Castles in South Yorkshire

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The keep of Conisbrough Castle Conisbrough keep.jpg
The keep of Conisbrough Castle

While there are many castles in South Yorkshire, the majority are manor houses and motte-and-bailey which were commonly found in England after the Norman Conquest. [1]

Contents

Mediaeval castles

Beighton

Beighton is now a suburb of Sheffield, but in the mediaeval period lay just over the county boundary in Derbyshire. Its castle is known only from a single thirteenth century reference to "the tower of the former castle", and its location is not known with certainty. [2] However, the Enclosure Plan for the village and a plan made in 1792 indicate a site by the River Rother, which may have formed a moat. [3]

Bradfield

Bailey Hill in Bradfield Bailey Hill, High Bradfield.jpg
Bailey Hill in Bradfield

Bradfield lies north west of Sheffield. Two sites in the village have been identified with castles. Bailey Hill is a 60-foot-high (18 m) motte, and an eighteenth-century excavation found stonework, suggesting that its castle may have been rebuilt in stone. Its bailey covered three-quarters of an acre, and its surrounding ditch and rampart still stand up to 30 feet (9.1 m) high. The village grew up around this castle, which was dependent on Sheffield Castle. [2] The site is a scheduled monument.

Nearby Castle Hill has been variously identified as a ringwork, a natural look-out point, [2] or a siege work. The hill, which could possibly be a motte, has been quarried, although one source suggests remains of a keep were visible in 1819.

Conisbrough

Conisbrough Castle dates from the twelfth-century castle. Its remains are dominated by the 100 ft (30 m) high circular keep, which is supported by six buttresses. In the mid-1990s, the keep was restored, with a wooden roof and two floors being rebuilt. The building is considered one of South Yorkshire's primary tourist attractions, and sees in excess of 35,000 visitors per year. [4]

Doncaster

Doncaster Castle lay on the site of the town's Roman fort, beside the River Don. It stood on a motte, which lies under the east end of St George's Minster. The motte was surrounded by a 16-foot (4.9 m) deep ditch, 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, which later marked the bounds of St George's churchyard. The castle was demolished, probably in the twelfth century, and there are no visible remains. [2]

Hickleton

Hickleton lies west of Doncaster. Its castle was a motte and bailey, known from a seventeenth-century sketch of the motte made by Roger Dodsworth. The site was subsequently destroyed by quarrying, and no remains are visible. [2]

Kimberworth

Kimberworth lies west of Rotherham. Its wooden castle was a motte and bailey, dependent on Tickhill Castle. The motte survives, but there is no visible evidence of the bailey, and the castle was never rebuilt in stone. [2] The site is a scheduled monument.

Laughton

Laughton-en-le-Morthen lies south east of Rotherham. Laughton Castle was a motte and bailey dependent on Tickhill Castle, and was probably built on the site of a hall owned by Edwin, Earl of Mercia. The motte survives, as does a ditch surrounding the bailey. [2] The castle was probably originally built by Roger de Busli, and may predate his castle at Tickhill. [5] The site is a scheduled monument.

Langthwaite

Langthwaite lay north of Doncaster. The village is now abandoned, [2] but the site of the castle lies near Adwick-le-Street. The castle was a motte and bailey. The motte survives, reduced in height, while a 40-foot (12 m) wide ditch marks the outline of the bailey. [2] The site is a scheduled monument.

Mexborough

Mexborough lies north of Rotherham. Its wooden castle was a motte and bailey, dependent on Tickhill Castle. The motte and earthworks of the bailey survive in a public park (Castle Hills Park) and so are freely accessible during daylight hours. The castle was never rebuilt in stone. [2] Although reduced in size, the motte stands 52 feet (16 m) high, and is surrounded by a six-foot bank and a 50 ft (15 m) wide ditch. The site is a scheduled monument.

Sheffield

The first Sheffield Castle was a wooden motte and bailey type, built for William de Lovetot in the early twelfth century. The first castle was destroyed during the Second Barons' War in 1266, along with the rest of the town, and was replaced by a larger stone castle in 1270. The castle was badly damaged in the English Civil War and largely demolished in 1648.

Skellow

Skellow lies north west of Doncaster. Its castle was a motte and bailey. The motte survives in the grounds of Skellow Hall, and part of the earthworks of the bailey can be seen in a field to the north. The site was reused during the English Civil War, and is now known as Cromwell's Batteries. [2] The site is a scheduled monument.

