Clifford's Tower, York Prisons and Courts

Although nominally just outside the FFH area, the castle complex looms over the northern end of Fishergate and dominates the area - as it is meant to!

Castle Museum tells the story of these buildings in a wonderfully imaginative, accessible and informative style, so that for Yorkies and visitors, it's always an interesting place to visit.
Clifford's Tower stands proudly on its mound, seemingly defying even the forces of gravity as sections of its walls lean alarmingly outwards.

We aim to add much more to this new website page, but in the meantime, one of our members, Charles Patmore, has written two excellent papers about some of the people imprisoned here.

James Montgomery: 
From York Castle’s Gaoled Journalist to ​Sheffield’s Civic Saint

On May 11th 1854 many shops and factories in Sheffield closed for the day and thousands of mourners, including all civic and religious dignitaries, gathered for the grand funeral of James Montgomery in Sheffield’s fashionable new, ‘neo-Egyptian’ cemetery.
‘Christian poet’, writer of over 400 hymns, campaigner against slavery and chimney sweep child labour, benefactor of popular education, Sunday Schools, hospitals, missionary work and general civic improvement – Montgomery received “such demonstrations of respect as never before were paid to any individual in Sheffield”.
In due course streets and public halls and even private houses became named after “this truly venerated man”. Yet the great hymn-writer was the same man who 60 years earlier had twice been gaoled in York Castle as a dangerous political subversive.
​How had the latter ever come about?
Download the Charles Patmore''s article HERE

MISSING CHAPTER FROM THE HISTORY OF YORK CASTLE: THE IMPRISONMENT OF QUAKERS

As a walled stronghold within the de facto northern capital of England, York Castle served over many centuries as a place where political offenders and dissident groups were confined. Examples include Welsh rebels in the 13th century, the Knights Templar in the 14th century, Catholic dissidents during the Tudor era, anti-royalist rebels in the 17th century, Jacobite rebels and Militia Act protesters during the 18th century, and Luddites, Peterloo protesters and Chartists during the 19th century.
But, in terms of the numbers of individuals imprisoned and the total years of life consumed there, it seems very likely that it was Quakers who by a large margin bore the lion’s share of imprisonment in York Castle for political or religious reasons. This paper outlines basic facts concerning the imprisonment of Quakers in York Castle, an aspect of York history which has received less attention than warranted.
Download Charles Patmore''s article HERE