The New Murrey and Blue blog

This year, 2025, it was the ten-year anniversary of the reinterment of Richard III in Leicester Cathedral. My friend and I went to Leicester to experience some of the festivities and took the opportunity to visit Fotheringhay, about an hour’s drive from Leicester.

This, of course, was the birthplace of Richard as well as the place of execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. I have visited it before but it was my friend’s first time and the weather was lovely, crisp and cool but sunny and bright, too.

We had lunch in the wonderful pub The Falcon Inn, which had a fantastic lunchtime menu with some unusual dishes such as pheasant.

Then we visited St Mary and All Saints Church, where Richard’s parents and brother, Edmund are buried. It is a lovely church and very peaceful.

There are several references to Richard and his family, including the magnificent pulpit, which bears the emblems of Richard (White Boar) and George (Black Bull) flanking Edward’s Royal Arms.

The font dates from the 15th Century and we wondered whether Richard might have been baptised in it, finally deciding he was more likely to have been baptised in the family chapel in the castle, which now consists of just a mound and a single piece of masonry.

Everywhere you look there is something interesting or beautiful – for example all the hand made kneelers with many Yorkist symbols on it. There are white roses everywhere! There weren’t many other people there and they soon left, leaving us alone to savour the wonderful, peaceful atmosphere of the church.

After that we walked to the location of the castle and saw the mound, the masonry and the beautiful location by the River Nene. All in all, a perfect day.