Introduction: A Brief History

Introduction: A Brief History
In 1066, Conisbrough, which had originally belonged to King Harold, was given by William
the Conqueror to William de Warrenne. Conisbrough already had a much older wooden
Saxon castle called a burgh which had been built around the old Church to protect the
community from Viking attacks. However, William de Warrenne chose to build his Motte and
Bailey castle on its current site in 1070. In 1160, Hamelin Plantagenet, a half brother of
Henry II, acquired the castle by marrying Isabella de Warrenne, and soon after in 1180, he
built the great cylindrical Keep that still stands there today. Hamelin later replaced what was
left of the walls of the old motte and bailey castle with the existing stone walls and round
towers. Always keen to impress he later changed his name to the more impressive sounding
Hamelin de Warrenne.
In 1286, John de Warrenne inherited Conisbrough Castle from his grandfather. A marriage
was arranged for him to Joan de Bar, the granddaughter of King Edward I. Unfortunately,
this was not a happy marriage and there were no children! By 1313 things had got so bad that
they separated and John tried unsuccessfully to get a divorce. In 1316, he decided to punish
the man he blamed for stopping him from getting a divorce and kidnapped Thomas, Earl of
Lancaster’s wife who then lay siege to Conisbrough Castle and later captured it when the
garrison surrendered. When Thomas, Earl of Lancaster was later executed the castle was
given back to Edward II who later returned it to John de Warrenne in 1326.
In 1347, John de Warrenne, the 8th Earl of Surrey, died without any children. The castle then
passed back to the crown. The castle was then given to Edmund Langley, son of Edward III
and later Duke of York, and when this family came to the throne in 1461 it became a royal
castle once again.
In about 1537, parts of the castle had fallen into disrepair as parts of the wall had collapsed
due to a possible earth quake. Commissioners sent by Henry VIII to look at the damage
recorded that ‘the gates of the castle, both timber and stonework, the bridge, and about 55
metres (60 yd) of walling between the tower (keep) and the gate had all fallen. In addition,
one floor of the keep had also fallen in`. It was decided the castle was too expensive to repair
and was left empty. Henry granted the remains of the castle and its land to the Carey family in
1540, who held it for a long period.
During the English Civil War, 1642 – 1649, the castle was not used by either side so it
escaped being damaged in the fighting and as the walls had already fallen in there was no
need to ‘slight’ or damage the castle so it could not be used by the other side. However, the
castle was briefly used by Royalists as a hiding place before they assassinated Colonel
Rainsborough in Doncaster in 1648.
Conisbrough Castle gradually decayed and became over grown with trees until in the 1819 a
young author called Sir Walter Scott was inspired by the remains of Conisbrough Castle to
write a novel called ‘Ivanhoe’. When the novel became a best seller Conisbrough Castle
became an instant over night tourist attraction with people travelling from all over the world
to walk in the footsteps of Ivanhoe. The castle became even more popular after the
Hollywood made a film based on the book.
In the 1940s, the castle was bought by Conisbrough local council and has remained in the
guardianship of the nation since 1949. It is now in the care of English Heritage, but the land
belonging to the castle belongs to Doncaster Council.
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Timeline of Conisbrough Castle
Activity 1
Re – read the brief history of Conisbrough Castle and use the information to help you link the
dates with their correct events to help you produce your own timeline
DATE
EVENTS
1066
Hamelin Plantagenet builds the great cylindrical keep and
the walls that surround the existing castle.
1070
Conisbrough Castle becomes a royal castle again.
1160
Hamelin Plantagenet is given Conisbrough Castle after he
marries Isabella de Warrenne and changes his name.
1180
The gatehouse and the southern walls collapse after an
earthquake.
1316
Conisbrough Castle is laid siege after John de Warren,
Earl of Surrey, kidnaps the wife of Earl of Lancaster
1347
Henry VIII gives Conisbrough Castle to the Carey family.
1461
Royalist hide out in Conisbrough Castle before killing
Colonel Rainsborough in Doncaster
1537
William de Warrenne builds a Motte & Bailey Castle on
the existing site.
1540
John de Warrenne dies without any children and the castle
is given to Edmund Langley, son of Edward III.
