Clifford's Tower
We didn't even know Clifford's Tower existed until we were in Whitby planning out sites to visit when we left for York the next day and happened upon a Facebook post from a historical group regarding their own visit to the site. Obviously we try to do dog friendly sites as it is nicer and easy to walk around together, but we've started just simply taking turns at the non-doggo sites and this was one of them.
We might also mention that Clifford's Tower is home to a rather nasty goose who decided he wanted to pinch Yogi's bum, so when we took turns waiting with Yogi we had to keep avoiding the goose gunning for the fluffy thing we had with us.
We aren't sure how we missed this site during our first visit to York to be honest, or how we almost missed it on our second. The site is a well known Norman structure in the heart of a Roman and Viking traced city. Apparently the tower, or at least the original mound of it, can be traced back to William the Conqueror who constructed the mound with a timber building on top as a statement of his power in York in 1068. This original tower stood for a little over 100 years before it was burnt down. More tragically was the historical deaths that went with it. 150 Jews were forced into taking the tower as a site of refuge when they were driven out of York by a mob. They refused to renounce their faith and instead were forced to end their own lives by burning down the tower while they were inside. However, this act is also referred to as a massacre, which leads us to wonder if it was really those inside who started the fire, or if it was actually the mob.
Almost immediately after this bloodshed, the tower was repaired. The mound was raised up to what we see now and a second timber building topped it. This was again destroyed, but not by murderers who targeted a religious group, but simply by great winds in 1245. Now Henry III was at war with the Scots around this time and so he ordered for the tower to be rebuilt and made to last, so it was decided that this time the third version of the tower would be in stone.
The best people were put to work, men who had contributed to Windsor Castle, and the result was a grand tower that looked like a four leafed clover which was unique to England and pretty much unheard of other than in France. Regardless of the comparisons to a similar tower in Paris, the new tower was a hit, that was until problems arose. The new structure had been hit by fire, wind, water, and even man. It had sunk into the moat in the 1350s due to the mound being so wet and the stone being so heavy and the result was the walls cracking, but the most troubling destruction of the site came in 1596. The castle's jailer, Robert Redhead (we wonder if he was indeed of red hair...) had started demolishing the tower to sell for a profit. He was only stopped for selling the stone after protests were made to the city council.
It was this same year that the name Clifford's Tower started being circulated as the name of the site. Before then, the site was known simply as King's Tower, but records from 1596 show the change in name but no one knows why. It is thought that it may have been renamed as reference to Roger de Clifford being executed here in 1322 for opposing Edward II, but this doesn't seem likely as there was no clear reason for this to have been brought back up when so many years had passed. Another avenue suggests that the Clifford family threw in a claim that the tower was theirs as they were the rightful constables of the site and so the name is a connection to them, but again this hasn't been recorded.
By the 16th century the site had become a prison and executions were often held as the spectacle was the guilty were hung over the walls of the tower.
The tower once again saw military action when the English Civil War came around. It was used to house troops, weirdly from both sides. The Royalists had it first, then the Parliamentarians, but a fire in 1684 brought the end of its use and the garrison were moved out.
Following this fire, which was actually an explosion that burnt out the inside and made the walls turn pink, it became nothing more than a garden ornament until it was brought into the prison extension plan in 1825. It isn't really recorded during the 18th and 19th century other than an overgrown ruin and a cattle shed. The tower had been neglected and plans have floated to knock it down over the years, but luckily the site still stands as it was taken into guardianship in the 20th century.
Since then English Heritage has brought it into preserved use and a visit will teach you about the many uses the tower had and its history, even if the gift shop is now pants. As you walk in it has been reduced into a little kiosk behind the ticket person and to be honest the inside was a little bare. The site has a lot of stairs and isn't a great idea if you fear heights as when you are on the roof of the structure you can see all of York and it is a long way down...
Overall the site is worth visiting and is 100% haunted which is probably why the goose is so angry, but it is an interesting site all the same. Opposite is what is left of York Castle although that is a different attraction altogether and one we opted to try out some other time.
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images are ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
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