Editing Doncaster (section)

===Medieval===
Doncaster is generally identified with '''Cair Daun'''<ref>[[Nennius]] ({{abbr|attrib.|Traditional attribution}}). [[Theodor Mommsen]] ({{abbr|ed.|Editor}}). [[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE|''Historia Brittonum'', VI.]] Composed after AD 830. {{in lang|la}} Hosted at [[s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]].</ref> listed as one of 28 British [[civitas|cities]] in the 9th-century ''[[Historia Brittonum|History of the Britons]]'' traditionally ascribed to [[Nennius]].<ref>David Nash Ford, [http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html The 28 Cities of Britain] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415120312/http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html |date=15 April 2016}}" at Britannia. 2000.</ref>{{refn|[[Bishop Ussher]], cited in [[John Henry Newman|Newman]]'s life of [[Germanus of Auxerre|Saint German]]<ref>{{cite book |first=John Henry |last=Newman |author-link=John Henry Newman |title=Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre |publisher=James Toovey |location=London |year=1844 |page=92 |url=https://archive.org/stream/livesenglishsai01unkngoog#page/n102 |access-date=30 August 2018 |via=archive.org}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/yorkshireanhist00waingoog |title=Yorkshire: An historical and topographical introduction |author=John Wainwright |page=[https://archive.org/details/yorkshireanhist00waingoog/page/n63 1] |publisher=J. Blackwell |year=1829 |access-date=1 September 2011}}</ref> It was certainly an [[Anglo-Saxon]] [[burh]], and in that period received its present name: "Don-" ({{langx|ang|Donne}}) from the settlement and river and "-caster" (''{{lang|ang|-ceaster}}'') from an [[Old English]] version of the [[Latin]] ''[[castra]]'' (military camp; fort). It was mentioned in the 1003 [[Will (law)|will]] of [[Wulfric Spott]]. Shortly after the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]], [[Nigel Fossard]] refortified the town and built [[Conisbrough Castle]]. By the time of [[Domesday Book]], [[Hexthorpe]] in the [[Hundred (county division)|wapentake]] of [[Strafforth and Tickhill|Strafforth]] was said to have a church and two [[Mill (grinding)|mills]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://opendomesday.org/place/SE5703/doncaster/ |title=Open Domesday online: Hexthorpe (at Doncaster) |access-date=9 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110113703/http://opendomesday.org/place/SE5703/doncaster/ |archive-date=10 November 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The historian David Hey says these facilities represent the settlement at Doncaster. He also suggests that the street name Frenchgate indicates that Fossard invited fellow Normans to trade in the town.<ref name="hey">{{cite book |last=Hey |first=David |title=Medieval South Yorkshire |year=2003 |publisher=Landmark Pub. |location=Ashbourne |isbn=1-84306-080-9 |oclc=54874386}}</ref> Doncaster was ceded to [[Scotland]] in the [[Treaty of Durham (1136)|Treaty of Durham]] and never formally returned to England.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11104004/Why-an-historical-anomaly-means-Bonny-Donny-could-leave-the-UK-too.html |title=Why an historical anomaly means 'Bonny Donny' could leave the UK too |date=17 September 2014 |access-date=5 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028025532/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11104004/Why-an-historical-anomaly-means-Bonny-Donny-could-leave-the-UK-too.html |archive-date=28 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/scottish-independence/will-bonny-donny-also-break-away-ed-milibands-constituency-doncaster-may-actually-be-owned-by-9741151.html |title=Doncaster 'may actually be owned by Scotland' |website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=18 September 2014 |access-date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923050827/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/scottish-independence/will-bonny-donny-also-break-away-ed-milibands-constituency-doncaster-may-actually-be-owned-by-9741151.html |archive-date=23 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

With the 13th century, Doncaster matured into a busy town. In 1194 [[Richard I of England|King Richard I]] granted it national recognition with a [[town charter]]. It suffered a disastrous fire in 1204, from which it slowly recovered. At the time, buildings were built of wood, and open fireplaces used for cooking and heating.

[[File:St Mary Magdalene Doncaster.jpg|thumb|Norman church of St Mary Magdalene, at demolition in 1846]]
In 1248, a charter was granted for [[Doncaster Market]] to be held in the area surrounding the Church of St Mary Magdalene, which was built in Norman times. In the 16th century, the church was adapted for use as the [[town hall]]. It was finally demolished in 1846.<ref name="hey" /> Some 750 years on, the market continues to operate, with busy traders located under cover, at the 19th-century [[Doncaster Corn Exchange]] building (1873).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://public-art.shu.ac.uk/pmsa/doncaster/00000046.htm |title=Doncaster Metropolitan Borough |publisher=Sheffield Hallam University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104200816/http://public-art.shu.ac.uk/pmsa/doncaster/00000046.htm |archive-date=4 January 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Corn Exchange was much rebuilt in 1994 after a major fire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Doncaster Market Place: Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Proposals |url=https://dmbcwebstolive01.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Planning/Documents/Built%20Environment/Conservation/Doncaster%20Market%20Place/Doncaster%20Market%20Place%20Conservation%20Area%20(page%201%20-%2049).pdf |website=Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council |access-date=8 December 2021 |archive-date=8 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208231523/https://dmbcwebstolive01.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Planning/Documents/Built%20Environment/Conservation/Doncaster%20Market%20Place/Doncaster%20Market%20Place%20Conservation%20Area%20(page%201%20-%2049).pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
During the 14th century, numerous friars arrived in Doncaster who were known for their religious enthusiasm and preaching. In 1307 the [[Franciscan]] friars ([[Greyfriar]]s) arrived, as did [[Carmelites]] (Whitefriars) in the mid-14th century. Other major medieval features included the Hospital of St Nicholas and the [[leper colony]] of the Hospital of St James, a [[moot hall]], a [[grammar school]] and a five-arched stone town bridge with a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Bridge. By 1334, Doncaster was the wealthiest town in southern Yorkshire and the sixth in Yorkshire as a whole, even boasting its own banker. By 1379, it was recovering from the [[Black Death]], which had reduced its population to 1,500. In October 1536, the [[Pilgrimage of Grace]] ended in Doncaster. This rebellion led by the lawyer [[Robert Aske (political leader)|Robert Aske]] commanded 40,000 Yorkshire people against Henry VIII, in protest at the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]]. Many of Doncaster's streets are named with the suffix "-gate", after the [[old Danish]] word ''gata'', meaning street. In medieval times, craftsmen or tradesmen with similar skills tended to live in the same street. Baxter is an ancient word for baker: Baxtergate was the bakers' street. Historians believe that Frenchgate may be named after French-speaking [[Normans]] who settled there.

The medieval township is known to have been protected by earthen ramparts and ditches, with four substantial gates as entrances to the town. These were located at Hall Gate, St Mary's Bridge (old), St Sepulchre Gate and Sunny Bar. Today the gates at Sunny Bar are commemorated by huge "Boar Gates"; similarly, the entrance to St Sepulchre Gate is commemorated by white marble "Roman Gates". The boundary of the town mainly extended from the Don along a route known now Market Road, Silver Street, Cleveland Street and Printing Office Street.