Mexborough

Coordinates: 53°29′57″N 1°16′59″W / 53.4992°N 1.2830°W / 53.4992; -1.2830

Mexborough is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the estuary of the River Dearne, on the A6023 road, between Manvers and Denaby Main.

Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Mexborough has a population of 14,750.

History

The name Mexborough combines the Old English suffix burh meaning a fortified place with an Old English or Old Norse personal name, which may be Meke, Muik, Meoc, or Mjukr.

Mexborough is located at the north eastern end of a dyke known as the Roman Ridge that is thought to have been constructed either by the Brigantian tribes in the 1st century AD, perhaps as a defence against the Roman invasion of Britain, or after the 5th century to defend the British kingdom of Elmet from the Angles.

The earliest known written reference to Mexborough is found in the Domesday Book of 1086 (Mechesburg), which states that before the Norman Conquest of England the area had been controlled by the Saxon lords Wulfheah and Ulfkil. Following the Conquest the area fell under the control of the Norman Baron Roger de Busli. The remains of an earthwork in Castle Park are thought to have been a motte and bailey castle constructed in the 11th century shortly after the Conquest.