1648
Sir Walter Scott’s novel Ivanhoe turns Conisbrough Castle
into a tourist attraction
1819
the castle was bought by Conisbrough town council
1940
Conisbrough Castle becomes a nationally recognised
historical site
1949
William the Conqueror gives Conisbrough to William de
Warrenne
Activity 2
Underline all the dates on the timeline when Conisbrough Castle was owned by the King.
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Why did William de Warrenne move the site of the castle?
The original Anglo Saxon castle was based around the church in Conisbrough and was
designed to protect the village from Viking attacks. William de Warrenne decided to build
his new motte and bailey Castle on the existing site for a number of reasons.
The new site which was on a rocky outcrop was easier to defend and it had better views of the
surrounding areas that helped the Normans to keep an eye on the Dearne Valley and places
such as Mexborough and Rotherham. The new site also made it easier for the Normans to
control important communication routes such as the River Don and the roads linking
Conisbrough to other castles in Rotherham, Mexborough, Sprotborough, Doncaster and
Tickhill. The area was covered in thick woodland at the time and the Normans had struggled
to control the area and it was important that they could send reinforcements to help each other
if they were attacked. The new site also had a well, which could supply the defenders with
water during a siege.
Source A: Model of the Saxon Castle
Source B: Motte & Bailey Castle
Why did Hamelin Plantagenet build on the existing site?
When Hamelin Plantagenet decided to rebuild the castle in 1180 he kept the same location for
many of the same reasons as William de Warrenne. However, he also knew that his stone
keep would need firm rocky foundations to support its weight for both practical and defensive
reasons. A key weakness of a square keep castle was that attackers could dig tunnels under
the foundations and cause the walls to collapse. Aware of this fact Hamelin chose to build a
round tower which was stronger and much harder to undermine. He also knew that the solid
rock foundations would make it almost impossible for attackers to dig under the castle walls!
Source C: Undermining a castle wall.
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Why did the Normans build Conisbrough Castle on the existing site?
Source D: Conisbrough Castle, 2000.
Activity 3
Review the information on why the Normans built Conisbrough on the existing site and see if
you can add some of your own.
Factor
Reasons
Level of
Importance 1- 5
Control
Defence
Communication
Psychological
Activity 4
Once you have shared your answers with your neighbour try and grade the ideas that you have
written down 1 – 5 to help you decide which were the most important. 1 = most important.
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Activity 5: Class discussion – Psychological Impact
Look at the picture below and ask yourself what psychological impact would the new castle
have had on the Anglo Saxons.
Activity 6: Review triangle
Using the information that you have learnt complete the thinking skills review triangle to help
you decide why the Normans built Conisbrough Castle on the existing site.
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Building Conisbrough Castle
Building a stone construction during Medieval times would have presented the Normans with
a number of problems as many of the ideas of the Romans had been lost. For example, all the
stone blocks had to be carved by stone masons, as Medieval people had lost the ability to
build using concrete. Today we expect an architect to use a computer and a carpenter to use
electric saws and drills. Medieval builders had to do everything using hand powered tools
which makes their achievements all the more amazing.
Study the sources below and then identify which letter matches up to the different tools and
machines that medieval people used to help them build Conisbrough Castle.
Source A: Medieval drawing of the
building of the Tower of Babel
Source C: Reconstruction of a medieval
tread wheel.
C
A
D
B
Activity 7: Match the letters to the tools and machines
Sources A & C
Jib Crane
Scaffolding
Tread Wheel
Centering Support
Letters
Source B
Letters
Plumb level
Plumb line
Pulley Hoist
Drill
Axe
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Activity 8: Study the diagram below and then complete the activity below.
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Activity 8: Tools, machines and materials
Match the key words on the left by drawing a line in pencil linking them with their
explanation.
Sledge & Handcart
A system of ropes and wheels that are used to lift heavy
weights when attached to a hoist or a tread wheel.
Designed to be pulled or pushed by one person trying to
move stones, rubble and other light weigh materials
Wooden structure that allows people to work safely in high
places.
large wheel powered by muscle power for lifting heavy
stones, rafters and masonry.
Used for supporting roofs.
Hoist
Tread Wheel
Scaffolding
Wooden Patterns
Pulley
Used to lay foundations as hardcore or fill the centre of
curtain walls
Made as a template or guide for stone masons to carve
specially shaped stones
Carefully carved stone used as a skin for the outside of
wall to make it look more impressive
For lifting small to medium sized stones.
