The two York castles, Clifford's Tower and Baile Hill, flank opposite sides of the River Ouse. Both were motte castles built just after the Norman Conquest in 1068-69. Today, Baile Hill receives little attention, secluded as it is in the bend of the city walls and nearby roadway, tucked in the shadow of the Skeldergate Bridge. In fact, the roads follow the path of the original castle ditches. Little is mentioned about Baile Hill in the literature and it comes as a pleasant surprise to spot this castle when wandering the city walls!
The second castle, Clifford's Tower, is an impressive
sight. The huge motte, some 60 feet tall, originally supported a
timber keep and palisade, but was eventually crowned with an
unusual "quatrefoil" or "quadrilobate" shell
keep, still in solid condition. The motte is completely
artificial, having been built of layered clay, marl, and gravel
on the site of tidal pools created by the nearby rivers. The
mound was once replenished on the northeast by the River Foss.
The Foss was also dammed by the Normans to create fishpond for
food, known as the King's Pool, and has long since been
in-filled.The quatrefoil ("four-leaved") stone keep replaced an earlier timber keep. This timber keep had, in turn, already replaced the original wooden keep which had been erected as a result of a rebellion against William I in 1069. In the years just after the Conquest, the Danes began an assault on York, an effort aided by the locals. To flush out the rebels the Normans set fire to houses in the city, but quickly lost control of the fire and their two motte castles (which were probably only secured by wooden palisades). The Danes routed the Normans an prompted the Norman king's "Harrying of the North", during which William and his army laid waste to neighboring villages in the hopes of quelling future rebellion. The Normans added a timber keep to the top of the motte, and the tower remained secure until the anti-Jewish riots of the late 12th-century.
Intolerance came to a head in 1189 at the coronation of Richard the Lionheart, when mobs attacked the Jewish community who had come to honor their new king. These assaults spread throughout the realm. In York, the Jewish populace was allowed sanctuary in the castle. Unfortunately, this refuge became the Jews' prison when they refused to give access to the sheriff. Then the castle was besieged, causing several Jewish leaders to kill themselves and their families, and the timber keep was burned to the ground. The keep was rebuilt again in wood and used until 1228, when it was levelled during a powerful gale.
In 1245 King Henry III ordered York Castle completely rebuilt. During the next 25 years, dramatic changes occurred on the bailey (which received a towered curtain wall and two gateways) and the keep (which was refortified in stone). Masters Simon of Northampton and Henry of Reynes, both of whom had major roles in Windsor Castle's construction, were consulted by the King. (It is likely that Master Henry was responsible for the unusual four-lobed design of the tower. York's keep is very similar to the stone keep at Etampes Castle, near Paris, where Henry had worked.) In total, the construction cost King Henry about 2,600 pounds.
Known as the King's Tower until the late 16th-century, York's unique shell keep consists of four interlocking lobes. The only British keep to resemble York's was built at nearby Pontefract Castle. Unfortunately, nothing has survived of this structure. What you see today mostly dates to the late 1600's after Charles II's Restoration, when the original forebuilding (slighted during the Civil War) was rebuilt. Heraldic panels over the entry contain the King's arms and those of the Clifford family (finally, a connection to the tower's name!), and commemorate this event. Above the first floor entrance porch are the chapel (which has decorative arcading) and, on the second floor, a small chamber for the portcullis mechanism. Chains from the portcullis would have extended through the chapel, and during a church service would have been rather disruptive!
The main cause of the castle's decay was the underhanded actions of Robert Redhead, the prison's jailer. Redhead decided in 1596 to make some extra money selling pieces of the shell keep for building material, and he covertly dismantled the interior and core of the walls. His vandalism was finally noticed and stopped by the mayor and corporation of York, but only after the battlements and turrets began disappearing! In 1684, a fire destroyed what remained of the interior, and the castle was ignored until 1903.
The history of York's castle was indeed eventful. Used continuously by Edward II after the disaster at Bannockburn (1314), Clifford's Tower (still known as the King's Tower) served an essential administrative role in Britain - keeping watch for further attacks from the Scots. It also was the region's mint, and from 1353-1546 gold and silver coins were produced in the castle. In the Civil War, the castle was held by the Royalists, until 1644 when York surrendered to Parliamentary troops, and the castle was slighted. (The locals at the time referred to Clifford's Tower as "Minced Pie"!)
In 1825, Clifford's Tower was incorporated within the new prison complex, which consisted of the Debtors' Prison (1705), the Female Prison (1780), and the Assize Court (1773-77). Restoration of the castle began in 1903, and in 1925 its management was assumed by the Commissioners of His Majesty's Works (now English Heritage).
How, then, did the King's Tower become "Clifford's Tower"? Sir Roger Clifford, a leader of the Lancastrians during the War of the Roses, had been defeated and captured at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322. His body, and others, were hung in chains from the castle's walls. Why his name was chosen and why the castle's name was not changed to Clifford's Tower until 1596 is unclear.