Conisbrough Moot Hall

Has been described as a Rejected Timber Castle (), and also as a Rejected Urban Defence, and also as a Possible Uncertain

There are no visible remains

NameConisbrough Moot Hall
Alternative NamesLe Mote Hall; Moat Hall
Historic CountryYorkshire
Modern AuthorityDoncaster
1974 AuthoritySouth Yorkshire
Civil ParishConisbrough Ward of Doncaster NPA

An enclosure, possibly representing the pre-conquest royal 'burgh' from which the town takes its name or town defences contemporary with the foundation of Conisbrough Castle (or both), is suggested by the street plan of Conisbrough as depicted on historic Ordnance Survey maps. The church of St Peter sits at the approximate centre of the enclosure and seems to have influenced the eventual street plan, which may represent a compromise between Norman urban planning and a pre-existing layout (Field Investigators Comments English Heritage: field observation on Conisbrough Castle environs: 01-JUL-2008). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

Sneyd mentions Moot Hall and loosely suggests an earlier motte site at this location near the church. There is no evidence for this nor for a moat. The hall, demolished in 1871, and its precursors clearly took their name from being a moot, the judicial meeting place for the Strafforth Wapentake. It is possible that the isolated hill on which Conisborough Castle was the original moot site with the Saxon king's burh being by the church (St Peter's is a stone Saxon church of at least C8 date) and that, at some point possibly after the Norman Conquest, these function were reversed with the castle becoming a residence and the moot moving to a location by the church. It is likely the King's burh was enclosed with, at least, a fence.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSK511987
Latitude53.4826011657715
Longitude-1.23011994361877
Eastings451180
Northings398700
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Sneyd, Steve, 1995, The Devil's Logbook Castles and Fortified Sites around South Yorkshire (Hilltop Press) p. 8