Conisborough Castle

In Yorkshire visiting Mum who is in hospital. Nearby is Conisborough Castle, famous for its near intact 13th century cylindrical Norman keep. It is unique in Britain, although there is another ruined example near Dieppe in northern France. Sir Walter Scott described it in Ivanhoe, although he mistakenly thought it was Anglo-Saxon. The history is interesting if you like that sort of thing, as the occupants were involved in the Wars of the Roses at one point. History I know little about although I would like to read more now. I also took a look around the churchyard of what is thought to be the oldest building in South Yorkshire, the 8th century Anglo-Saxon church of St Peter's. Heavily extended in the 12th century, there remain indications of its origins.

I tried to put the link to the history of Conisborough Castle but I can't seem to do it from my phone. Grrr! However, here is a brief but for those interested:

The present 13th-century and later stone castle of Conisbrough probably stands on a site first fortified with earthworks by King William's trusted supporter William of Warenne, soon after the Norman Conquest. Warenne's great-grandaughter married Hamelin Plantagenet-an illegitimate son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and thus half-brother of King Henry II-who built the existing castle at some time between 1163 and 1202, probably during the 1180s. Conisbrough Castle hosted short royal visits from King John in 1201, and Edward II in 1322. From 1347 it became part of the estates of the royal Dukes of York: Richard 'of Conisbrough', Earl of Cambridge, younger son of the first duke, was probably born here, and after his execution for plotting against Henry V in 1415 it was occupied by his widow until her death in 1446. Thereafter however it gradually fell out of use, and by 1538 it was already ruinous and indefensible. Thus it avoided damage during the English Civil War.