St Peter’s Church, Conisbrough: The history behind the oldest functioning building in South Yorkshire
Said to be the oldest functioning building in South Yorkshire, the church has been dated to around 750AD because of similarities with Northumbrian churches that are known to have been constructed around then.
Renowned local historian David Hey believed it to be a minster - more significant than parish a church - and as such was the centre of a large congregation.
He described Conisbrough as appearing to be the most important place in Anglo-Saxon and Viking South YorkshireParts of the stone building which existed in this early period still survive in the tower and nave, including windows which were later blocked.
The church was enlarged by the Normans in the 12th century in the same period that nearby Conisbrough Castle - originally a timber structure - was rebuilt in stone by Hamelin Plantagenet, the illegitimate brother of Henry II.
In the north chapel is a 12th-13th century altar stone, with five incised crosses, known to have come from the castle.
According to the Conisbrough & Denaby Main Local History website St. Peter’s became a mission church, and as such had at least eight dependent churches which would later become separate parishes.
These included Armthorpe, Braithwell, Fishlake, Hatfield, Kirk Sandall and Thorne.
The interior has fascinated visitors for centuries, and may have been seen by the writer Sir Walter Scott, who featured Conisbrough Castle in his 1819 novel Ivanhoe.
Two richly carved stones, which once formed a tomb-chest, date from the 11th-12th century and have been described as the finest funerary slabs in England.
The decorations include St. George fighting a dragon, a human head with snakes in its mouth, warriors in combat, winged beasts, birds, various foliage and zodiac signs, and a bishop holding his crozier.
The church still has around 150 worshippers on Sunday, and more for mid-week services.