Conisbrough Castle
Conisbrough Castle | |
---|---|
Castle Hill, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and English Heritage | |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Ruined |
Website | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Conisbrough Castle |
Designated | 26 November 1987 |
Reference no. | 1192747 |
Site history | |
Built | 11th century |
Materials | Magnesian Limestone |
Conisbrough Castle is a medieval
Conisbrough Castle fell into ruin, its outer wall badly affected by subsidence, and was given to the Carey family in the 16th century. Its derelict state prevented it from involvement in the English Civil War of the 17th century and the remains were bought by the Duke of Leeds in 1737. Sir Walter Scott used the location for his 1819 novel Ivanhoe and by the end of the 19th century the ruins had become a tourist attraction.
The state took over the management of the property in 1950, but by the 1980s the visitor facilities were felt to be unsuitable, leading to a three-way partnership being created between the
The castle is made up of an
History
11th – 12th centuries
Conisbrough Castle was founded by
William built his castle on a rocky
The castle was held by William's son, also called
13th – 15th centuries
The castle continued in the ownership of Hamelin Plantagenet's family, passing to his son
Under John, Conisbrough's constables carried out a range of what the historian Stephen Johnson terms "colourful if rather unlawful dealings"; one was ultimately charged with having conducted "devilish and innumerable oppressions".[10] Further work was carried out in the castle during John's ownership, including modernising the castle hall and solar.[14]
The castle passed to John's grandson, also called
Edward III gave the castle to his own son,
16th – 19th centuries
By the 16th century Conisbrough Castle was in a poor state of repair, and a royal survey carried out in 1537 and 1538 showed that the gates, bridge and parts of the walls had collapsed in a spectacular land slippage, and that one floor of the keep had also fallen in.[18] The collapse of the walls was a consequence of the instability of the topsoil on top of the limestone spur, which was a mixture of clay and sandstone; once the clay was washed away over time, the remaining sandstone proved extremely unstable and liable to crack.[19]
Henry VIII gave the ruins to the Carey family, who retained it until it passed by marriage into first the Heviningham and then the Coke families.[20] The castle was not involved in the events of the English Civil War in the 17th century, and escaped the slighting that affected many similar properties, probably because the collapse of the outer walls had already made it indefensible and of little military value.[17] In 1737, after the death of Edward Coke, the castle and the surrounding manor were bought by Thomas Osborne, the Duke of Leeds, for £22,500.[21][b]
In 1811 the novelist Sir Walter Scott passed by the castle and later used it as the location for his novel Ivanhoe, published in 1819.[23] Scott only had a partial view of the property from the road and the events portrayed in the novel, set at the end of the 12th century, are fictitious; Scott believed the castle to have been Saxon in origin, a view shared by many 19th-century commentators.[24] Although the writer John Wainwright was still able to praise the "picturesque view" around the castle in 1826, the antiquarian Ecroyd Smith commented with concern in 1887 on the changing character of the location, in particular the factories that were growing up around the new railway line and the "murky atmosphere" the industrial works created.[25]
In 1859 Francis D'Arcy-Osborne, the Duke of Leeds, died, leaving Conisbrough to his nephew, Sackville Lane-Fox, the Baron Conyers.[21] The keep remained in good condition, but by 1884 it was apparent that repairs were needed and the antiquarian George Clark recommended urgent work to repair the stonework.[26] If finances allowed it, he also urged the reinstallation of a roof and wooden floors.[26] Limited repairs were subsequently approved by the trustees of Lord Conyers, although Clark's colleague, A. Ellis, expressed concerns that railings to protect the visitors who routinely climbed to the top of the keep had not been funded.[27] A reported £500 was spent by the trustees renovating the castle ruins, including the construction of a lodge in the outer bailey for the castle keeper, completed in 1885, and improvements to the footpaths.[28][c]
