Clifford’s Tower

Last updated on July 3rd, 2024 at 10:09 am

Here is Clifford’s Tower, probably the most significant remaining part of the medieval castle of York.  Once at the centre of government for the north of England, Clifford’s Tower was looking a little worse for wear when I last visited.  Since then, English Heritage has installed a roof deck, giving wonderful views over York’s skyline and new interior walkways and staircases, which open up parts of the tower that have been off-limits for centuries.  As it is but a castle keep and not the full works, Clifford’s Tower is not an enormous site – but it is fascinating and a major tourist attraction.  It also has a ghastly history, a feature that often draws the punters in.

In March 1190, Clifford’s Tower was the site of the massacre (or suicide) of York’s entire Jewish population – 150 men, women and children.  Anti-Semitism, stirred up by crusading fervour, resulted in riots in many English towns – notably Stamford, Norwich and Lincoln – and at Westminster during the coronation of King Richard I.  A Friday night mob targeted Jews in York, killing some; the remaining Jews gathered together and sought refuge in the royal castle.  They were ushered in for safety, but, somehow, trust broke down.  Fearing betrayal, the Jews made for the wooden Norman keep, barricaded themselves in and locked the royal constable out.  Troops were mobilised, mingled with the baying crowd, and the situation became very ugly.  Thinking they faced enforced baptism and the renouncement of their faith, or death at the hands of the mob, most Jews chose suicide; the men killed their wives and children, then each other.  A fire broke out – we don’t know how – any survivors of the mass suicide either perished in the flames or at the hands of the rioters as they tried to escape.

Jews were not permitted to own land in medieval England, but could accumulate more portable wealth which they were prepared to lend.  Gentiles, on the other hand, were advised that lending money with interest was a sin.  So, Jewish moneylenders fulfilled a useful, and mutually beneficial, purpose.  Amongst the mob’s leaders in York that night were men of property who had borrowed from Jews and who saw an opportunity to wipe out their debts.  The Jews were a target for mindless bigotry and violence anyway, because it was popular to blame them, an entire race, for killing Christ (a somewhat ironic accusation, surely?) – and because of simple racism.  In any event, the ringleaders of York’s rioters in this instance, led by one Richard Malebisse, destroyed all proof of any loans; and the dead weren’t in a position to argue about it.

In fact, the Jews were legally entitled to the king’s protection, but though 50 citizens of York were fined for their part in this horrendous incident, that was pretty much as far as it went.  In 1290, Edward I expelled ALL Jews from England and they were not permitted to return until readmitted by Oliver Cromwell, in 1656.

Today, daffodils on the mound of the tower are supposedly a reminder of the Star of David.  Surprisingly, it was only in 1978 that a plaque commemorating the massacre was installed by the mound.  An inscription in Hebrew from the Book of Isaiah says, “Let them give Glory unto the Lord and declare his praise in the Islands” – ‘islands’ in this context means Britain, sometimes referred to in Hebrew as the ‘Isles of the Sea’.

The Conqueror established the first Norman castle in York in 1068, to counter rebellion – the first of several Anglo-Danish revolts that would lead to William’s iniquitous ‘harrying of the north’ a year or so later.  In fact, he built two castles, both earth and timber affairs, either side of the Ouse.  What we now know as York Castle sits at the junction of the rivers Ouse and Foss; the other, known as Baile Hill, was on the west bank of the Ouse and is still visible as a mound under the city walls.  Eventually, the wood of York Castle gave way to stone and the current Clifford’s Tower, an unusual quadrilobate (“having four lobes”) keep, dates from the late 13^th century.  It was built on the orders of Henry III.

No one’s really sure why it’s called ‘Clifford’s Tower’ – it was originally ‘the great tower’, or ‘the King’s Tower’.  Some believe it is named for the Clifford family, who claimed the post of constable to be hereditary; others believe it refers to the rebel Roger de Clifford, executed after the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 and whose body was displayed on a gibbet at the castle.  Among the other bloody events that took place here was the execution of lawyer, Robert Aske in 1537.  Poor Aske was one of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace, which opposed Henry VIII’s reformation; he was hung in chains from the walls of Clifford’s Tower, where he starved to death.

York was the effectively the Royalist capital in the north during the English Civil War and was besieged by Parliamentary forces in 1644.  Clifford’s Tower, refortified for defence, was damaged by cannon shot.  The city fell after Royalist defeat at the nearby Battle of Marston Moor on 2^nd July that year and the castle was occupied by victorious Parliamentary troops.  The tower was repaired in 1652 and soldiers continued to be garrisoned there after the restoration of the monarchy.  For a time, the tower served as a prison – the Quaker George Fox was locked up there for two nights in 1665.  But the garrison had a reputation for degenerate behaviour and was unpopular with the locals, who wanted the tower demolished.   In 1684, an explosion and fire – possibly started deliberately – destroyed the interior and (allegedly) caused the red colouring of the stone you see today.  By 1699, it was roofless.  For a while, it was in private hands and became something of an ornamental feature in a garden.  The remaining castle was redeveloped in the 18^th century with a court, administrative centre and female and debtors’ prisons.  In 1825, a large new Gothic-style York Prison was built within what had been the castle’s bailey wall and the ruins of Clifford’s Tower, purchased by the authorities, was largely obscured from public view by the prison walls until the prison was demolished in 1935.

Tourists have been visiting Clifford’s Tower since the early 20^th century.  The area has been in use a little longer – since Roman times, at least (there was a Roman cemetery on the site).  This ground could tell you so many stories.