Photographs of Cliffords Tower

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York was the site for two of the castles William the Conqueror built in the years immediately following the conquest. The principal castle was begun in 1068, as part of a campaign to subdue anti-Norman sentiment in the north. Its wooden defences were around and on top of the motte, but was destroyed a number of times.
In the second half of the 13th century, the keep was rebuilt in stone. It was built to a quatrefoil plan, of which there is no other example in England. The keep later became known as Clifford's Tower after Roger de Clifford, who was hanged there in 1322.
York sits in the centre of a plain and when this was built it must have stood out as a sight for miles.