Conisbrough

Etymology

The name Conisbrough is descended from the Old English Cyningesburh (first recorded c.1000) meaning "king's stronghold" or "king's fortified place".

History

The historian David Hey describes Conisbrough as appearing to be the most important place in Anglo-Saxon and Viking South Yorkshire. In a will of around 1003, Conisbrough was bequeathed by Wulfric Spott, founder of Burton Abbey. At this point, it appears to have been the centre of a major former royal estate, reaching Hatfield Chase. The manor became royal again under Harold II of England, and by the Norman Conquest, 28 townships in what is now South Yorkshire belonged to the Lord of Conisbrough. William the Conqueror gave the whole lordship to William de Warenne.

The name of Conisbrough relates to a king's stronghold and this is usually presumed to have either been on the site of Conisbrough Castle, or of the parish church. At the time of the Norman Conquest the manor of Conisbrough was held by King Harold - he was defeated at the Battle of Hastings. Conisbrough Castle is contained within an artificial oval-shaped enclosure similar to one used as wapentake meeting-places at Gringley-on-the-Hill and East Markham, leading Malcolm Dolby to suppose the castle site may have once been the meeting-place of the Strafforth and Tickhill wapentake.

Conisbrough contains what is believed to be the oldest building in South Yorkshire: the probably 8th century Anglo-Saxon St Peter's Church. The church was enlarged in the twelfth century, and David Hey claims that it was a Minster church, forming the centre of a large, early parish covering all or much of the eleventh century Fee of Conisbrough.

Peter Langtoft, writing in the 13th century, claimed that Egbert of Wessex had been received at "Burghe Conane", which is often identified with Conisbrough.

Kilner Connection

In 1863, the Kilner company opened a glass-making plant in Conisbrough. "The bottles made at Conisbrough are chiefly mineral water, spice, confectionery, wine and spirits, pickle, medicine, and chemists. and druggists bottles of all descriptions." In 1866, Caleb Kilner was sent to manage it, along with his cousin Kilner Bateson. In 1937, the Kilner company went bankrupt. Rights to the Kilner Jar product line were sold to the United Glass Bottle Manufacturers in the same year.

Literature

Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote about the town, claiming that it had been fortified by Ambrosius Aurelianus, king of the Britons after his victory over the Saxon forces of Hengist (Historia Regum Britanniae viii, 7), that the captive Saxon leader Hengist was hacked to pieces by Eldol outside the town walls, and was buried at "Hengist's Mound" in the town.

In Sir Walter Scott's novel, Ivanhoe, 'Coningsburgh Castle' is based on Conisbrough. Scott's Coningsburgh is a Saxon fortress, based (perhaps knowingly) on the mistaken conclusion that its unique style marked it as a non-Norman castle. The great tower is described specifically, so that it is clear that Scott has the Norman version of Conisbrough in mind.

Earth Centre

In the mid-1990s, a new tourist attraction, Earth Centre, opened on the nearby site of the former Cadeby Main Colliery; it closed in 2005 after failing to attract the expected number of visitors. A leisure centre has been built on the site of the former Denaby Main Colliery. In the 2008 drama Survivors, the Earth centre was used as the place Abby was shot and taken in.

Famous people from Conisbrough include the singer Tony Christie, Groove Armada/Faithless bass guitarist Jonathan White and playwright Justin Scott.

Sporting links

Conisbrough, small as it is has produced some excellent sports stars over the years. Footballer Alan Sunderland who played for Wolves, Ipswich and Arsenal was born in Conisbrough and went to Station Road Junior School.

Andrew "Steffy" Bulcroft - Supersonic is a retired pro lightweight boxer with a fine record. 37 bouts with 29 wins and 1 draw. One of the more high-profile bouts was against Bradfords Amir Khan at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. This resulted in a loss for Bull. It was the undercard fight for the Calzaghe Manfredo bout in front of a capacity 35,000 After his retirement Andrew has maintained his links with boxing by becoming a promoter. Steffy Bull Promotions. Teamed with boxers such as Gav Macdonell - Team Mac and running a boxing gym in Mexborough.

It has also been a host to the Olympic Torch Relay for the 2012 London Olympics

Yorkshire saw The Grand Depart for the Tour de France in 2014. After this Yorkshire has hosted "Le Tour de Yorkshire." In 2016 the tour came through Conisbrough passing the famous castle on its way to Doncaster. [1] Conisbrough Music Fest

Education

Conisbrough has one secondary school, the De Warenne Academy (formerly Northcliffe School). The Emmanuel Schools Foundation's scheme to turn Northcliffe into an Academy was scrapped after protests by parents, students and staff, despite the enthusiastic backing of former Conisbrough councillor Aidan Rave and former Doncaster Mayor Martin Winter.

Primary Education in Conisbrough is provided by Ivanhoe Academy, Castle Academy (Formerly Station Road School), Morley Place Juniors, Rowena Infants & Balby Street Primary.

Further Education is now available at the De Warrene Academy (post 2010) however some residents of the village choose to either attend Dearne Valley College or Doncaster College both a short bus ride away from Conisbrough.

Amenities

The town lies at the junction of the A6023 and the A630 Doncaster - Rotherham road. To the west is Denaby Main. Pubs in the town include; The Eagle & Child, The Red Lion, The Conyers, The Alma, Castle Bar and The Hilltop Hotel. The street formerly known as Butt Hole Road, now Archers Way is located in Conisbrough, which was made famous due to its name that embarrassed local residents.

Shopping

The largest store in Conisbrough is the Sainsburys Local which serves village residents with products required from an express supermarket. This was formerly the Kwik Save. The land was formerly the Petrol Station of the Greathead family

Conisbrough had a Co-op in the town centre opposite the Sainsburys Store, again used for local conveniences. This closed in September 2016. The site has since been refit and opened as a Go-Local convenience store. The site was originally a cinema

Shopping Facilities:-

Chemist (Town Centre & Doctors),Florist Shops, Card Shop, Vape / Smokers Store,Newsagents, Butchers, DIY / Hardware Stores, Estate Agency / Financial Advisors, Clothes Store (non chain), Bookmakers, Cafe (Molly's at Chimes), Charity Shops & House Clearance shop.

Other stores include the Crusty Cob Shop, which has the Bakery head office and bake house for their small local chain. The last bank in the town was NatWest, after the closure of Santander's branch in 2014. Natwest, a sub branch of its neighbour Mexbrorough closed in November 2015 leaving no bank. However, there are Cash Machines available 24/7 at the old bank site, Sainsbury & The post office. The Go-Local has a cash machine outside but only available during store hours. There is now a Sub bank where the old Santander was which is now a Yorkshire Building Socity.

Bus services

The main bus operator in the town is Stagecoach Yorkshire providing an extensive network of services into Doncaster & throughout the Dearne Valley referred to as "The Dearne Link". Buses run at least every ten minutes into Doncaster & Mexborough and at least half-hourly through to Barnsley, Wath, Cortonwood & Rotherham. First South Yorkshire also operate a service through Conisbrough running at least every ten minutes throughout the day between Sheffield and Doncaster on its X78 route

Rail services

The town is served by Conisbrough railway station and the main operator from the railway station is Northern. There are frequent services in both directions from Conisbrough railway station to destinations such as Doncaster, Mexborough, Swinton, Rotherham, Sheffield, Scunthorpe, Worksop, Retford, Gainsborough, Saxilby and Lincoln. Recently Stagecoach restored bus services past the railway station after an absence of almost 10 years. The X20 links Doncaster and Barnsley [2]