Litter
Mortar
Rafters
Faced stone
Made from sand, lime and water and used in masonry to
fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
used for carrying medium sized stones and masonry up
scaffolding.
Rubble
When you walk around the site at Conisbrough Castle
you will see a number of places where the wall has
collapsed. If you look inside the wall you will see that
Medieval builders built two walls and then filled the
inside up with rubble. This is called the curtain wall and
is designed to make the walls thicker and stronger. They
would make the walls look more impressive by using
dressed stone on the outside!
Dressed Stone
Rubble
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Activity 9: Jobs
Just below there is a list of some of the workers who would have helped to build a castle.
Below them is a series of jobs. Create a key that will allow you to match the workers with the
jobs that they would have done. E.g. A, B, C or 1, 2, 3.
Blacksmith
Lime burner
Labourer
Carter
Plumber
Mason
Builder
Carpenter
Quarry
Worker
Clerk
Cutting down oak trees in
the forest
Transporting the lead sheet
to the castle site
Checking all the work is
going to plan
Removing branches from
felled trees
Lifting the lead sheet into
place
Loading stone rubble into
carts at the quarry site
Transporting trees to the
sawmill
Fixing oak beams together
with wooden pegs
Erecting (putting up)
scaffolding
Mixing mortar
Digging stone out of the
ground
Making chisels for stone
carving
Drawing up the plans for
the castle design
Dressing the blocks of stone
Sharpening workmen’s
tools
Fixing the lead to the roof
and gutter channels
Transporting rough stone for
curtain walls
Fixing the facing stone for
the curtain wall
Transporting sand to the
castle site
Making decorative carving in
stone blocks
Lifting oak beams into
place
Infilling the curtain walls
with rubble
Lifting stone blocks into
place
Making the lime for the
mortar
Splitting the stone into at
the quarry
Transporting stone rubble to
the castle site
Making iron hinges for the
doors
Activity 10
Discussion Point: Which workers do you
think were paid the most?
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Defences of Conisbrough Castle
Dry moat to stop
siege towers
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Defences: Approach to the castle
The approach to Conisbrough Castle was
originally protected by a second earthwork
defence, which may have had a stone wall
along the top of it. This may have been the
remains of the original motte & bailey
Castle, which was dismantled once the
castle was completed.
The outer walls of the bailey at
Conisbrough Castle were protected by a
dry moat which was lined with stone. This
was designed to slow down attackers and
prevent them from using a siege tower or a
battering ram to attack the castle walls.
The entranceway into Conisbrough Castle
was protected by a drawbridge, two towers
and a heavily defended barbican that had
an unusual twist!
Anyone who entered the barbican during
Medieval times could be attacked by from
the curtain wall, the towers or the walls of
the barbican. Defenders would pour
boiling hot oil, water or lime (acid) from
murder holes. They could drop rocks or
fire arrows through special arrow slits.
The path leading up to the barbican was
very steep and narrow. This was designed
to slow down attackers and force them into
a small space where they could be fired upon from the battlements.
The barbican also had an unusual twist and ended with a blank wall, on either side of which
were two round towers. This was built to confuse the enemy, who would expect to find an
entrance at the end of the barbican. This gave the defenders a few more seconds with which to
fill the pots with boiling oil, water or lime. The narrow space and steep climb also made it
harder for attackers to use a battering ram.
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Defences: The Barbican
Blank wall defended by two
towers. This was designed to
confuse attackers who would
have expected to find an entrance
here. This would buy the
defenders a few extra seconds to
kill them.
Remains of one of the two towers
The steep climb through the
killing zone would have slowed
down attackers.
During the 19th century the gradient of the
slope leading through the barbican was
lowered to make it easier for visitors to use.
The ruined towers were also replaced with a
new entrance by the Victorians to make the
castle look more impressive. This was later
removed.
Discussion Point
Why take
it down?
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The bailey or courtyard of the castle was
surrounded by a thick high wall called a
curtain wall, which follow the curve of the
hilltop. At each point where the wall
curves around, the defenders built
projecting round towers.
Round towers allow defenders to catch
attackers in a deadly crossfire. If the walls
were not protected by towers then the
defenders would have to lean over the
walls and make themselves an easy target
in order to kill people at the base of the
wall.
Photograph taken from the inside of one of
the towers at Pembroke Castle.
