Over the river from my neighbourhood, Bishophill, rest the remains of
York Castle. There was a small motte and bailey castle on the corner of Bishophill as well,
Baile Hill. It's an odd feeling passing a mound of earth erected by William the Conqueror on your way to buy potatoes. Such is life in York.
Postcards of Clifford's Tower tend to leave out the street. Not only have I included the street, I have gone one better and captured a park 'n' ride bendy bus for you. A nice photographic reminder that bringing your car into York is an utterly stupid thing to do.
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| Fortunately, I was not wearing high heels this day. |
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| After coughing up £3.50, I am admitted to the interior. |
The discolouration on parts of the walls happened after the tower accidently-on-purpose went on fire in 1684, which is why it has no longer has certain homely amenities such as a roof.
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| On to the main reason to visit Clifford's Tower: the view. |
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| Looking towards the Minster. |
Unless you're a gargoyle on a certain local landmark, the views of the city from here are hard to top. I can (almost) see my flat!
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| Looking towards Bishophill. You can see a bit of the River Ouse on the left. |
After the wordiness of the Mickelgate Bar Museum, it was refreshing to visit a place that keeps signage to a minimum. Unfortunately, this also meant that a placard recounting the horrific suicide/massacre of 150 Jews in 1190 failed to include much of the context of the event (you can read more about it
here). I remember it every time I pass the tower, and experience a melancholic dissonance when the ramparts are plastered with tourists lazing amongst the buttercups. I wonder if they know what happened there.
Thanks for checking Clifford's Tower out. I feel a bit ashamed that I visited York so many times and never bothered finding anything out about the structure or its history. I suppose I was too busy buying spuds and such...
ReplyDeleteWRT views of York: it is possible, after payment of a not insignificant fee (if I remember right), to climb to the top of the square central tower of the Minster. You'd be walking in the footsteps of geologist and map maker William Smith, who surveyed the Vale of York from that lofty vantage point.