Tickhill is a
market town
A market town is a Human settlement, settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular marketplace, market; this distinguished it from a village or ...
and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...
in the
City of Doncaster
The City of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough with city status in South Yorkshire, England. It is named after its principal settlement, Doncaster, and includes the surrounding suburbs of Doncaster as well as numerous towns and villages. The di ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
I ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, close to the border with
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
. At the 2001 census it had a population of 5,301, reducing to 5,228 at the 2011 Census.
Geography
It lies eight miles south of
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated i ...
, between
Maltby and
Harworth
Harworth is an area in the civil parish of Harworth Bircotes (with Bircotes) in the Bassetlaw district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is approximately north of Worksop. The population of the civil parish was 7,948 in the 2011 Census.
Hist ...
, on the busy conjunction of the
A631
The A631 is a road running from Sheffield, South Yorkshire to Louth, Lincolnshire in England. It passes through the counties of South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. The road has many towns on its route including Rotherham, Mal ...
and
A60 roads, an
adjacentto the
A1(M) motorway
A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capit ...
. It is located at 53° 26' North, 1° 6' 40" West, at an elevation of around 20 metres above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
. The
River Torne
The River Torne is a river in the north of England, which flows through the counties of South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. It rises at the Upper Lake at Sandbeck Hall, in Maltby in South Yorkshire, and empties into the River Trent at K ...
passes close to the south-east of the town where it is the boundary between South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, eventually meeting the
River Trent
The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...
.
Notable buildings in Tickhill include the substantial ruins of
Tickhill Castle
Tickhill Castle was a castle in Tickhill, on the Nottingham/ Yorkshire West Riding border, England and a prominent stronghold during the reign of King John.
Early history
The gatehouse range, seen from the bailey
The castle started as an 11th ...
which contain a private residence leased by the
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...
,
St Mary's Church – a large 13th-century parish church, the parish room, an old hospital called
St Leonard's, and the
market cross
A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron.
History
Market crosses ...
.
Toponymy
"Tickhill" is an
Old English place-name, meaning either "Hill where young goats are kept" or "Hill of man called Tica". It is composed of one of either ''ticce'' ("young goat") or the name ''Tica'', and the word ''hyll''. The village was not recorded in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
but was recorded as ''Tikehill'' sometime in the 12th century.
History
William I
Shortly after the
Norman Invasion
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...
,
William I of England
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...
gave the lands around Tickhill to
Roger de Busli
Roger de Busli (c. 1038 – c. 1099) was a Norman baron who participated in the conquest of England in 1066.
Life
Roger de Busli was born in or around 1038. His surname comes from the town now known as Bully (near Neufchâtel-en-Bray, mentione ...
, who built a castle on a small hill.
David Hey
David G. Hey (18 July 1938 – 14 February 2016) was an English historian, and was an authority on surnames and the local history of Yorkshire. Hey was the president of the British Association for Local History, and was a published author of seve ...
, ''Medieval South Yorkshire'' Richard de Busli, grandson of Roger's brother Arnold, co-founded nearby
Roche Abbey
Roche Abbey is a now-ruined abbey in the civil parish of Maltby, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is in the valley of Maltby Dyke, known locally as Maltby Beck, and is administered by English Heritage. It is a scheduled monument and Gr ...
with Richard FitzTurgis in 1147.
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, Tickhill was the second most important town, after Doncaster, in what is now South Yorkshire. The
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
lists the settlement under the former estate centre at Dadsley, now lying on the northern edge of the town. Dadsley was served by a church atop All Hallows Hill, which by 1361 had been downgraded to a chapel. Evidence suggests that the chapel was unused after the
English Reformation, and was razed in the mid-17th century.
Tickhill's eponymous hill was probably the base of what is now the
motte
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...
of Tickhill Castle. The town grew up around the castle, and St Mary's was built soon after to replace All Hallows as the settlement's main church.
Initially, Tickhill was one of England's most successful new towns. It gained a
friary
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
and St Leonard's Hospital. The Guild of St Cross was established in the town, and it is believed to have acted as the settlement's main governing body. In 1295, Tickhill
sent two members to Parliament, but did not do so subsequently.
Sixteenth century
As castles declined in importance during the medieval period, so did Tickhill. By the 16th century, only a hall was occupied on the castle site, but the market and an annual fair on St Lawrence's Day survived. A little trade was gained from its position on the main road to
Bawtry
Bawtry is a market town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It lies between Doncaster, Gainsborough and Retford, on the border with Nottinghamshire and close to Lincolnshire. The town is historically part of ...
. In 1777, a
butter cross
A buttercross, also known as butter cross or butter market, is a type of market cross associated with English market towns and dating from medieval times. Its name originates from the fact that they were located at the market place, where peopl ...
was erected in the
marketplace
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic), '' ...
in an attempt to revive the weekly market, but this ceased in the 1790s.
Strafforth and Tickhill was one of the
wapentakes
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...
of the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
. The
Tickhill Psalter
The Tickhill Psalter is a fourteenth-century illuminated manuscript. The psalter is illustrated with scenes from the life of King David, and is now kept in the New York Public Library.
History
Created in circa 1310, the manuscript was original ...
, an outstanding medieval illuminated manuscript was made in the
Worksop Priory
Worksop Priory (formally the Priory Church of Our Lady and Saint Cuthbert, Worksop) is a Church of England parish church and former priory in the town of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, part of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and under the e ...
Nottinghamshire, is currently on display in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. It is named after John de Tickhill, born locally and who was made Prior of Worksop in the 14th century.
