Stunning springtime display at Clifford’s Tower thanks to 100,000 new daffodils
The setting of York’s castle has never looked finer as these photographs show.
Clifford’s Tower is now sitting atop a carpet of gold thanks to a major replanting exercise.
A total of 100,000 daffodils were planted by local schools and volunteers in the tower mount last November and have now sprung into life.
The six-pointed Narcissus variety, February Gold, creates a golden glow. They replace the flowers that were originally planted in 1992.
They were planted using a specialist machine, overseen by Dutch bulb company Lubbe Lisse, in collaboration with English Heritage’s senior gardening team.
Their flowering marks the anniversary date of the massacre on the 16th March 1190, when 150 Jewish men, women and children were killed on the site of Clifford’s Tower. It was one of the worst anti-Jewish atrocities of the Middle Ages.
An English Heritage spokesperson said: “This specific type of daffodil is a six-pointed flower, representing the Star of David.
“Bulbs were originally planted in 1992 to commemorate the 150 men, women and children who died in the Massacre of the Jews in 1190.”
Clifford’s Tower re-opened in April 2022 after a £5 million upgrade. Since then it has welcomed 200,000 visitors and received numerous design awards including, the York Young People’s Choice award, the Construction Excellence Award and the National Timber Award.