Defences: Inner Bailey or Courtyard
Artists Impression – taken from displays
The inner bailey or courtyard housed the main
living quarters for the Lord and his men. It
contained a great hall, kitchens, stables, store
rooms and other living accommodation that
would help to provide for the needs of the
people living in the castle during times of both
peace and war.
If this area was captured then the defenders
could retreat to the safety of the keep which also
contained a well and large storage area.
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Defences: The Keep
The strongest part of the castle was the Keep,
which has walls 4.6 metres (15ft) thick and 27
meters (90ft) high. This made them far too
high for even the longest scaling ladders. The
circular shape of the keep was specially
designed to stop attackers from undermining
the walls and causing them to collapse. The
walls are supported by six massive buttresses
which gave it extra strength and made the keep
look more impressive.
Rocks dropped from the battlements would
bounce of the splayed base at 90 degrees.
If enemies attacked the Keep, rocks could be
dropped from the top onto the buttresses so
they would bounce off at a 90 degree angle and
kill the attackers. The Keep also had the added
protection of only having small windows. This
would have made it a dark gloomy place, but
stopped attackers from getting into the keep.
The Keep was specially designed so that the
only way in was through a narrow doorway
that was positioned 15 feet above ground on
the first floor. This made it impossible for
attackers to break down the door using a
battering ram. This left attackers with only two
options, to wait until the defenders ran out of
supplies or dig their way through the thick
walls of the Keep.
Above the entrance to the keep there is
evidence that the castle may have had some
bratticing which would have made it easier for
defenders to drop rocks or fire arrows at
attackers trying to break their way in.
Photograph of the original stairs.
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Defences: Keep
At various points in the Keep, loop holes were made for Longbow men to fire arrows to
defend the castle. One of the key weaknesses of Norman castles in France was that attackers
often crept into the castles in the dead of night through the latrine holes or toilets in the castle
walls. If you look carefully at the picture below you can see how the builders at Conisbrough
Castle thought of everything and built an arrow slit to protect the Lords Garderobe or toilet.
Keep Defences, Lords Garderobe
Loop holes or arrow slits for the cross
and longbow.
Toilet
Toilet
Notice how the
windows are larger at
the bottom than at the
top of the Keep!
Activity 11
In 1316, the last Earl, John de Warrenne, kidnapped the Earl of Lancaster’s wife who then
divorced his wife and lay siege to Conisbrough Castle. Imagine that you are a spy for the Earl
of Lancaster and complete the survey on the next page of Conisbrough Castles’ defences.
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Survey of Conisbrough Castles’ defences
Area
Strengths
Weaknesses
Moat
Barbican
Curtain Walls
Inner Bailey
Keep
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Everyday Life in Conisbrough Castle
When you visit Conisbrough Castle today it’s hard to imagine what it once looked like. The
Keep is very dark and the stone throughout the castle looks very cold, grey and
uncomfortable. If you look at some of the stone carvings, especially outside of buildings,
which have been damaged by acid rain or the weather, they look as if medieval people were
clumsy and made models like young children. People often forget that our image of Medieval
times are coloured by films like Robin Hood, everyone seems to be dressed in muddy brown
or green. There are no bright colours anywhere. However, this is entertaining fiction, not
historical fact. If you look closely at the remaining evidence and use your investigation skills
as a historian you soon learn that medieval people lived very colourful lives.
Source 1: The fireplaces in the Keep
before the floors were replaced in 1984
Discussion Point
Why did people
think places like
Conisbrough
were cold, dark,
grey and
uncomfortable
places to live?
Source 2: Artists impression of the Great
Hall a Great Hall at Conisbrough Castle.
Conisbrough Castle was at various points in
history a royal castle. The de Warrenne
family were incredibly wealthy and very well
connected. They were used to entertaining
Kings and Queens and other important
guests, so Conisbrough Castle would have
been richly decorated. The walls would have
been covered in rich tapestries or plastered
and then painted with battle and hunting
scenes. Large feasts would have been held in
the Great Hall in the bailey. The rooms
throughout the castle would have been filled
full of fine things and lit by gold candle
sticks like other royal castles!
Source 3: Medieval Tapestry
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Everyday life – Keep
In early castles like Conisbrough, most
people would have lived in the Great Hall.
