Roche and Conisbrough pull ’em in

May 1965

South Yorkshire Times 22nd May 1965

Roche and Conisbrough pull ’em in

Against a national record number of over eight million people visiting ancient monuments and historic buildings in Ministry care during 1964, Conisbrough Castle and Roche Abbey both showed record attendances on a smaller scale.

It is believed that over 16,000 people toured the ruins of 12th century Conisbrough Castle, which is undergoing a steady process of renovation. This represents a big increase over the 1963 figure of just over 11,000.

At Roche there were over 12,000 visitors last year, nearly 2,000 more than in the previous year.

Conisbrough custodian Mr. Reginald Ames told the “South Yorkshire Times” on Wednesday, “I am certain that last year was a record year for visitors to the castle.

“The official list gives the figure as nearly 12,000, but in fact I’m positive that it is 16,000 or over. The excellent weather we had, especially early on around March, accounts for this to a great extent.”

Improvements through renovation to the castle have also attracted people, Mr. Ames thought. Increased publicity was another factor and Mr. Ames added, “The build-up in the volume of traffic passing by the castle certainly helps to bring it to people’s attention.”