What happened to the Jews at Clifford's Tower?

Answer 1

In 1190, a man named Joce, a leader of the Jewish community of York, obtained the permission of the warden of York Castle to move his wife and children and the rest of the Jews of York into the castle. They probably took refuge in a wooden tower that stood where Clifford's Tower now stands. They fled there because they were threatened by an antisemitic mob incited by a man named de Malbis, who murdered a widow of a Jewish banker he apparently owed money to. The mob surrounded the castle, and when the warden left the castle, the Jews inside would not let him back in, afraid that the mob would enter with him. The warden appealed to the sheriff who called out the county militia. The militia lay siege to the tower for several days until the tower caught fire, on March 16th. Many Jews either died in the flames or took their own lives rather give themselves up to the mob. Those who did surrender were killed. Around 150 Jews died in all, and they are commemorated by a plaque on the hill where Clifford's Tower now stands.