Click on any part of the plan below to find out more.
The Keep
The Keep is the oldest building at the Castle, it dates back to
1180 and was built under the instructions of Hamelin Plantagenet the 5th
Earl Warenne. It stands 27 metres (90 feet) high with walls of 4.6
metres thick and has 5 levels including the roof.
The Keep was the last bastion of defence at the
Castle; if the Castle came under attack and the walls were breached then the
defenders would retreat to the Keep, pull in the wooden bridge at the top of
the stairs and bolt the door making it almost impossible for the attackers
to gain entry.
The Keep contains a number of interesting features
including the largest hooded fire-place of its date, a very impressive
private chapel and a fine processional staircase.
At the top of the Keep are two water storage tanks,
a bread-oven, two observation turrets and a shelter.
The Keep was re-roofed and re-floored in 1994 for
the first time since the 16th century making it one of the best Norman Keep
towers in the country.
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The Inner Ward
The Inner Ward or Inner Bailey is the area within the walls of
the Castle. It is in this area that many of the out-door activities
associated with the day-to-day running of the Castle would have taken place;
wood would have been chopped for the cooking fires, small live-stock such as
chickens may have been kept and the Castle's soldiers would have practiced
the art of war.
The main function of the Inner Ward was as a staging
area for the defence of the Castle. Soldiers could use the area as a
muster point before making their way out of the Castle to attack those
outside. If the defending garrison was forced to retreat into the
Keep, the Inner Ward would have become a killing-ground which could be
easily defended from the top of the Keep.
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The Curtain Walls
These walls would have formed one of the most important parts of
the Castle defences. Not only were they an impregnable barrier to
anyone wishing to attack the Castle, but they also provided a vantage point
for those defending the Castle. The battlements (which are no longer
visible) would have offered very good protection for the defending archers
making it almost impossible for attacking archers to hit anyone on top of
the walls.
It is thought that the walls were built after the
Keep, possibly around 1210-1215 during the tenure of William the 6th Earl
Warenne. Physical evidence at the Castle suggests that the Keep was
originally surrounded by a wooden palisade. The stone walls were built
inside the palisade thereby not exposing the Castle to attack.
Today, the remains of the walls offer us many clues
as to the function and position of many of the buildings within the Castle's
Inner Ward. The walls also tell us something about the history of the
Castle, as can be seen below.
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Fallen South Wall
The South Wall of the Castle is recorded to have fallen by 1539
during the reign of Henry VIII. It is thought that the wall collapsed
as the result of a land-slide. It is worth noting that the South Wall
was the only section of wall to stand on a man-made part of the motte
(mound). This can be seen from the relationship between the walls and
the ditch that surrounds the Castle, the ditch is three times further away
from the walls on the south side than it is anywhere else at the Castle.
The collapsed condition of the South Wall was
recorded in Leyland's Survey 1537-1539, we believe that the Castle would
have been decommissioned shortly thereafter during which, all the usable
timber and all the lead from the roofs would have been removed from the
site, making the Castle a ruin. Although this sounds like a terrible
thing to have happened to a once proud castle, it meant that by the time of
the English Civil War of the 1640s, the Castle was in such a poor state of
repair that it did not pose a threat to Cromwell's forces and therefore did
not suffer the fate of many other English castles, thereby preserving the
Keep for us today.
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The Barbican
The Barbican is thought to be a 13th century addition to the
Castle. The way that a barbican worked was quite simple. There
would have been a portcullis gate at either end of the passage.
The first gate or entrance to the barbican would be
opened so that attackers could easily gain access, once they were inside,
the first portcullis would have been dropped close. A second
portcullis gate would have been at the top of the barbican passage way, this
one would have been closed from the start. The attacking force would
have been trapped between the two gates and contained within the barbican.
Archers and other defending soldiers could then drop
missiles or shoot arrows at the attacking force which was contained within
the natural killing field of the barbican passage.
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The Gatehouse
This Gatehouse was the original way into the Castle. Like
many of the castles of its date the gateway was a strong well defended part
of the walls, it would have consisted of an arched gate passage flanked by
two towers, above the passage would have been a room called the Gatehouse.
Within the Gatehouse would have been the mechanism
for raising and lowering a drawbridge and another mechanism for raising and
lowering the portcullis gate. Within the floor of the Gatehouse (or
ceiling of the gate passage) would have been a number of holes called
"Murder Holes" through which any number of unpleasant substances or missiles
could have been dropped on attackers.
Close examination of the remains of the Gatehouse
will revile a number of interesting "clues", these include a stone bench at
ground level, the remains of a fireplace on the first floor level and if you
examine the remains of the fallen wall at this point, part of the gate arch.
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The Chapel
In common with many castles of this date, Conisbrough has its
Chapel next to the Gatehouse. During the consolidation of the site in
the 1960s, the remains of a stone alter were discovered here.
The Chapel was used each day by all the occupants of
the castle for the daily religious observances.
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The
Guardhouse and Prison
Located on the opposite side of the gate to the Chapel was the
Guardhouse, again this was the usual location for the guardhouse at a castle
of this date. Armed guards would have been in attendance at all times
to protect the gate.
At Conisbrough Castle there is also a Prison Cell
located below ground level just under the location of the guardhouse.
