Conisbrough Castle, England

The Conisbrough Castle is a medieval castle located the town of Conisbrough near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The first castle was built around 1070 by William, 1st Earl Warenne and the son-in-law of William the Conqueror. Between 1170 an 1180 Hamelin Platagenet, 5th Earl Warenne and brother of Henry II replaced the original motte and bailey castle with the stone castle and added the 100 ft high cylindrical keep.



After the death of the last Earl Warenne, John de Warenne, 8th Earl of Surrey in 1347 the Conisbrough Castle passed to the crown. King Edward III gave the castle to his youngest son Edmund Langley. In 1460 the Conisbrough Castle passed to son of Richard Duke of York who became in 1461 Edward IV. The castle again became a royal castle but was by the end of the 15th century abandoned as a residence and fell into a disrepair. Because its early ruination the Conisbrough Castle did not suffer damage during the English Civil War (from 1642 to 1651). Henry VIII granted the remains of the Conisbrough Castle to the Carey family who owned the castle for a long period. In the 1940's was the castle bought by Conisbrough local council and is today maintained by the English Heritage.