Clifford's Tower York

On the night of 16 March 1190, the feast of Shabbat ha-Gadol, the small Jewish community of York was gathered together for protection inside Clifford's tower. Rather than die at the hands of the violent mob that awaited them outside, many of the Jews took their own lives; others died in the flames they had lit, and those who finally surrendered were massacred and murdered.

This appalling event has become the most notorious example of antisemitism in medieval England.

Inscription on a plaque at the foot of the tower:

On the night of Friday 16 March 1190 some
150 Jews and Jewesses of York having sought
protection in the Royal Castle on this site
from a mob incited by Richard Malebisse
and others chose to die at each other's
hands rather than renounce their faith.