20th – 21st centuries
Conisbrough Castle was bought by the Conisbrough local council in the 1940s, who placed the castle into the guardianship of the Ministry of Public Works in 1949, but retained the freehold ownership of the land.[29] Two sets of archaeological excavations were carried out on the site between 1967 and 1969, exposing the foundations of the buildings in the inner bailey, and then from 1973 to 1977, examining options for future visitor facilities.[30] By 1984, when the government agency English Heritage took over the management of the property, the condition of the visitor services was unsatisfactory and the industrial character of the surrounding area was discouraging tourists.[29]
In response,
Visitor numbers following the investments fell far short of expectations, however, and by 2006 had settled at around 30,000 each year, only slightly above the level in the early 1980s.[33] The external facilities did not age well and funding shortages led to the new audio-visual effects in the keep being turned off to save money.[34] Discussions between the three partners about the future of the castle took place, but relations broke down and English Heritage resumed the direct management of the castle in 2008.[35]
The castle was closed for a £1.1 million programme of renovations in 2013, funded by the
Architecture
Inner and outer baileys
Conisbrough Castle has an outer and an inner bailey, approximately 260 by 120 feet (79 by 37 m) and 290 by 205 feet (88 by 62 m) across respectively.[38] The castle was entered through the outer bailey, a rectangular enclosure protected by earthworks, which would have contained the castle's barns, stables, and other service facilities.[39] A drawbridge on the northern side of the outer bailey, now replaced by an earth causeway, linked it with the inner bailey.[39]
The oval inner bailey was formed by
Various buildings were constructed along the inside of the inner bailey wall of similar rough stonework to the curtain wall, but only their foundations remain today.[44] In the south-west corner was the solar block, containing the solar and various chambers.[45] Along the north side was the hall, pushed into an awkward corner of the curtain wall, 70 by 30 feet (21.3 by 9.1 m) in size and originally probably built two storeys high.[44] Initially constructed with a central hearth, a fireplace was added into the outer wall in the later 13th century.[46] Alongside the hall were a kitchen and pantry, the former with a cellar.[44] On the south-east side of the inner bailey was the castle chapel, 20 by 40 feet (6.1 by 12.2 m) across.[47]
Keep
Conisbrough's keep was positioned on the north-east side of the inner bailey.[48] It is an important medieval survival: the historian Sidney Toy considered it to be "one of the finest keeps in England", the archaeologist Oliver Creighton describes it as an "architectural gem" and Stephen Johnson as "one of the finest examples of late Norman defensive architecture".[49]
The keep comprises a central circular tower, 62 feet (19 m) in diameter, with six, large solid buttresses projecting outwards to form an hexagonal design, unique in England.[48] It was made from magnesian limestone and 28 metres (92 ft) tall with walls up to 15 feet (4.6 m) thick in places.[50] It has four floors: a ground floor that serves as a basement and a vaulted stone support for the chamber above; the first floor, through which the keep was accessed; two upper floors and a roof walk, which was probably covered by a pentice and defended by battlements.[50]
The current concrete stairs to the keep are modern, and the original medieval stairway, made from timber and stone, would have incorporated a drawbridge just before the castle doors.[51] The basement contained a well, which could also be drawn from the 1st floor through a hole in the stone floor.[52]
The keep was designed as a private tower for Hamelin Plantagenet, rather than a grander residence.[53] As a result, it was not designed to accommodate several different households and its layout was simpler than that seen at the contemporary keep of Orford Castle, for example.[53] The 2nd and the 3rd floor would have served as the main chamber and the lord's private chamber, forming a vertical sequence of rooms, with a vaulted, hexagonal chapel leading off the private chamber, cut into one of the buttresses.[54]