Tickhill

Part of Tickhill Castle Tickhill Castle - geograph.org.uk - 297181 cropped.jpg
Part of Tickhill Castle

Tickhill Castle was a prominent stronghold in the reign of King John I of England. [6]

Thorne

The motte of Thorne Castle Peel Hill Castle, Thorne - geograph.org.uk - 740974.jpg
The motte of Thorne Castle

Thorne lies north east of Doncaster. Its castle was a motte and bailey dependent on Conisbrough. [2] The motte survives, now known as Peel Hill. A ditch around the motte also survives, and a few wall fragments have been found. The castle may have also acted as a hunting lodge for Hatfield Chase. The tower, built of masonry, survived at least until the fifteenth century, when John Leland wrote that "by the church garth of Thorne is a praty pile or castelet, well diked, now used for a prison for offenders in the forestes". The foundations were largely removed in the 1820s. The site is now a scheduled monument. [7]

Other sites

There is a Castle Hill in Hampole, but the site has been heavily ploughed, and no evidence of a castle survives. [2] There was a fortified manor house at Bolsterstone ("Bolsterstone Castle") of which only remnants remain. Fenwick has a mediaeval moat, and this site has been identified as the possible location of a fortification noted in 1272. Darfield New Hall was the site of a tower house built around the fifteenth century, sometimes identified as a pele tower. Cusworth Park in Sprotborough has a "Castle Hill", sometimes identified as a motte, but this may be a landscape gardening feature.

Manor Houses

Aston Hall

Brierley Hallsteads

Denaby Old Hall

Houndhill

Houndhill in Worsbrough, Barnsley. The house has two sides of mediaeval fortification walls remaining along with two of the original four turrets. The fortified manor house was defended by fifty men-at arms during the English Civil War. The house still remains in the hands of the Elmhirst family who owned it at the time of the civil war.

Manor Lodge

The Turret House at Manor Lodge Sheffield Manor - Turret 17-04-06.jpg
The Turret House at Manor Lodge

Radcliffe Moat

Other sites

Bentley has a double moat, with foundations of a building visible on the central platform. This may have been a mediaeval manor house. Rossington similarly has the Draw Dykes Moat, which was probably the site of a manor house, although there could conceivably have been a castle there. Hooton Pagnell Hall is a Tudor building, likely built on the site of a manor house. Cowley Manor in Ecclesfield was demolished in the seventeenth century, but is believed to have been a moated manor house.

Post-Medieval structures

Stainborough Castle

Stainborough Castle Stainborough Castle01 bright 2007-08-13.jpg
Stainborough Castle

Stainborough Castle, in the grounds of Wentworth Castle, is a folly built from 1726 and inscribed "Rebuilt in 1730". It missed by only a few years being the first sham castle in an English landscape garden.

Wentworth Castle

Wentworth Castle, near Barnsley, is a former stately home, the seat of the recreated Earls of Strafford.

See also

Related Research Articles

Conisbrough Castle Grade I listed historic house museum in South Yorkshire, England

Conisbrough Castle is a medieval fortification in Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, England. The castle was initially built in the 11th century by William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Hamelin Plantagenet, the illegitimate, parvenu brother of Henry II, acquired the property by marriage in the late 12th century. Hamelin and his son William rebuilt the castle in stone, including its prominent 28-metre (92 ft)-high keep. The castle remained in the family line into the 14th century, despite being seized several times by the Crown. The fortification was then given to Edmund of Langley, passing back into royal ownership in 1461.

Conisbrough Town in South Yorkshire, England

Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at 53°29′N1°14′W. It has a ward population of 14,333.

High Bradfield Village in South Yorkshire, England

High Bradfield is a rural village 6.5 miles (10 km) north-west of the centre of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England and within the city's boundaries. The village lies just within the Peak District National Park, 1.3 miles (2 km) inside the park's north-eastern border, is at an altitude of 260 metres (850 feet) AOD, and has extensive views across Bradfield Dale towards Derwent Edge and the Dark Peak.

Tickhill Town and civil parish in South Yorkshire, England

Tickhill is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, close to the border with Nottinghamshire. At the 2001 census it had a population of 5,301, reducing to 5,228 at the 2011 Census.

Sandal Castle

Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue and the setting for a scene in one of William Shakespeare's plays.

Christchurch Castle

Christchurch Castle is located in Christchurch, Dorset, England. The earliest stonework has been dated to 1160. It is a Norman motte and bailey castle. The castle's site is inside the old Saxon burh dominating the River Avon's lowest crossing.

