Tickhill
South Yorkshire
The boundary with Nottinghamshire is around a mile to the south-east of the town.
Tickhill Pond is an attractive local beauty spot, originally the mill dam of Tickhill Mill, a grade II listed building dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, but with with origins as the castle mill in the 13th century.
Inconspicuous behind a wall and trees nearby are the notable remains of Tickhill Castle, one of Yorkshire's most historic castles. However, with a private residence within its grounds, it is not open to the public except on special occasions.
The large motte and bailey castle was built soon after the Norman invasion of 1066, initially with a timber structure on its huge mound. It was built by Roger de Busli, who was presented with more than 100 dispossessed manors around the border of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire by King William I for the part he had played a part in the Norman Conquest. The vast estates, then known as the Honour of Blyth*, were controlled from the new castle at Tickhill, built near an earlier Saxon settlement which was known as Dadesley** at the time.
(* Blyth is a Nottinghamshire village. **Dadesleia in the Domesday Book of 1086.)
A stone curtain wall and gatehouse were erected around the castle in the early 12th century. Later in that century, in the reign of King Henry II, the castle was further strengthened with a substantial stone keep. After a chequered history over the centuries that followed, the castle was slighted following the first English Civil War, having been surrendered soon after the Battle of Marston Moor, near York, in 1644. There are, however, still significant remains today of the castle wall, its Norman gatehouse and part of a water-filled moat.
The Tickhill Castle House, built within the walls in 17th century with new front of the 18th century, also survives and is one of dozens of Listed Buildings in Tickhill.
The large parish church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building with origins around the same period as the castle, but rebuilt and extended through the 13th to 15th centuries.
St Mary appears to have replaced the earlier Saxon church for Dadesley, All Hallows. The buried remains of the church are in a now isolated location to the north west of the town and are listed as a scheduled monument.
Tickhill also had an Augustinian Friary, founded in 1256 and continuing until its surrender in 1538 under King Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.
The elaborate domed market cross in the centre of Tickhill became the centrepiece of the weekly market held in the Tickhill in the 18th century when it replaced an earlier Butter Cross at the site in 1777.
Tickhill briefly had a railway station, shared with and half-way to the village of Wadworth, three miles to the north-north-west. It opened in 1909 on a line built mainly for colliery and other freight traffic, but closed to passenger services just 20 years later.
Flanking the eastern side of Tickhill, although without a junction here, is the A1(M) motorway forming part of the Doncaster by-pass, one of the earliest sections of motorway in Britain. It was opened in 1961, although as a motorway it still does not extend beyond the bypass.
A local history society in Tickhill has been actively involved in compiling articles with more detail about the history of the town. Website: Tickhill and District Local History Society .
Town features
Tickhill has a castle - (Part of private residence not generally open to the public).
Tickhill has an old parish church.
Tickhill has a choice of pubs.
Tickhill has a good range of independent shops.
The town has a Post Office.
The town has a pharmacy.
Tickhill has a selection of places to eat.
A choice of cafes can be found in Tickhill.
Tickhill has takeaway food outlets.
Tickhill has a community hall.
The town has a community library.
Tickhill has schools.
Places of worship: Anglican, Methodist.
Tickhill was formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Travel
Bus travel
The town has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.Road travel
Tickhill can be reached via the A631 A60Places to visit
Cusworth Hall
Cusworth Lane, Doncaster
Situated two miles north of Doncaster, off the More information at these Doncaster Council - Cusworth Hall web pages.
South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum
Dakota Way, Airbourne Road, Doncaster
The museum has a collection of aircraft from the first air show to be held in Britain, held at Doncaster Racecourse in 1909, together with more modern preserved light aircraft and jets. It is located about a mile to the south east of the town centre. For opening times see the museum's website. Details at South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum website.
Conisbrough Castle
The castle is situated in the small town of Conisbrough, about five miles south-west of Doncaster and seven miles north-east of Rotherham. Its tall circular cylindrical keep has had its walls and roofs restored to create a feeling of how the castle would have been in the late 12th century when it was built. In 1201, the castle had a royal visit, when King John stayed there. The castle became famous through fiction as the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe'. The historic site is managed by English Heritage.
Find out more at the
Find on map:
Brodsworth Hall and Gardens
BrodsworthThe Victorian country house at Brodsworth, about 5 miles north-west of Doncaster, was built in 1860, surrounded by beautiful gardens. It remained largely unchanged through its lifetime and is now being conserved by English Heritage. Yorkshire bands perform at the hall most Sundays during the summer. A car park for the hall can be accessed from Church Lane, between the villages of Marr and Brodsworth.
More information at the
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Hurst Lane, Auckley, Doncaster
The Yorkshire Wildlife Park, about 4 miles south-east of Doncaster, was created at a former farm and riding school in 2009. Over the years it has grown and it is now the outdoor home of 400 animals of 70 different species, including polar bears, lions, tigers and leopards and a whole range of other animals native to Africa, South America and other parts of the world. A few of the species can be visited within their enclosures. A recent addition has been the addition of animatronic versions of long-extinct dinosaur species. Just outside the park gates, The Hive offers craft and gift shops, dining and a hotel. Further details at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park website.
Find on map: Yorkshire Wildlife Park
The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft
Belton Road, Sandtoft, North Lincolnshire
Although just outside the Yorkshire border at the former RAF Sandtoft airfield in North Lincolnshire, the museum is only a 12-mile drive from Doncaster. It lays claim to having the world's largest collection of preserved trolleybuses and includes many examples of trolleybuses used in Yorkshire, including those from the fleets of More information at The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft website.
Emergency services
South Yorkshire PoliceSouth Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Local government
Civil parish council
Tickhill Town CouncilProvides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:
Metropolitan district council
Doncaster is one of four metropolitan district authorities within the county of South Yorkshire.
It covers Doncaster and many other towns and villages within a radius of between 7 to 10 miles from centrally-placed Doncaster.
Unusually within Yorkshire, the district council is run by an executive-powered elected mayor, who is supported by a cabinet. The mayor chooses the cabinet from elected councillors.
The elected mayor system means that Doncaster Council has two elections to organise, one for the elected mayor and one for councillors. The mayor and all councillors are selected in elections every four years, the most recent election being in 2021.
The election of 55 councillors is done across 21 wards with two or three councillors elected in each ward. Eight councillors currently serve under the chairmanship of the mayor on the cabinet.
Doncaster is the responsibility of an elected mayor:
Elected mayor:Political composition of the councillors after the May 2021 election:
55 members
Link to Doncaster council website.
County strategic authority
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined AuthorityCovers combined services including public transport, housing, infrastructure and regeneration and adult education in
Elected mayor:
Police and Crime Commissioner
This role becomes the responsibility of the elected South Yorkshire mayor after the May 2024 election.Fire Authority
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue AuthorityThe fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the four metropolitan district councils of South Yorkshire - Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
Parliamentary constituency
Doncaster CentralElected MP: