Conisbrough Castle

Reasons for Designation

Tower keep castles are medieval fortifications introduced to Britain by the Normans. They comprise the tower keep itself, a variation of which was the hall keep, and often a walled enclosure surrounding or attached to the tower in which interior structures, for domestic and garrison use, were located. A surrounding rampart and ditch was also common, as were defensive features such as mural and gate-towers. Tower keep castles were the fortified residences of a lord or the king and were sited for both offensive and defensive military operations. Often they were administrative centres, dominating a town or rural area, and generally occupying strategic positions. Many developed into enclosure castles though their defensive function largely ceased with the advent of artillery. There are 104 tower keep castles recorded nationally, of which less than half have been partially excavated, and they are found in all regions, particularly along the Welsh Marches. As such, and as a relatively rare class of monument of which the hall-keep type is the rarest, they are particularly important for the study of Norman Britain and the development of the feudal system. Tower keep castles were built throughout the Middle Ages from immediately after the Conquest to the mid- fifteenth century with a peak in the mid-twelfth century. Conisbrough Castle is an important and well-documented example of a tower keep castle which, as well as being one of a very small number nationally to have escaped being slighted during the Civil War, has largely intact archaeological deposits both inside the bailey and in the surrounding rampart and ditch. In addition, since the demolition of Peel Hill Castle, Thorne, some time after the sixteenth century, this polygonal form of keep, with external buttresses, is now unique.

Details

Conisbrough Castle is a tower keep castle whose main component is a 28m high cylindrical tower with six solid wedge-shaped buttresses. The tower consists of several floors, access presently being gained via a modern outer staircase leading to the entrance floor c.5m off the ground. This staircase has replaced an original timber structure whose stone footings can be seen below. A well shaft drops from the entrance floor down into the basement floor below. An interior staircase leads to the upper floors, the positions of which are marked by garderobes and, on the second floor, a thirteenth or fourteenth century fireplace flanked by triple shafts with carved capitals. Surrounding the tower to the north, west and south is a curtain wall enclosing a grassed-over bailey containing well-shafts, a blocked sally-port and the wall-footings of ancillary buildings. A modern ramp on the west side overlies the original walled approach to the bailey which leads from a ruined gate- tower. Surrounding the whole is a ditch c.10m deep and c.20m wide and a steeply scarped rampart. The castle is situated on a natural slope and is one of several that, in the Middle Ages, commanded the Don Valley. The site was part of the honour of Conisbrough given to Earl Warenne by his father-in-law William the Conqueror. The castle was built during the twelfth century and remained in the hands of the de Warennes until the reign of Edward III when it passed to Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, and to his descendants. Elizabeth I granted the castle and its demesne to her cousin, Lord Hunsden, since when it has passed through several owners. It has been in State care since 1950. As well as being scheduled, the tower is a Grade I Listed Building. A number of features are excluded from the scheduling. These are the concrete surface of the ramp leading to up to the bailey from the gate-tower, all metal railings, the ticket office, the paved area, stand-pipe, grit-bin and waste bins near the ticket office, the modern stairway and railings into the tower and the concrete posts supporting it, all English Heritage fittings such as lights, notices and safety grilles, the viewing platforms within the tower, and the flight of steps crossing the rampart to the north-east of the site. Also excluded is the visitors' centre on its concrete raft, though the ground beneath this and all other exclusions is included. Also included are the modern dressed sandstone "kerbs" used within the bailey to show the layout of certain features, as moving these will affect the bailey deposits. The custodian's lodge, garage, driveway, garden, the car park, gate and a brick- built drain beside the gate, all lie inside the Guardianship Area but outside the area of the scheduling, as does a wicket gate in the south-west perimeter.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

13245

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Johnson, S, Conisbrough Castle, (1984)

Other
Milward, A,

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