William I commissioned the first timber castle in 1068. After a gale destroyed the wooden keep in 1228, Henry III rebuilt it in stone from 1245, and the article gives the work as ending in 1270 or 1272. Master mason Henry de Rayns worked on it. Clifford's Tower has a quatrefoil plan the article calls unique in England, with four lobes and walls about 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m) thick.
An explosion in the magazine gutted the interior in 1684. The surrounding bailey later held a county jail, John Carr's Assize Courts of 1773 to 1777, and a Tudor Gothic prison of 1825.
English Heritage manages the tower, which is Grade I listed and open to visitors. An access project finished in March 2022 added new stairways and a roof deck. The Assize Courts now house York Crown Court.
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