Landmark attraction re-opening this weekend

English Heritage reopens Clifford’s Tower in York to the public this Saturday – 2 April – following a £5m project to conserve and radically transform the interior of the 800-year-old landmark.

Where previously the tower was an empty shell, the charity has installed a free-standing timber structure within it, protecting the ruin and creating a new roof deck to provide views over York.

On the tower’s lost first floor, aerial walkways will open up hidden rooms for the first time since Clifford’s Tower was gutted by fire in 1684.

Kate Mavor, English Heritage’s chief executive, said: “At Clifford’s Tower, new architecture is transforming a centuries-old landmark, opening it up and unlocking its secrets. We’re protecting Clifford’s Tower for future generations and inspiring more people to discover its stories.”

Jeremy Ashbee, head properties curator at English Heritage, added: “One of England’s most important buildings, Clifford’s Tower is almost all that remains of York Castle, which was the centre of government for the North throughout the Middle Ages and up to the 17th-century – the place where the whole of the North of England was ruled from.

“We not only wanted to preserve this incredible building but also do justice to its fascinating and multi-faceted history.”

The new interior and roof deck has been designed by Hugh Broughton Architects.

Supported by four wooden columns, the structure sits on a raft foundation, which spreads the load without impacting on the archaeological remains beneath the tower.

The practice has worked with conservation specialists Martin Ashley Architects to produce a scheme which sits respectfully within the heritage structure.

As part of the English Heritage project, the tower has also been conserved. Exposed to the elements for more than 300 years, its fire damaged stonework, and the walls, turret stairs, arrow slits and fireplaces have been repaired.

The chapel has been reroofed and maintenance carried out on the the carved heraldic plaques above the entrance, showing the coats of arms of Charles I and Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland.

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