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Castles are really interesting places, they have been around for a very long time.  There has been a castle at Conisbrough for over 935 years.  In that time the castle has changed and has had lots of different uses.

The first castle, built around 1070 was made from timber and would have been quite uncomfortable to live in.  Below is a picture of what we think the first castle may have looked.  Today there is no trace of that first castle.

This type of castle is called a "Motte and Bailey" castle.  The "Motte" was the name for the hill on which the castle is built, the "Bailey" was the name given to the area within the walls or palisade.

You can imagine what life may have been like for those living in this crude looking construction, but it would have been of a similar level to the accommodation of those living in the near-by village of Conisbrough.  

You have to remember that the people who would have been in control at this wooden castle were invaders in this country, they would have been hated and despised by everyone living in the village.

Although the Normans living in the wooden castle would have been all powerful, they would have also been on the edge of fear for much of the time.  

By the time that the fifth Earl de Warenne came to Conisbrough at some time after 1163, the wooden castle would have been in a poor state of repair.  Much of the timber would have been suffering from the effects of decay.

In 1180 Hamlin Plantagenet the fifth Earl, began work on the great circular keep tower that is recognised today as being far in advance of its time as a military structure as well as being the best of its type in the UK.

As you can see from this image, Conisbrough Castle must have been quite impressive in its day.  Its high curtain-walls were topped by a "wall walk", this was protected by the crenulated battlements and "D" shaped towers.  To find out more about the buildings that would have occupied the inside of the castle walls please CLICK HERE to go to a plan of the castle that has explanations of the buildings.

The over all level of comfort offered by the building of this new castle, made from finest limestone, would have been the very best available at the time.  Although Conisbrough Castle was still a military fortification it was also the occasional residence of one of the most important men of his day.  In 1201 the castle was visited by King John on one of his regular tours of his kingdom.

As time went by and the ownership of the castle changed, alterations and modernisations were made to the castle.  Today, all that remains of these alterations are their foundations and the occasional scar in the walls.  

By 1539, Conisbrough Castle is recorded to have been a ruin, a large section of the south wall had collapsed rendering the castle indefensible.  During the following centuries many of the buildings within the walls were demolished for the building materials they were made of, yet for some reason the remainder of the castle was left mostly intact suffering mainly from neglect and the passage of time.

It is possible that the castle was used as part of one of the many farms in the village, the etching shown here is one of several that show sheep in the bailey of the castle; whether this was true or whether this is down to artistic licence is open to interpretation.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries the castle became the haunt of antiquarians, intrepid travellers and the occasional artist.  In the year 1819 a romantic novel written by Walter Scott was to make Conisbrough Castle famous.  

The novel, "Ivanhoe" is the story of a knight who returns from crusade in the Holy Land to his home at Conisbrough Castle, Ivanhoe becomes involved in a number of adventures during the course of the book, he goes to a tournament at Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle, meets Robin Hood, falls in love with the fair Rowena and is held prisoner by the Knights Templar.  (A free e-book of Ivanhoe is available from this website, CLICK HERE to download).

By the middle to late 19th century, partly as a result of the popularity of the novel, and with the coming of the railways, people began to visit the now ruined Castle.  

In 1896 the owner of the castle, the 4th Earl Yarborough the Lord Conyers or his wife, had a cottage built on the grounds of the castle so that a "Warden" was available at all times, the first warden was a Mr Halliwell a retired policeman.  Halliwell left his mark on the castle that can still be seen today if you know where to look.

Tourism had come to Conisbrough Castle, Victorian visitors came from far and wide, happily paying the nominal admission fee to look at ruins of "Ivanhoe's Castle".  

Tea and cakes were soon being sold from the rear of the Castle Lodge, the grounds of the castle were modified and tended to make the experience more pleasurable for the genital visitors.

In 1912 the Castle once again enjoyed Royal Patronage as King George V came to visit the home of Ivanhoe.

Conisbrough Castle, like many other ancient and historic monuments in the United Kingdom, was to benefit from new laws passed in 1913 that were intended to halt the destruction of the Nation's old buildings.  For the first time it became possible to protect places like Conisbrough Castle as part of our history.

Changes in the laws governing land ownership and the payment of Estate Duty at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century lead to a change of ownership for many of the UK's historic monuments, medieval castles that had been in private hands for centuries were given over to the State or handed to charitable bodies like the National Trust.

The time between the two World Wars was an exciting time in British archaeology as more and more of these monuments were explored and excavated in an attempt to better understand them.  

In 1946 the ownership of Conisbrough Castle changed with its sale by the Earl of Yarborough to Conisbrough Urban District Council for the sum of £25 passing in to the care of the Minister of Works on September 22nd 1950.  In the early 1950s work was well underway to transform the castle from a crumbling ruin into a tourist attraction and national treasure.  

By the 1970s Conisbrough Castle was ready to receive visitors once again, now in the care of the Historic Buildings Commission, the castle could be visited for the sum of 1 shilling (5p) for adults and 6 pennies (2.5p) for children under 14 years.  In 1985 the Historic Buildings Commission and the Ministry of Works became English Heritage.

In 1986 the Ivanhoe Trust was formed to assist in the re-development of the Dearne Valley Coal Field.  The Trust approached English Heritage with a proposal to take over the day to day management of the Castle.  In 1988 an agreement was reached that handed over management control to the Ivanhoe Trust.

In 1994 following six years of fund raising the castle closed its doors once again to open again in April 1995 with a newly reinstated roof and two floors, this was the first time in over 450 years that the keep tower was to be a fully functioning building in its own right.

Sadly however, visitor numbers never reached the projected 60,000 per year; a peak of 48,000 in 1995 rapidly declined in subsequent years to level out at around 27,000 per annum, with around 40% of these being school children on education visits. Unfortunately these visitor numbers were insufficient to enable the castle to run in a self sustaining manner, resulting in a gradual decline in services and facilities. Therefore it was with regret that the decision was taken to hand back the day-to-day operation of the site to English Heritage in April 2008.