As one of the most important cities in England, and an important base
for holding and administering the north, York was the site for two
of the castles William the Conqueror built
in the years immediately following his conquest. The principal castle
was begun in 1068, as part of a campaign to subdue anti-Norman sentiment
in the north. Its wooden defences focused around and atop the motte;
they were destroyed during a local rebellion the following year, but
rebuilt by the Normans after suppressing the rebels and taking harsh
reprisals on York.
In 1190 the wooden keep was again burned down, during a siege by citizens
of the Jewish community which had taken
refuge there. This was one instance of a continent-wide persecution
stimulated in part by the emotionally-charged and propagandized
environment of the Crusades. At and following the accession of
the crusading king Richard, successor to Henry II who had been careful
to protect England's Jews, there were a number of violent outbursts
against them in various English towns. In York, a violent incident was
quickly followed by most of the Jews there seeking protection within the
castle. However, when there fear became so great that they refused even the
constable of the castle admittance, an attempt by royal authorities to
regain access deteriorated into a mob assault on the castle. Rather than
fall into the hands of the mob, many of the Jews committed suicide and
set the keep afire. The survivors emerged the following day, only to be
massacred by the besiegers. As punishment for this terrible act, the
king's Chancellor dismissed the sheriff and constable, imposed a heavy fine
on York's citizens (who claimed not to have been involved), but the
ringleaders had fled and could not be brought to justice.
In the latter half of the thirteenth century, the keep was rebuilt in stone.
It was given a quatrefoil plan, of which there is no other example in
England. The keep later became known as Clifford's Tower,
possibly after Roger de Clifford, who was hanged there in 1322.