Today, the cell contains the best preserved medieval latrine on the Castle
site, access to the cell would have been by means of a trap-door in the
floor of the guardhouse.
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The
Accommodation Range
The principal use for these buildings is thought to be as living
quarters. However, it is not certain whether they were for the castle
staff or used as guest accommodation. What is known is that this range
was a two story building, this has been proposed as a result of the
archaeological evidence visible along the curtain wall at this point; a
number of flat stone pads were discovered, they would have supported timber
beams which in turn would have supported a first floor which was also made
from wood.
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The Latrine Pit
This pit utilises a natural fissure in the rock that the Castle is
built upon. Today the remains of only one latrine slide can be seen,
however it has been suggested that as many as nine toilets could have
emptied in to this hole. The pit would have to have been emptied by
hand on a regular basis, the produce of which would probably have been used
to fertilise nearby farm land.
The close proximity of the latrine pit adds weight
to the idea of the Accommodation Range, after all what is one of the last
things we do at night before going to bed and the first thing we do in a
morning when we get up?
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The Great Chamber
Evidence visible at the first floor level in the curtain walls at
this point (a large fireplace) suggests that at some time in the Castle's
history a grand apartment was located at this spot. One of the only
people to have visited the Castle on a regular enough basis to need such a
grand room would have been the Earl Warenne. The Keep would not have
been favoured as accommodation because of the constant draughts that blow
through the building, so a cosy apartment on the west side of the Castle to
catch the setting sun would have been favoured.
There is some evidence for major building work
having taken place in this area in the late fourteenth or fifteenth century,
possibly the placing of a large window within the west wall. Sadly all
traces have been robbed from the site a long time ago. It is worth
noting that the last person who may have used this apartment was Maud, the
Countess of Cambridge, she was the grandmother of Edward IV and the last
person of note to have lived at the castle, she is recorded to has died in
1446 possible at the castle.
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The North-West
Tower
Visitors to the Castle will note an opening high in the
north-west corner of the curtain wall. This was a doorway leading into
a small room within a "D" shaped tower, this tower has long-since fallen
into the ditch. However, evidence can be seen from the outside that
this tower once contained a latrine, possibly connected to the Great
Chamber.
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The Great Hall
As with any community during the early middle ages most castles
had some form of Great Hall. Conisbrough's Great Hall was of the isled
variety, a line of 3 large columns supported the high roof. The
original 13th century central hearth is still visible in the remains of the
Hall, this fireplace would have had no chimney, smoke from the fire would
have vented through holes in the roof of the hall.
Evidence suggests that in the 14th century however,
the central hearth was covered over and a fireplace with a chimney was
installed into the north wall of the Hall. At about the same time the
curved west end of the Hall had a dividing wall built across it producing a
new room into which a fireplace was built.
The Hall is the only part of the castle to show any
sign of a mortar render which still adheres to a few of the stones on the
north wall. Incidentally, evidence of a similar rendering can be found
on the walls of part of St. Peter's Church in the village of Conisbrough,
the stone that this part of the church is built from is of a similar quality
as that found in the Hall area of the Castle.
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The Services
Although no one can confirm exactly what this area is for, there
are a number of diverse theories. Within this "room" there is a finely
crafted stone drainage trough with a semi-circular end, and evidence for a
flag-stone floor all of which is assumed to be medieval.
High in the north wall at this point are a number of
socket holes thought to be for timber beams, the problem is that these
sockets are not in a horizontal line and are unlikely to be of medieval
origin.
There is evidence for a 14th century building
alteration that placed a doorway through into this area from the great hall.
This "room" is thought most likely to be a scullery or pantry.
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The Buttery
Despite the name, this room has nothing to do with dairy products.
A butt was a wooden container for holding 108 gallons of ale or beer and the
buttery was where they were stored. At the Castle it was a room below
ground.
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The Covered Passage
Leading from the kitchens to the Great Hall, this passageway was
probably nothing more than a simple lean-to structure with a simple roof
allowing food to be brought from the kitchen to Hall.
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The Bake-house
Situated next to the kitchens, the bake-house shared a nest of ovens
the remains of which can still be seen. This is where all the bread
would have been baked that was used at the castle.
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The Kitchens
The remains seen today are probably of the kitchen that was
modified in the 14th century. It is laid out with two large fires that
would have had their own chimneys. There is also evidence for a small
oven next to the eastern most fire, this fire also has a shallow trough in
front of it, thought to be for collecting fat that dripped from meat being
cooked in front of the fire.
The kitchen shares a nest of ovens with the
bake-house next door, the complete remains of one of these ovens is still
visible.
Discolouration of the north wall stone work in this
area points to a possibly destructive fire in the kitchen at some time in
the Castle's history.
A complete 14th century kitchen of a similar layout
to that at Conisbrough can be found at
Haddon Hall near
Bakewell in Derbyshire.
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The Guard's Latrines and Wall Walk Stairs
Situated at either side of the Keep are two openings into the
Curtain Wall, the better preserved of these is the one next to the kitchen.
A short flight of steps lead into a latrine that would probably have been
used by the guards who patrolled the Wall Walk that ran around the top of
the Curtain Wall. Also in this area are the remains of the stone
stairs that allowed access to the top of the walls.
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