Clifford's Tower
Clifford's Tower features on the Gingerguide audio walk through York. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type castle
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- York York guide
About Clifford's Tower
The stone keep on William the Conqueror's castle mound, and a solemn place of memory: here, in 1190, almost the whole Jewish community of York died besieged in an earlier wooden tower.
Clifford's Tower is the surviving stone keep of York Castle, standing on the mound raised by William the Conqueror in 1068. It is chiefly remembered as the site of the massacre of York's Jewish community on 16 March 1190: besieged in the wooden tower that then stood here, and facing death or forced baptism, most of the community, perhaps around 150 people, died, many taking their own lives, while those who surrendered were killed; the mob afterwards went to York Minster and burned the records of debts owed to Jewish moneylenders. The present quatrefoil (four-lobed) stone keep is a later rebuilding for Henry III, from about 1245. The name is first recorded in 1596. A memorial plaque was placed here in 1978, and daffodils are planted on the mound in annual remembrance. It is cared for by English Heritage, within the UNESCO-recognised historic city of York.
How long is a visit to Clifford's Tower?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Clifford's Tower. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Clifford's Tower worth your time?
Clifford's Tower is among the 18 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for York, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in York
Hear the story of Clifford's Tower
Preview the York tour free in the Gingerguide app.