The Lord and his family lived in the private
room at the top of the Keep called the solar.
Later on, as the castle expanded the family
moved into bigger rooms in the Bailey. There
was much less space privacy in a castle than
we expect today. In 1254, Henry III insisted
that a new staircase be built at Rochester
because he was fed up with people walking
through his bedroom on their way to the
chapel. At Conisbrough, there is a small
chapel leading from the Lord`s bedroom.
The archaeological evidence would suggest
that a second chapel was built over the now
collapsed wall in the Bailey, maybe for very
similar reasons.
Source 5: Chapel at Conisbrough Castle
Source 4: Artists impression of a solar
like the one at Conisbrough Castle
Source 6: Delicate carvings in the chapel
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Source 7: Official Artists impression of the solar at Conisbrough Castle, 1995.
Discussion Point
How did the Normans try and make the solar at
Conisbrough Castle warm, bright and comfortable?
Everyday Life: Garderobes – Toilets
Human beings generate waste in the past, just as they do today. Conisbrough Castle was well
served with toilets called garderobes. These were built into the thick walls through out the
castle with chutes for the waste to fall down. The Lord’s solar had its own Garderobe which
would also served as a place to store his clothes, as it was believed that the smell would
frighten away the moths. This was common practice in medieval times and is the origin of
the modern word wardrobe as a place where we store our clothes!
Source 8: Photograph of the toilet or
Garderobes at Conisbrough Castle
Source 9: Artists reconstruction
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Everyday Life: Feasting Hall
In some castles the Keep was the centre of
day to day life. In others like Conisbrough,
the Feasting Hall and other domestic
buildings would have been the centre of
castle life, unless there was a siege. As
Conisbrough Castle developed, the Great
Hall in the Keep would not have been big
enough, so a much larger hall would have
been built in the Bailey area. This is where
the Lord would have entertained his guests,
held court and where the servants would
have slept.
Source 10: Photograph of the feasting hall
Source11: Artists reconstruction
Source 12: Artists reconstruction of a typical feast
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Everyday life: Kitchen
The ‘normal day’ at Conisbrough castle
would start with an early breakfast so the
cooks and servants would have to be up in
order to feed the rest of the castle. When
the feasting hall was built, the kitchen was
built next door to make it easier to serve the
guests. A parlour was built next door to
store all the food.
Source L shows a recent photograph of the
remains of the kitchen, whilst source M
shows a reconstruction of what it might
have looked like.
Source 13: Photograph of the remains of the kitchen at Conisbrough Castle.
(a) Bread Oven
(b) Oven
(c) Oven
Source 14: Artists impression of a medieval kitchen in a castle.
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Everyday life: Kitchen
Source 15: Bread Oven at Conisbrough Castle
Bread
The staple diet of Medieval people was
bread. They ate nearly 2lbs a day, so the
bread oven at Conisbrough Castle would
have been going nearly all day. The
servants and guards would have eaten a
loaf not unlike a modern day loaf.
However, the Earl would have eaten a flat
slab or trencher as a ‘plate’ on which his
food was served. When he had finished
his meal he would have eaten his plate
which would have soaked up all the gravy
and juices from the meal!
Meat
Source 16: Remains of the Oven
The meat for the castle would have been
cooked in one of two ways. The cook
could have put the beef in a cauldron. The
cauldron would be hung over the fire and
the meat would be boiled. The cooks
would have had put plenty of spices in the
cauldron to help get rid of the salty flavour
of the meat. Meat would also be roasted
on a spit and turned by one of the young
boys.
The ovens in Medieval castles were
usually set into the wall. The picture
below shows the remains of a kitchen in
another castle. The dotted lines represent
the dome shaped interior of the oven.
Source 17: Reconstruction of a medieval castle oven
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Everyday life: Kitchen
The standards of hygiene in a Medieval kitchen would have been pretty poor, but the kitchen
at Conisbrough was equipped with its own toilet and waste disposals. The Sources R and S
below show the slaughter / waste trough for the kitchens. Animals should have been
butchered hanging upside down and all the blood and waste from the kitchen would have
poured down the trough and through the hole in the wall into the dry moat below.
Source 18: Slaughter / waste trough
Source 19: Exit on the outer wall
Source 20: What do you think this was
used for in the kitchen?