Most of the castle would have been very dark due to the lack of natural light.[52] The main chamber, however, had a large window, 1 foot 10 inches (0.56 m) by 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 m), with deep recesses to allow for the thickness of the walls; two carved seats sat alongside the window.[55] A similar window was placed above it in the private chamber.[56] The keep had relatively advanced fireplaces and flues for this period, the fireplace in the main chamber being exceptionally large and decorated with stone columns and carved capitals.[57]
Conisbrough Castle was probably similar to two other castles owned by the Warren earls. Hamelin Plantagenet was also responsible for the development of Mortemer Castle in France, where a similar keep was built on top of a motte, and Conisbrough might also have had resemblances to Sandal Castle in the north of England, also owned by the earls.[58] The design of the keep was poor from a military perspective. The central circular tower provided defensive advantages but the buttresses introduced 12 vulnerable corners into the stonework, and the keep itself had no arrow slots to permit the defenders to fire on any attackers.[59] Rather than being designed primarily for military defence, it was constructed to symbolise and reinforce Hamelin's lordship and new social status.[60]
See also
- Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
- List of castles in England
- Grade I listed buildings in South Yorkshire
- Listed buildings in Conisbrough and Denaby
Notes
- mark was worth two-thirds of an English pound; 400 marks was the equivalent of £266. It is impossible to accurately compare medieval financial sums with their modern equivalents; as a comparative example, an average English baron of the period had an annual income of around £200.[15]
- ^ It is challenging to accurately compare 18th-century and modern financial sums. £22,500 in 1737 would be worth between £3.1 million and £364 million in 2013 terms, depending on the financial measure used.[22]
- ^ Comparing 19th-century and modern financial sums depends on the financial measure used. £500 in 1885 would be worth between £47,000 and £651,000 in 2013 terms, depending on the financial measure used.[22]
References
- ^ a b Johnson 1984, p. 3
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 3; "History of Conisbrough Castle", English Heritage, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 3; Clark 1884a, p. 433; "Conservation Bulletin, Issue 19, March 1993" (PDF), English Heritage, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ Clark 1884a, p. 433; "List Entry", English Heritage, archived from the original on 13 January 2015, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 3; Clark 1884b, p. 126
- ^ Johnson 1984, pp. 3, 5
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 5
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 5; Liddiard 2005, p. 54
- ^ Liddiard 2005, p. 54; Johnson 1980, p. 78
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Johnson 1984, p. 7
- ^ Johnson 1980, p. 80
- ^ Johnson 1980, pp. 77, 80
- ^ Johnson 1984, pp. 6–7
- ^ Johnson 1980, p. 81
- ^ Pounds 1994, p. 147
- ^ Johnson 1984, pp. 7–8
- ^ a b Johnson 1984, p. 8
- ^ Johnson 1984, pp. 8, 10
- ^ Thompson 1969, p. 215
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 8; Smith 1887, p. 112
- ^ a b Smith 1887, p. 112
- ^ a b Lawrence H. Officer; Samuel H. Williamson (2014), "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present", MeasuringWorth, archived from the original on 26 August 2014, retrieved 31 December 2014
- ^ Hull 2008, p. 27
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 8; Scott 1998, p. 573
- ^ Smith 1887, pp. 15–16, 39–40
- ^ a b Clark 1884b, p. 157
- ^ Ellis 1885, pp. 399–400
- ^ Dixon 1887, p. 189; Davis 2012, p. 5
- ^ a b c "Conservation Bulletin, Issue 19, March 1993" (PDF), English Heritage, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ Johnson 1980, p. 59; Thompson 1969, p. 215
