Conisbrough Castle was a Norman castle belonging to William, Earl Warenne, son-in-law of William the Conqueror. The keep, the most interesting feature of the stronghold, projects slightly beyond the curtain wall near the north-east edge. The plan resembles a circle inscribed within a six sided star. The castle or area where it now stands appears to have belonged to the de Warenne family. William de Warenne was made Earl of Surrey in 1088, and was followed in the same year by his son after William's death in battle. The third Earl died in the Crusades in 1147 leaving no male heir. His daughter, Isabel, married King Stephen's son, William de Blois who became the fourth Earl. But again no male heir was produced. Isabel married Hamelin Plantagenet, Henry II's brother. It is Hamelin who built the stone keep as it appears now at Conisbrough. The castle was visited by Hamelin's nephew King John in March 1202.
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