The Date Of Clifford’s Tower

In a note contributed to the Archaeological Journal in 19341 the late Mr. B. H. St. J. O'Neil stated a case for supposing that Clifford's Tower (or, as it was known until 1596, the King's Tower in the Castle of York) was built c. 1300-10. A main point in the argument was the absence, in the printed record sources then available, of any reference to the keep or turris of the castle prior to 1312. Unprinted sources do, however, contain a number of such references during the second half of the 13th century, and these, together with others which have appeared in some of the more recently published calendars, suggest that previous ideas about the dating of the tower may need to be revised. Mr. O'Neil therefore readily agreed to the present reconsideration of the problem in the light of the additional documentary material available. The principal record entries are set out in chronological order in an appendix and are referred to by letter as necessary. The story begins in 1244. In July of that year King Henry III was at York on his way northward to Newcastle-on-Tyne. On 6 August an instruction was issued to the sheriff of York to spend certain items of county revenue on collecting materials for the strengthening of the castle (a). With the building season already well advanced, such an instruction can be interpreted as foreshadowing the commencement of actual works in the following year. A document of March, 1245 (b) confirms this. Master Simon and Master Henry,2 the king's chief carpenter and mason respectively, were ordered to York at this time to view the site of the castle and to ordain and determine how the new castle buildings which the king proposed to erect should be best and most suitably set up. The sheriff was instructed to go to the site and consider with them how the castle should be strengthened and improved, taking with him other masters with expert knowledge of such works. He was then to be responsible for carrying out the building according to their ordinance and direction. It is clear that works of a major and far-reaching character were contemplated, amounting to a complete re-creation of the castle that had existed hitherto, and one would expect such a scheme to have included fortification of the motte which was the dominant feature of the site. The works were duly put in hand and entries in the Liberate and Pipe Rolls between 1245 and 1250 record the necessary financial provision

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