Conisbrough or Conisborough

September 1966

South Yorkshire Times September 10, 1966

Conisbrough or Conisborough

“In the matter of Conisbrough. I defend the retention of the “O” on the grounds of some research. For many centuries there were two separate names for the fortified hill and the town – e.g. The Saxon Chronicle of 787 A.D. Gives Hengest’s-dune (Castle Hill) and Cyninges –tune (Kingstown).

Holinshed’s Chronicle of 1577 gives the name as CONNIGNGES-BOURROWE and our own parish registers, starting in 1555, present a variety of spellings alternating between Borough and Brough, of their equivalents, the balance been in favour of borough.

It is, of course, understandable that some shortening of this wildly named should take place, trend in this direction being given impetus by the ordinance survey of about 1930-40. But to be fair and accurate we should stick to our Boroughs.