Description of the attraction
York Castle is located in the city of York, North Yorkshire, UK. It belongs to the "mott-and-bailey" type of castles, which is a palisade courtyard, inside or next to it on a hill, a citadel rises.
The first castle was built on this site in 1068, shortly after the arrival of the Normans. The first buildings were wooden, hastily erected - according to some sources, the castle was built in just eight days. King Henry II visited this castle four times and it was here that he took the vassal oath of William the Lion of Scotland.
In the middle of the 13th century, Henry III rebuilds the castle in stone. A unique citadel in the shape of a four-leafed leaf was built. During the Scottish Wars of Independence, the castle served as a stronghold of royal power in the north of England. By the 15th - 16th centuries, the castle lost its military significance and was used mainly as a prison, where both political prisoners and ordinary local robbers were kept.
In 1642, civil war broke out and York Castle had to be rebuilt and fortified. The troops under the command of Henry Clifford, loyal to Charles I, occupied the castle and the city, and on April 23, 1644, the parliamentary forces laid siege to York. The city and fortress under the command of William Cavendish and Sir Francis Cobb held out for several months, despite the fact that the number of besiegers reached 30,000. On July 14, the castle and city surrendered, but the royalist troops were allowed to leave York with all the honors.
After the end of the war and the Restoration, there was a long debate over whether the castle should be restored or demolished, while the tower was in the meantime used as a powder store. In 1684, an explosion thundered (there are suspicions that it was not accidental), which completely destroyed the tower, and due to the high temperature during the explosion, the limestone walls acquired their present pinkish color.
The prison existed at York Castle until 1900, when the prisoners were transferred to Wakefield Prison, but until 1929 only war criminals were held here.
Now York Castle is protected as a monument of history and architecture; the castle museum is open here.