Laughton en le Morthen Village and civil parish in South Yorkshire, England

Laughton en le Morthen is a small dormitory village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham lying to the south of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, and its main attraction is the All Saints Church with its tower and spire of 185 feet. The village had a population of 1,241 at the 2011 Census. The parish also includes the hamlets of Carr, Slade Hooton and Brookhouse.

Bury Mount

Bury Mount Motte is the remains of an earthwork motte and bailey fortification or ancient castle in Towcester in Northamptonshire, and has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The Motte probably dates back to the 11th century when it was a Norman fortification, but over time it has been subject to neglect.

Aslockton Castle

Aslockton Castle is a ruined fortification, a motte-and-bailey castle, in the village of Aslockton, Nottinghamshire. The original name of the settlement was Aslachetone, which suggests a possible Norse origin; it was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was described as a large settlement.

Bletchingley Castle is a ruined castle and set of earthworks partly occupied by three buildings. The Scheduled Ancient Monument is directly beside the Greensand Way below it to the south in the village of Bletchingley in Surrey. The site's tower standing from c.1170 to 1264 had a panorama from one of the narrower parts of the Greensand Ridge, which runs from mid-Kent to south-west Surrey.

Castlethorpe Castle stood in the village of Castlethorpe, to the north of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Eaton Socon Castle

Eaton Socon Castle was a Norman fortification. It was constructed next to the River Great Ouse in what is now Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire, England.

Haughley Castle

Haughley Castle was a medieval castle situated in the village of Haughley, some 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north-west of the town of Stowmarket, Suffolk. Prominent historians such as J. Wall consider it "the most perfect earthwork of this type in the county," whilst R. Allen Brown has described it as "one of the most important" castle sites in East Anglia.

Hangthwaite Castle Former castle in South Yorkshire, England

Hangthwaite Castle was an earthwork motte and bailey castle founded by Nigel Fozzard. It stood in the 11th century and is situated just north of Scawthorpe, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Originally, the site was known as Langthwaite, though it changed over the years to Hangthwaite. In the 13th century, a fortified house called Radcliffe Moat replaced Hangthwaite Castle as a local fortification. Nowadays, only the motte and the ditches remain. Encased by the wide wet ditch, the motte defends a bean-shaped eastern bailey and a small north-western mound, which is possibly a barbican.

Woodwalton Castle

Woodwalton Castle was a small motte and bailey castle at Church End, the northern end of the parish of Woodwalton, Huntingdonshire. Located on a natural hillock, the earthworks of the castle still remain, with an outer moat enclosing a circular bailey with a central motte. A large dyke, apparently ancient, runs from the outer moat in a north-easterly direction. The site is a scheduled monument.

Manor Farm, Ruislip Historic site in Greater London, England

Manor Farm is a 22-acre (8.9 ha) historic site in Ruislip, Greater London. It incorporates a medieval farm complex, with a main old barn dating from the 13th century and a farm house from the 16th. Nearby are the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle believed to date from shortly after the Norman conquest of England. Original groundwork on the site has been dated to the 9th century.

Neideck Castle

Neideck Castle is a former high mediaeval nobleman's castle above the village of Streitberg, in the municipality of Wiesenttal in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria. As a result of its exposed location above the valley of the Wiesent, it has become a symbol of Franconian Switzerland.

Whittington Tump Mound in central Worcestershire, England

Whittington Tump or Crookbarrow Hill is a partly artificial mound in central Worcestershire, England. There is evidence of prehistoric activity at the site and may have been used as a religious site or burial mound. A Romano-British settlement was established nearby in the early 2nd century AD but was apparently abandoned by the 4th century. An Anglo-Saxon enclosure was established on Whittington Tump by the 7th century and during the mediaeval period it is thought to have been the site of a motte castle. Crookbarrow Manor was established at the foot of the hill by 1314 and the site, including the former motte, was given over to agricultural use. The site was listed as a scheduled monument in 1923 and is a landmark for motorists on the nearby M5 motorway.

References

  1. Rowley 1997, p. 71.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 David Hey, Medieval South Yorkshire
  3. Our Beighton: Ancient History: Castle and Mill [ permanent dead link ]
  4. "The last 50 Years | Conisbrough Castle". www.conisbroughcastle.org.uk. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  5. Adrian Pettifer, English Castles: A Guide by Counties
  6. W. Stubbs, ed. Chronica magistri Rogeri de Houedene
  7. The Historical significance of Thornes Peel Hill Motte Archived 12 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine , Thorne-Moorends Town Council

Bibliography

  • Rowley, Trevor (1997). Norman England. Batsford and English Heritage. ISBN   0-7134-8060-2.