Conisbrough Castle is located in the town of Conisbrough in South Yorkshire, England. The first building on the site of the present castle was a manor. At the time of the Norman Conquest, the manor was held by King Harold, who was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book and was in the possession of William, 1st Earl Warenne, the son-in-law of King William I.
The First Conisbrough Castle
The first Conisbrough Castle was built by Earl William around 1070 on the site of the present castle. Very little is known about it, although it is thought to have been a motte and bailey design. In 1088, Earl William was made Earl of Surrey. He died soon after and was succeeded by his son, also named William.
Little is known about the castle from the late eleventh century through the twelfth century. The stone keep was built around 1180 by Hamelin Plantagenet, 4th Earl Warenne. Hamelin appears to have spent more time at Conisbrough Castle than any of the previous earls. The keep at Conisbrough is cylindrical and was designed by Hamelin since there is no other example of this type of keep in England from this period.
The Last Earl Warenne
The last Earl Warenne was John, the 8th Earl. He was married to John de Barr, granddaughter of King Edward I. It was not a happy marriage and by 1313, John was separated from his wife. He tried a number of times to obtain a divorce, but was unsuccessful. In 1316, after another unsuccessful attempt, John held Thomas, Earl of Lancaster responsible for its failure. John abducted Lancaster’s wife Alice. In 1317 Lancaster divorced his wife and seized Conisbrough Castle and Sandal Castle, also owned by Warenne. King Edward II intervened and an agreement was reached, under which Thomas retained the castle.
Lancaster did not hold the castle for long. In 1322 he led a rebellion against the king. Lancaster was captured at the Battle of Boroughbridge, convicted of treason, and executed. Conisbrough reverted to the possession of the Crown. In 1326, it was returned to John de Warenne, who died without an heir in 1347. Conisbrough returned to King Edward III, who conferred the estate on his youngest son, Edmund Langley.
Conisbrough Castle
By the fifteenth century, Conisbrough Castle was falling into disrepair. The remains of the castle were granted by King Henry VIII to the Carey family. The castle gained international fame as a setting for Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Ivanhoe. The Conisbrough local council bought the castle in the 1940s. From 1949 to 1988 the castle was under the care of English Heritage. Since 1988, the Castle has been managed by the Ivanhoe Trust.
Sources:
Conisbrough Castle. “Castle History” (accessed November 13, 2010)
English Heritage. “Conisbrough Castle” (accessed November 13, 2010)
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