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. 2

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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. 4

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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 6

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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. 11

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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. 27

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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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