been called "The King's Way" because of the comings and goings of medieval royalty. With the plaque revealed, the Chairman gave thanks to Juliet (without whom his job as Fotheringhay co-ordinator would be impossible) also to Lady Victoria and Mr Simon Leatham, the owner of the property whereon the plaque was fixed. Thanks were also given to John Ashdown-Hill, who had co-ordinated the arrangements for the plaque, and who, with Geoffrey Wheeler had designed it. The Chairman then said a few words about Margaret of England, as she styled herself, and why she should be commemorated - not least of his reasons being that she must have been all right as Henry VII hated her with a passion! More seriously, he explained that Margaret had no reason to like Henry either. Whilst usurping her family's throne, he had caused her younger brother, Richard, to be killed. Enjoying a freedom denied to those of her family who had to live under Tudor rule, she was the last great protagonist of the House of York, and in this, the five hundredth year after her death, the Society was proud to honour Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, in the village that possibly gave her birth.

Following the unveiling, most of the party repaired to the village hall for an excellent lunch, provided as usual by Alan Stewart, to be followed later in the afternoon by the excellent Christmas Carol Service in the church. The plaque is to be seen on the end of the last house on the left at the east end of the village, just before the sharp right turn to the bridge. It means that, at last, there is a commemoration of the House of York immediately visible on the main road through Fotheringhay, complete with the Society's name as the donor.

Commemorating Richard III'S Sisters

2003 was the 500th anniversary of the deaths of Richard III's last two surviving sisters: Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk and Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy.

On Saturday 18th October Margaret of York was commemorated at Waltham Abbey Town Hall, Essex, with the unveiling of a plaque donated by the Mid Anglia and South Essex Groups of the Richard III Society. Waltham Abbey is one of two places named in fifteenth century sources as Margaret's birth place, and it seems certain that her father, Richard Duke of York, was in Waltham Abbey at the time of Margaret's birth (though unfortunately the whereabouts of Cecily Neville at the time are not recorded). The plaque was unveiled by the deputy mayor of Waltham Abbey, Cllr Antony Watts, in the presence of about sixty members of the Richard III Society, who were then entertained to coffee and biscuits in the town hall. Cllr Watts felt sure that Margaret must have been born at Waltham Abbey, for he described her as a typical 'Essex Girl', - loyal, intelligent and with a spirit of determination.