Activity 12
Complete the Venn diagram below to help you compare and contrast the kitchens at
Conisbrough Castle with a modern kitchen.
Conisbrough
Castle
Modern
Kitchen
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Everyday Life: The Great Chamber
Once Hamelin had completed the Keep and the
castle walls, he finished off Conisbrough by
building a much larger Great Hall and a private
apartment or Great Chamber for his family in
the Bailey area of the castle. The solar in the
Keep, whilst comfortable was very cramped
for raising a family. It would still have been
used for important guests such as the King and
as a place of last resort if the castle was
attacked. Some historians believe that the
Great Hall in the Keep was used for storage
towards the end of the castle`s useful life as the
Bailey is where the majority of the everyday
life took place.
Source 21: The remains of the Great
Chamber from the top of the Keep.
Source 22: Model of Conisbrough Castle
Great Chamber
Source 23: Medieval Great Chamber
Great Chamber
Very little has survived of the Great Chamber,
but we can still see faint traces of evidence
around the site. If you look closely at the
picture below you can still see the traces of
the stairs that led from the feasting chamber to
the Great Chamber. Most noticeable are the
blocks of stone that jutted out and supported
the floors and roof beams.
Source 25: The faint outline of the stairs that
led up to the Great Chamber.
Source 24: Stone roof supports
Stairs
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Everyday life: The Prison & Cesspit
William de Warrenne and his successors were
responsible for keeping law and order on their
estates. Once a month they would have held a
court at Conisbrough Castle, listened to
evidence and fined and imprisoned guilty
people.
The prison at Conisbrough Castle is built into a
hole in the ground next to the main entrance. It
would have been a very cold, dark and horrible
place to be imprisoned. However, it was
equipped with its own toilet which drained into
the castle cesspit which was emptied once a
year.
Source 26: Artists Impression of the
prison at Conisbrough Castle.
John de Warrenne is supposed to have
imprisoned 5 monks from Roche Abbey for
trespassing on his land for 1 year and 5 days in
what was described as the pits at Conisbrough
Castle. They were only allowed out when the
Abbey paid 21,000 marks for their release!
Some historians believe that they may have
been actually imprisoned in the cesspit, when
the Abbey first refused to paid the fine.
The cesspit at Conisbrough Castle was designed
to drain about 9 toilets from the Lords Great
Chamber, the chapel and other living areas in
that part of the castle. In the rest of the castle
the garderobes drained straight down the walls
into the dry moat. However, Hamelin may have
wanted to avoid an unsightly mess under his
main entrance when important visitors arrived.
Source 27: Conisbrough Castle Prison
Source 28: Latrine / Cesspit
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Activity 13: How comfortable was life at Conisbrough Castle?
Use the table below to help you summarise your research on how comfortable life was at
Conisbrough Castle
Area
Keep
Sources
Evidence / Information for or against
Toilets –
garderobes
Feasting
Hall
Kitchen
Great
Chamber
Prison and
Cesspit
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Everyday life at Conisbrough Castle: Jobs
Activity 14:
A castle the size of Conisbrough could easily have employed a 100 people, whilst the rest of
the community would be involved in work on the land belong to Earl de Warrenne. In pairs or
groups try and match up the person on the left with their job description on the right. Please
use a pencil so that you can correct your answers.
Apothecary
someone who made arrows
Blacksmith
Barber
someone who cut hair and shaved the Lord at the castle. Also
served as dentist, surgeon and blood-letter.
in charge of giving out jobs to those working at the castle,
building repair, and repair of tools used by the peasants.
a singer of songs and teller of tales.
Arrowsmith
made bread at the castle.
Bailiff:
someone who brewed beer and ale.
Brewer
built flooring, roofing, furniture, panelling for rooms,
scaffolding for building.
cared for the cellar and was in charge of the butts (a large
barrel holding 56 gallons/448 pints) of wine and beer.
a maker of medicines, remedies and potions
Armourer
Baker:
Bard
Butler
Carpenter
Chamberlain
made weapons and armour and was also responsible for
making sure that they were kept in good working order.
forged and sharpened tools, made hinges for doors, and
window grills. Also called the Smith.
responsible for the great chamber of the castle.
Chaplain
a person who checked material costs, and kept financial
accounts
Clerk
provided spiritual welfare of those at the castle. He also tended
to the chapel.