The following records fro
St Mary'sChurch, Tickhill are available at the Doncaster Archives:
* Baptisms 1542–1895
* Marriages 1538–1910
* Burials 1537–1901
* Banns 1798–1838
* Index: Baptisms 1542–1718, 1771–1839
* Index: Marriages 1538–1677, 1754–1838
* Index: Burials 1538–1674, 1771–1855
* Bishop's transcripts 1600–1866
1900s
The
Tickhill and Wadworth railway station
Tickhill and Wadworth railway station, originally simply known as Tickhill, was located where the road linking the town of Tickhill and the village of Wadworth in its name crossed the South Yorkshire Joint Railway. Being about halfway between it ...
was open from 1910 to 1929. There has been much debate whether to reopen this station.
Castle
Tickhill Castle was built by
Roger de Busli
Roger de Busli (c. 1038 – c. 1099) was a Norman baron who participated in the conquest of England in 1066.
Life
Roger de Busli was born in or around 1038. His surname comes from the town now known as Bully (near Neufchâtel-en-Bray, mentione ...
, one of the most powerful of the first wave of Norman magnates who had come to England with William the Conqueror. The castle had an eventful history in national life. It was held for the usurping prince John against his brother King
Richard I
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ove ...
, when the latter returned from abroad in 1194, after his absence on crusade, was the site of a three-week siege during baronial conflicts in 1322. In the civil war of the 1640s, its importance as a local centre of resistance led to its ‘slighting’ (intentional disabling) by
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
after the defeat of the royalist forces there in 1648. (
Conisbrough
Conisbrough () is a town within the City of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at . It has a ward population (Conisbrough and Denaby) of 14,33 ...
, long disused as a fortress by this time, escaped such a fate.)
Today, Tickhill castle remains an impressive ruin, retaining its Norman gatehouse, built in 1129–1130, the foundations of the 11-sided keep (one of only two in the world) on a mound high, built in 1178–9 on the model of the keep at Conisbrough, substantial defensive ditches, some parts of which remain as a moat, and walls enclosing an inner courtyard covering .
Amenities
There are th
Tickhill Estfieldan
St Mary'sC of E
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
primary schools.
There are many traditional shops in Tickhill including a butchers, a fishmongers, and optician and a delicatessen.
There is also the millpond, now popular as a duckpond.
In 2002 a new public access wood was planted as a Queen's Jubilee project.
'Jubilee Wood' consists of 2002 native trees in 4 acres of land next to the
River Torne
The River Torne is a river in the north of England, which flows through the counties of South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. It rises at the Upper Lake at Sandbeck Hall, in Maltby in South Yorkshire, and empties into the River Trent at K ...
, south of Tickhill (OS map reference SK 599917).
Flooding
Notable residents
*
James Burbeary, cricketer
*
William de Tickhill
William de Tickhill (born c.1290- died after 1357) was an English priest, Crown official and judge who served very briefly as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer.
He took his name from his birthplace Tickhill, now in Doncaster but then in the ...
, fourteenth-century civil servant and judge
*
Francis Fletcher
Francis Fletcher (March 1, 1814 – October 7, 1871) was a prominent pioneer of the U.S. state of Oregon and a member of the Peoria Party.Dobbs
Biography
Born in Allerston, Yorkshire, England, he immigrated with his parents, William and Mary Flet ...
, a late 16th-century Vicar of Tickhill, accompanied
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ...
on his circumnavigation of the world
*
Israel Tonge
Israel Tonge (11 November 1621 – 1680), aka Ezerel or Ezreel Tongue, was an English divine. He was an informer in and probably one of the inventors of the "Popish" plot.
Career
Tonge was born at Tickhill, near Doncaster, the son of Henry Tong ...
, informer in the "Popish" plot
*
Jean Fergusson
Jean Fergusson (30 December 1944 – 14 November 2019) was a British television and theatre actress, who was best known for playing the part of Marina on the British situation comedy '' Last of the Summer Wine'' from 1985 until it was cancelled ...
, actress playing Marina in ''
Last of the Summer Wine
''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes fo ...
''
*
Duggie Brown
Duggie Brown (born Barry Douglas Dudley; 7 August 1940 – 16 August 2022) was an English comedian and actor. He was the younger brother of actress and singer Lynne Perrie.
Stage work
During the early 1960s, Brown was a guitarist/vocalist in ...
, comedian
*
Gervase Phinn
Gervase Phinn (born 27 December 1946, Rotherham, England) is an English author and educator. After a career as a teacher he became a schools inspector and, latterly, Visiting Professor of Education at the University of Teesside. He graduated fro ...
, author
*
John Mayock
John Paul Mayock (born 26 October 1970, in Barnsley) is a retired male English middle distance runner.
Athletics career
Mayock has competed at three Olympic Games, at the 1996 games in Atlanta and the 2000 games in Sydney in the 1500 m and a ...
, Olympic athlete
*
John Regis, Olympic athlete
*
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes ''Top Gear'' and ''The Grand Tour'' alongside Rich ...
, television presenter and Journalist
*
Paul Warne
Paul Warne (born 8 May 1973) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current Head Coach of EFL League One club Derby County.
Playing career
Warne was born in Norwich, Norfolk and is a ...
, manager of
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around ...
See also
*
Tickhill Psalter
The Tickhill Psalter is a fourteenth-century illuminated manuscript. The psalter is illustrated with scenes from the life of King David, and is now kept in the New York Public Library.
History
Created in circa 1310, the manuscript was original ...
*
Listed buildings in Tickhill
Tickhill is a civil parish in the metropolitan borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The parish contains 121 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, ...
References
External links
Tickhill OnlineTickhill on the GENUKI genealogical siteTickhill & District Local History Society
{{authority control
Towns in South Yorkshire
Civil parishes in South Yorkshire