CASTLES YORK

Crayke Castle is a Grade I listed 15th-century tower house located on Church Hill in the village of Crayke, North Yorkshire, elevated on the Yorkshire Wolds. The castle consists of a four-story restored tower with attached outbuildings and a separate ruined 15th-century tower known as the "New Tower." Documentary evidence suggests a Norman castle occupied this site following the Conquest. Civil War damage by Parliamentarians was repaired by Charles Allanson in the 1600s, restoring the main building to the condition it maintains today. Leased as a farmhouse for centuries, the castle was sold into private hands in 1827 and remains one of northern England's well-preserved castle residences.

Clifford's Tower is the magnificent surviving centerpiece of York Castle, a medieval fortress that has dominated the city's skyline since 1068 when William the Conqueror built it to subdue northern rebellions. The distinctive stone tower, rebuilt by Henry III in the 13th century after earlier fires, rises majestically above York's historic landscape and takes its name from a tragic historical incident involving Roger de Clifford's execution. The tower witnessed one of the darkest chapters in English history when York's Jewish community sought refuge there during a 1190 massacre, marking it as a significant site in medieval social history. Now managed by English Heritage, the tower features a modern roof deck providing panoramic views across York's medieval rooftops and the famous Minster, while exhibits interpret centuries of history from Norman conquest to Civil War.