Lordship of Conisbrough
The manor of Conisbrough was at one time held by the Duke of Leeds, and some court rolls for the period 1340-1695 are to be found amongst the archives of the Duke of Leeds at the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Leeds
Prior to the Norman Conquest, Conisbrough was the centre of an important administrative unit; occupying the gap between the marshes at the head of the Humber estuary and the Pennine foothills, its position of importance was enhanced by its location on a hill overlooking and controlling a crossing of the River Don. Its name means "the King's stronghold" and at the time of the invasion by William the Conqueror in 1066, it was owned by King Harold.
In 1086 at the time of the Domesday Survey, the Lordship of Conisbrough included lands in 28 townships scattered throughout South Yorkshire, including Anston, Aston, Aughton, Barnburgh, Bilham, Braithwell, Bramley, Bramwith, Clifton, Cusworth, Dalton, Dinnington, Edenthorpe, Fishlake, Greasbrough, Hatfield, Harthill, Hoyland, Kirk Sandall, Long Sandall, Ravenfield, Stainforth, Thorne, Tudworth, Wales, Whiston and Wilsic (Tickhill). Of these, some had churches dependent on the mother church of St. Peter's Conisbrough
After the Norman Conquest, King Harold's possessions were given to William de Warrenne who kept the lordship as a military centre and a base for hunting in the surrounding park.
Little attempt seems to have been made to develop Conisbrough as a commercial centre as there is no evidence of markets and fairs being held there. In later times, it was held by a succession of non-resident lords, of which the following have been identified:
- Henry Carey, 1st Lord. Hunsdon 1561 - 1596. Cousin to Queen Elizabeth I .
- George Carey, 2nd Ld. Hunsdon 1596 - 1603
- John Carey, 3rd Ld. Hunsdon 1603 - 1617
- Henry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover 1617 - 1647
- John Carey, 2nd Earl of Dover 1648 - 1677
- Mary (Carey) Heveningham 1677 - 1696
- Edward and Carey Newton 1696 - 1705
- John Newton, Guardian of Edward Coke. 1708 - 1722
- Edward Coke, esq. late of Longford, Derbyshire. 1722 - 1733
- Penniston and Matthew Lamb 1733 - 1737
- Thomas 4th Duke of Leeds 1737 - 1788
- Francis 5th Duke of Leeds 1789 - 1798
- George William Frederick 6th Duke of Leeds 1799 - 1838
- Sackville Walter Lane Fox, esq. 1839 - 1874
- Sackville George, Lord Conyers 1874 - 1889
- Charles Alfred Worsley, 4th Earl of Yarborough 1889 - 1935
- Marcia Amelia Mary, Countess of Yarborough and Baroness Conyers
Before the grant of the manor of Conisbrough to her cousin by Queen Elizabeth I, the Crown had held the manor for over 100 years. In 1347, the line of the Warrenes, Earls of Surrey, who had held the manor since the time of the Conquest, came to an end, and the inheritance their lands fell to the crown in reversion. The following were grantees of the manor and castle by the Crown:
- Edmund of Langley
- Earl of Cambridge, Duke of York 1347 - 1402
- Edward, Duke of York 1402 - 1415
- Richard, Earl of Cambridge
- Matilda Countess of Cambridge 1415 - 1446
- Richard, Duke of York 1446 - 1460
- Edward, Earl March 1460 - 1483
By an act of parliament in 1496, all the lands of Edmund of Langley were declared to be resumed and annexed to the Crown. The period 1300 to 1485 was the most important in the history of the castle and lordship of Conisbrough, for not only did its strategic position make it an important place to secure in the struggles of the Earl of Lancaster in the reign of Edward II and of the Yorkists against the Lancastrians in the 15th century Wars of the Roses, but several scions of the Royal House were born at Conisbrough and its dependency Hatfield, including the Earl of Cambridge, beheaded by King Henry V in 1415 for his part in an alleged treasonable conspiracy.
After this time, the princes of the House of Tudor rarely visited the North and the fortress of Conisbrough fell into disuse. Leland visited the area in the reign of Henry VIII and reported that "He saw no notable thing at Conisbrough but the castle, standing on a rokket of stone, and ditched. The walls of it hath been strong and full of towers". So it was that Queen Elizabeth granted the castle and lordship to her kinsman, Henry Carey 1561.
By the middle of the 14th century, the original extent of the lordship of Conisbrough had shrunk. At the Great Tourn held at Michaelmas 1347, the following places were mentioned with tenants owing suit of court to the Lord:
- Aston
- Bramley
- Dinnington,
- Ravenfield,
- Morthinge
- Greasbrough,
- Warmsworth
- Dalton,
- Sandall
- Braithwell,
- Barnburgh,
- Harthill
- Hoyland
- Conisbrough
- Cusworth
- Clifton,
In the 17th & 18th centuries, these places were still governed by the lordship of Conisbrough, illustrating the survival of manorial rights over a long period of time, helped by the continuity of families.
Conisbrough Court Rolls