Cook
responsible for the care and training of hawks for the sport of
falconry
Falconer
prepared and cooked food for everyone at the castle.
Gong Scourer
provided entertainment in the form of singing and playing
musical instruments.
Knight:
a Lady's personal servant
Lady's Maid
a garderobe emptier and cleaner
Minstrel
a professional soldier, usually of high birth.
Homework: research and find out the names and job descriptions of 5 more people that
would have worked in a medieval castle like Conisbrough.
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Managing Conisbrough Castle
Conisbrough Castle, is not just an old building, it’s a site of significant historical interest not
just locally, but also nationally and internationally. The castle plays an important part in the
local community at providing entertainment but also as a venue for weddings. In order to
balance the interests of preserving and protecting the site, English Heritage also have to run it
as a business so that they can make enough money to make repairs and pay their staff. They
also have to think very carefully about health and safety and ensure that visitors can go
around the castle safely or they could end up being sued for negligence. The castle staffs have
to provide a range of services and information in order to keep their customers happy. For
example, they have built a visitors centre as well as toilets and a small restaurant.
The sources below show some of the changes that have been made to Conisbrough Castle
over the years in order to both protect the site and make it more accessible to visitors. Review
the changes and then complete the activity below which will help you access the arguments
for and against making changes to a historical site as important as Conisbrough Castle.
Gateway
When Sir Walter Scott first published his novel ‘Ivanhoe’ about romantic knights in shining
armour, Conisbrough became a sight of international interests. Visitors flocked from all over
the world to look at the ruins of the castle. Some of these visitors have left their marks by
vandalising the site by scratching their names into the walls. In order to make castle look
more impressive and romantic, the owners built a new gateway to replace the ruined towers
that used to stand on the site. This was later removed so that visitors could see the real
remains of the castle.
Source A: Conisbrough Castle, 1950s
Source A: Conisbrough Castle, 2010
Later in the 20th Century English Heritage improved access by lowering the gradient of the
path through the killing field of the barbican to make it easier for disabled visitors with wheel
chairs and mum’s with prams to visit the castle.
Discussion Point
What are the arguments for and against these changes?
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Entrance to the Keep
In order to make it harder for attackers to break their way into the Keep, the main entrance
was up a steep set of stairs. By the 20th Century, these had fallen into a state of disrepair that
made them dangerous for visitors to climb. They were knocked down and replaced with the
existing steps into the castle.
Source C: The old stairs into the Keep
Source D: The new stairs into the Keep
The Keep
The Keep at Conisbrough Castle was built with special _____ lime stone and was cut out of
the way quarry as the stone that was used to build the Houses of Parliament. What makes the
stone the castle is built out of really special is that when dirty builds up on the stone, it is
automatically washed off by the rain and the bleaching effect of the sun. This made the castle
look white in the distance and was designed to impress. Unfortunately, modern industry
produces pollution and a solution called acid rain which started to eat the castle from within,
destroying many of the fine carvings. So a controversial decision was taken by English
Heritage and the Ivanhoe Trust to replace the roof and the floors which had collapsed over the
centuries in order to protect the Keep from any further damage.
Source E: Keep, 1990
Source F: Looking down, 1980s
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Source G: The carvings
in the chapel were being
damaged by the effects
of acid rain and the
build up of bird waste.
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Activity 15: Managing Conisbrough Castle
Complete the tables below to help you summarise the changes that have been made to
Conisbrough Castle
Area
Main Entrance
Summary of changes
Barbican
Keep Entrance
Roof & Floors
Other
Activity 16
Making changes to a place as historically important as Conisbrough Castle is very
controversial. Use the table below to help you prepare your ideas before feeding back to a
class discussion.
Arguments for
Arguments against
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Links
Official Website: http://www.conisbroughcastle.org.uk/index.aspx
English Heritage Website: http://www.englishheritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/conisbrough-castle/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conisbrough_Castle
DMBC Website: http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/Tourism/historical/ConisbroughCastle.asp
Doncaster Free Press: http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/conisbrough?articleid=3021054
South Yorkshire Times: http://www.southyorkshiretimes.co.uk/news/Castle-back-in-handsof.3846005.jp
Castle net: http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/111/conisboroughcastle.html
British Castles website:
http://www.britishcastle.co.uk/index.php?pageId=ConisbroughCastle_theCastle
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