- ^ "Conservation Bulletin, Issue 19, March 1993" (PDF), English Heritage, retrieved 30 December 2014; "Castle History", Conisbrough Castle, archived from the original on 1 April 2008, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ "Conservation Bulletin, Issue 19, March 1993" (PDF), English Heritage, retrieved 30 December 2014; Davis 2012, p. 5; "Deal lifts hopes for boom in castle visitors", Yorkshire Post, 5 March 2008, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ "Conservation Bulletin, Issue 19, March 1993" (PDF), English Heritage, retrieved 30 December 2014; "Deal lifts hopes for boom in castle visitors", Yorkshire Post, 5 March 2008, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ Davis 2012, pp. 5–6
- ^ "Row as castle trust ousted", South Yorkshire Times, 12 March 2008, archived from the original on 2 January 2015, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ Davis 2014, p. 11; "£900,000 Heritage Lottery Fund Award Confirmed for Conisbrough Castle", English Heritage, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ English Heritage, "Conisbrough Castle, Conisbrough", British Listed Buildings, retrieved 28 December 2014
- ^ Johnson 1984, pp. 9, 12–13; Clark 1884b, p. 124
- ^ a b c Johnson 1984, p. 9
- ^ a b Johnson 1984, pp. 9–10, 18; Johnson 1980, pp. 78–80; Clark 1884b, p. 128
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 9; Johnson 1980, p. 78
- ^ Johnson 1984, pp. 10–12
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 10
- ^ a b c Johnson 1984, p. 18
- ^ Johnson 1984, pp. 20–21
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 20
- ^ Thompson 1969, pp. 215–216
- ^ a b Johnson 1984, p. 14
- ^ Toy 1985, p. 97; Creighton 2005, p. 8; Johnson 1984, p. 14
- ^ a b Johnson 1984, pp. 14–15, 17; Clark 1884b, p. 133; "List Entry", English Heritage, archived from the original on 13 January 2015, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ Johnson 1984, p. 15; "List Entry", English Heritage, archived from the original on 13 January 2015, retrieved 30 December 2014
- ^ a b Johnson 1984, p. 15
- ^ a b Dixon 2008, p. 273
- ^ Dixon 2008, p. 273; Johnson 1984, pp. 15, 17
- ^ Toy 1985, p. 114; Johnson 1984, pp. 14–15, 17
- ^ Clark 1884b, p. 142
- ^ Toy 1985, p. 115; Johnson 1984, p. 16
- ^ Johnson 1980, p. 77
- ^ Liddiard 2005, p. 50
- ^ Liddiard 2005, p. 54
Bibliography
- Clark, George T. (1884a). Mediaeval Military Architecture in England. Vol. 1. London, UK: Wyman and sons.
- Clark, George T. (1884b). "Conisborough Castle". The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 8: 124–157.
- Creighton, O. H. (2005). Castles and Landscapes: Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England. London, UK: Equinox. ISBN 978-1-904768-67-8.
- Davis, Philip (2012). "English Heritage Plans for Conisbrough Castle, Yorkshire" (PDF). Castle Studies Group Bulletin. 14: 5–6.
- Davis, Philip (2014). "Shining Light Onto Conisbrough Castle" (PDF). Castle Studies Group Bulletin. 18: 11–12.
- Dixon, William H., ed. (1887). "Fine-Art Gossip". Athenaeum: Journal of Literature, Science, the Fine Arts, Music, and the Drama (3119).
- Dixon, Philip (2008). "The Influence of the White Tower on the Great Towers of the Twelfth Century". In Impey, Edward (ed.). The White Tower. New Haven, US and London, UK: Yale University Press. pp. 243–276. ISBN 978-0-300-11293-1.
- Ellis, A. S. (1885). "Conisborough Castle". The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 9: 399–400.
- Hull, Lise (2008). Great Castles of Britain and Ireland. London, UK: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84773-130-2.
- Johnson, Stephen (1980). "Excavations at Conisbrough Castle, 1973–1977". The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 52: 59–88.
- Johnson, Stephen (1984). Conisbrough Castle, South Yorkshire. Edinburgh, UK: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 0-11-671485-9.
- Liddiard, Robert (2005). Castles in Context: Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500. Bollington, UK: Windgather Press. ISBN 0-9545575-2-2.
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- Scott, Walter (1998). Tulloch, Graham (ed.). Ivanhoe. Edinburgh, UK: University of Edinburgh Press. ISBN 0-7486-0573-8.
- Smith, Henry Ecroyd (1887). The History of Conisborough Castle, With Glimpses of Ivanhoe-Land. Worksop, UK: Robert White.
- Thompson, M. W. (1969). "Further work at Conisbrough Castle, Yorkshire". Medieval Archaeology. 13: 215–216.
- Toy, Sidney (1985) [1939]. Castles: Their Construction and History. New York, US: Dover. ISBN 978-1-904768-67-8.