York Guides

In 1244 war between the Scots and the English had been narrowly avoided. This made Henry III determined to improve and strengthen his fortifications in York. He called in the senior carpenter and stonemason of Windsor Castle along with other experts of the day to confer as to the manner of reconstruction of the castle. The senior stonemason had spent some time in France, and it must the unusual design of Clifford's Tower is very similar to the tower built earlier at Etampes, south of Paris. Work began on Clifford's Tower in 1245 and continued slowly, with interruptions, for twenty-five years.

The present day steps up the mound are modern, but doubtless follow the original line of approach. The plan of the castle is a quatrefoil or four overlapping circles. The overlap at the entrance is covered by a projecting forebuilding. This was severely damaged by Parliamentary Army bombardment during the Civil War, and then rebuilt after the restoration in 1660. The carved panels over the archway show the Royal Arms above those of the Clifford family. The right hand side of the archway is part of the original thirteenth-century forebuilding, and inside on the right is an old stone bench, also original. Projecting corbel stones can be seen above the stone bench, these would have supported the original first floor timber joists. The damaged inner archway has also been somewhat rebuilt, but the original vertical slots for the portcullis are still visible.

On entering the tower spiral staircases lead left and right from the archway up the former floors and battlements. There is a chapel over the entrance passage accessed by the stair on the left. The chapel has seen much alteration: its floor level has been raised, and the arches rebuilt imperfectly, about 1312. The portcullis must have been operated from another room above the chapel. When up the portcullis would have hung actually inside the chapel against the arches to the left.

To the right of the entrance can be seen the castle well, originally sunk to a depth of 15m at a level with the bailey. Each of the quadrants of the castle are very similar inside, each being lit by two pointed windows at ground and floor level. In the centre of the floor can be seen the remains of an octagonal pillar which supported cross-beams which in turn supported the upper floor. The upper windows near the spiral staircases are now blocked up, but probably once created the best, well-lit rooms in the tower. More spiral stairs led from the upper floor to the battlements at the junction of the quadrants to the right and left. The junction opposite the entrance had toilets at both levels and there were rooms with fireplaces on either side. In 1596 the prison gaoler, Robert Redhead set himself up with a crafty little sideline, he started demolishing the castle and selling the building materials. He disguised his ruination of the Tower by working from the inside and leaving the outside face untouched for as long as possible. He was able to demolish the turrets and battlements of the tower and much of the outbuildings in the bailey before he was stopped by the efforts of the mayor and the corporation of York.

Before leaving the summit of the motte, a walk round the outside of Clifford's Tower is a worthwhile exercise. Looking out from the entrance one can see  three large blocks of eighteenth-century which mark out the limits of the bailey of York Castle. To the left was the King's Pool supplying water for the royal moats and fish for the royal table, and also drove watermills from Norman times. The mills were equipped with a steam engine in 1778 and the River Foss was made navigable soon afterwards. In 1853 the pool was drained to remove the danger to public health and the area was soon built over. The building immediately facing the tower's entrance is the old Debtor's prison, behind this are the remains of a stone wall and two round towers constructed in a similar manner to Clifford's Tower. Behind the Crown Courts to the right are the foundations of parts of the bailey destroyed by Redhead. Further right on the far side of the Ouse can be seen Baile Hill, the motte of the other castle of York. From the outside we can see the fine magnesian limestone masonry of the Tower. This masonry spreads at the base of the Tower creating a plinth for it to sit on. Looking up we can see small rounded turrets covering the intersection of the quadrants, these contain the spiral staircases and latrines that are visible from the inside.

In the early 14^th century when the King would be campaigning against the Scots, York would be the seat of government. The castle was repaired and many temporary buildings were built to house officials and documents were transferred to York by the wagonload. King Edward II was continually at the castle after the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. After the battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 the bodies of Sir Roger Clifford and other Lancastrian leaders were hung from the tower. The keep was known as the Kings Tower until 1596, when the present name of Clifford's tower is first used. Also around 1322 the Old Baile was refortified with higher wood on more significant stone walls, but the site was in the hands of the people by the fifteenth century.

In 1315 there were severe floods in York and part of the motte was washed away. This probably caused the cracks in the Tower that were reported in 1358. The whole castle was repaired over the next 10 years at significant cost, but the gaol was reported to be in a dangerous state in 1377. Gold and silver coins were minted in the castle between 1353 and 1546 and although the buildings were repaired over this period the castle was in a general state of decay. The castle was sold in 1614, but both York castle and the Old Baile were fortified and garrisoned during and after the Civil War. In 1684 a serious fire burnt out Clifford's Tower, believed to be an act of sabotage as there was much friction between the military and civilians. After the fire the Tower became little more than a garden ornament until it became part of the extended prison in 1825.