Thorne

An Ordnance Survey map of the area around Thorne

The ancient market town of Thorne is set on an outcrop of Quaternary glacial sand and gravel, which forms a topographic feature that rises above the floodplain of the River Don; here, the course of the present river meanders through various sediments of similar geological age, which have been deposited on the underlying Triassic Sherwood Sandstone bedrock.

A British Geological Survey map of the area around Thorne

Occupied sporadically in the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age periods and permanently settled after the Anglo-Saxons arrived - like many other settlements in the region - in today's landscape it is an insignificant landform but, only a thousand years ago, it was once surrounded by large expanses of water and peat bogs and it stood out as a small island.

An interpretation of Peel Hill Motte

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, William de Warenne, the first Earl of Surrey - who also owned Conisbrough Castle and founded All Hallows church in Harthill - took advantage of the strategic position of Thorne and built a motte and bailey castle that overlooked the surrounding marshes - together with the church of St. Nicholas, which is just a stone's throw away.

A view of Peel Hill Motte and the church of St. Nicholas in Thorne

When quickly walking around the old motte and bailey castle that is now known as Peel Hill Motte and which forms the centrepiece of a small public park, I didn't see any stone but, when crossing the road to take a much closer look at the church of St. Nicholas, I encountered a wide variety of rocks – both tooled and in their natural state.

A view of the church of St. Nicholas from Peel Hill Motte