Conisbrough Castle

A short 8 minute hop by train, followed by a ten minute walk, took me from Doncaster to Conisbrough and its magnificent 12th century castle.

The castle has long been a picturesque ruin, having been abandoned by the early 16th century, but somehow amidst all of the decay the Great Tower built by Hamelin de Warenne in the 1170s/80s has stood strong. In more recent times the tower has been re-roofed and floored, making it the central focus of a visit with its audio visual displays. However, overall, this is one castle where you need a trusty guide book to bring the story together.

The Great Tower at Conisbrough Castle

The design of the imposing Great Tower at Conisbrough Castle adopted by Hamelin de Warenne is really rather unusual, following an architectural trend for circular great towers that tends to be associated with the French kings.

It is not just the outward form of the tower that is unusual. There is no continuous staircase from top to bottom – instead visitors had to cross each floor to reach the next staircase, with each flight getting narrower as you progressed upwards and deeper into the ranks of the privileged few. Oddest of all, the doorways to the upper chambers could only be locked from the outside. Quite a lot of trust placed in the loyalty of the attendants guarding the entrances.

The ruins certainly captured the imagination of Sir Walter Scott, who set his novel Ivanhoe (1819) at the castle. I can see why it would stir the creative juices. Personally, I found the view from the top quite inspiring, especially the terrific view of the 465 metre long Conisbrough Viaduct, now a cycle path.

A view of Conisbrough Viaduct from the rooftop of the Great Tower

After visiting the castle I took a little walk up the road to St Peter’s church (circa 750 AD) which holds the distinction of being the oldest building in South Yorkshire. Sadly, the church was all locked up but I enjoyed a little wander around the perimeter before returning to the station, making the short hop back to Doncaster and taking my onward train back to London.

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24 hours in Doncaster

My 24 hour stay in Doncaster was formulated relatively hastily so it was not as researched as some of my trips, aside from the glorious library that I covered in my last post, allowing for a surprise or two.

I must admit that I did wonder what I had done when I first arrived, late at night, taking a walk to my hotel through a bus station that was a little too lively, under some arches and through a deserted car park. Once in my hotel room I looked out of the window to see a brightly illuminated Esso garage, hardly fuelling my enthusiasm. However, once the sun came up and I saw the historic city centre on a morning wander everything changed!

A stroll around the centre armed with a map from Visit Doncaster revealed some of the many historic buildings, such as: the neo-classical Corn Exchange and associated market buildings (1847-9, 1873 and 1930) with its echoes of the Crystal Palace, currently undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment; the Mansion House, Christ Church; and Doncaster Minster. Alongside this there were nice surprises, such as the striking Sunny Bar Gateway, a modern art work from 2002-3 featuring bronze animals on two plinths, leading to the main market area.

Doncaster Minster

The story of Doncaster Minster was fascinating and I was delighted by the warm welcome and enthusiastic explanations from the stewards when I wandered in. There have been a few churches on this spot, but this one dates to 1858, replacing a medieval church destroyed by fire in 1853. The church had a star architect with George Gilbert Scott, perhaps best known for St Pancras railway station and the Albert Memorial in London, who delivered a parish church that feels more like a cathedral as you approach. It was fascinating to hear the story of two later fires that resulted in some clever thinking to repair the damage to stained glass, stonework and to the pews.

I was surprised to learn that Doncaster Minster has long been sought out for its organ. The organist at the time of the rebuilding sought out the finest organ he could find, eventually commissioning a monumental organ from Edmund Schulze (1824-1878) which would go on to become his greatest work. A panel in the minster explains that it was regarded as one of the greatest organs installed in the latter half of the 19th century, which effectively led the way in a new way of thinking, establishing a new ideal and influencing other organ designers.

My visit to the minster was one of those occasions where I thought I would just pop in for a minute or two, then stayed far longer, leaving me with a dash to make my train out of the city. Despite the stressful dash, making my train with seconds to spare, I was glad that I didn’t pass by without seeing the splendours inside.

Unfortunately, the incoming Storm Isha led me to cut short my trip. If I had stuck around a bit longer I had hoped to see the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum (based at the former RAF Doncaster) and Cusworth Hall Museum and Park, as well as sample some of the many interesting eateries and watering holes I saw on my wanders.

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The library in a glass snow globe

The next stop on my winter tour of the UK has brought me to Doncaster, a town which I have long overlooked. Whizzing past in the train with barely a glimpse it was all to easy to accept the widely repeated label of it as a grim place, which really does it a disservice. Indeed, the autobiographical lyrics of a prog-rock song from a local lad made good refers to his father’s “dirty grey home town” which hardly screams come visit!

It has to be said that the most eye catching of the sights in Doncaster is the new Danum gallery, library and museum complex, which opened to the public on 29th May 2021. The architects have done an extraordinary job here, encasing the frontage of the former Doncaster High School for Girls in glass alongside the more conventional book shelves. When illuminated at night this gives the library the appearance of an unusual snow globe.

Danum gallery, library and museum

I took a little wander out during a particularly colourful sunrise to see the effect for myself and then came back later to explore the building when it opened. The architects cleverly adapted the frontage of the former school to house a cafe and meeting rooms, while a staircase from the school has been preserved to lead down to the basement.

On an adjacent wall there is a wonderfully playful quote from Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, which reads “In that pleasant district of Merry England which is watered by the river Don, there extended in ancient times a large forest… and the pleasant town of Doncaster” with the name of the town represented by a loco nameplate. The nameplate and display of railway lamps next to this gives the first hint of what has been described as Doncaster’s best kept secret.

Descend the stairs and you find yourself in the Rail Heritage Centre. I can’t imagine there are any other library complexes with a couple of standard gauge locos in the basement – in this case, Ivatt 4-4-2 Atlantic No. 251 (1902) and LNER Class V2 4771 Green Arrow (1936), both locos built at Doncaster Works and currently on loan from the National Rail Museum.

Green Arrow in the basement

As amazing as these locomotives are, there is something more unusual and special here – a selection of 500 items from one of the most significant collections of railway memorabilia in the country. Most remarkably, this collection was started by the Doncaster Grammar School Railway Society. The inaugural meeting of the society took place on 8th May 1936, attracting 50 schoolboys at a time when loco spotting had reached a level of popularity that is rather hard to comprehend now.

The collection soon moved into a rather unusual home in an empty clock/water tower in the school’s new extension, once the tower was discovered to be unsuitable for its original purpose. Despite the challenges of an awkward space, accessed by a steep and narrow spiral staircase, the collection would grow to an estimated 10,000 items. A significant factor in the success of the society was their foresight to collect railway plates and other memorabilia at a time when hardly anyone else was looking at this, resulting in some rare and spectacular acquisitions.

In October 2020 the collection left its home of 70 years and today we can see a wonderful selection of items in the display cases in the Rail Heritage Centre, ranging from a collection of steam whistles to a huge display of nameplates. I thought it was a particular nice nod to the history of the collection that a cupboard door from the water tower, used to display smaller plates, was now itself an exhibit in one of the glass cases.

The full story of the collection is wonderfully in the book ‘Treasures in the tower’ (Doncaster Council, 2021) which is available to purchase from the library/museum shop.

Breakdown by Jonathan Waller on display in the gallery

As if this was not enough, the gallery, library and museum complex includes a delightful museum about the history of Doncaster; the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regimental Museum; and a terrific art gallery which really should not be overlooked. Among the highlights in the art gallery were the oil painting Giants refreshed: Pacifics in the Doncaster Locomotive Works (Terence Cuneo, 1937); Breakdown by Jonathan Waller; and the moving bronze sculpture Soldier mourning a friend (Charles Sargeant Jagger, 1937).

As great as all this was, my visit to Doncaster included much more than the Danum complex, taking me to the gorgeous Doncaster Minister, around the historic buildings on a trail through the city centre and then out to Conisbrough Castle by train, but I’ll leave that for the next posts…

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