York Castle, Yorkshire, England, British Isles [Map]

On 16th March 1190 at York [Map] the Jewish population sought protection from violence in Clifford's Tower. The tower was besieged by the mob. The Jewish men killed their wives and children, after which they set fire to the wooden keep. Those who did escape were murdered.

Flowers of History by Roger of Wendover 1190. Of the dreadful slaughter of the Jews at York. In the same year, during Lent, that is, on the 15th of March, the Jews of the city of York, to the number of five hundred, besides women and children, through fear of an attack on the part of the Christians, by permission of the sheriff and the governor of the castle, shut themselves up in that fortress [Clifford's Tower], and when the garrison required them to give up possession of it, they refused to do so. On this refusal, repeated attacks were made both by day and night, and at length the Jews after reflecting, offered a large sum of money for their lives, but this was refused by the people. Then one of them skilled in the law, rose and addressed his com- panions thus, "Oh, men of Israel, hear my counsel. It is better, as our law instructs us, to die for our law than to fall into the hands of our enemies." This being agreed to by all, each head of a family came with a sharp razor, and cut the throats first of his wife, sons, and daughters, and after- wards of all his family, and threw the dead bodies, which they considered as sacrificed to devils, on the Christians outside the castle; they then shut themselves up in the king's house, and setting fire to it, both living and dead were burned together with the buildings. After this the citizens and soldiers burned the Jews' houses, with the papers of their debtors, but retained their money for their own use.

Chronicum Anglicanum by Ralph Coggeshall. For at York, more than four hundred Jews had taken refuge in the royal fortress [Clifford's Tower] to escape the persecution of the Christians, who had gathered there for the county assembly. Nevertheless, they were besieged and fiercely attacked by certain knights and citizens of the aforementioned city. When they could no longer withstand the assaults of their besiegers and all hope of escape was lost, they voluntarily brought upon themselves a wretched death out of fear of a more dreadful fate. They chose to perish by mutual slaughter rather than be savagely and disgracefully butchered by their persecutors' fury. Now, among them was a man of advanced age and well-versed in Mosaic law, whom they called Rabbi. All, from the least to the greatest, listened to him. He encouraged them to accept such a horrific manner of death through exhortations and by citing the exemplary teachings of the forefathers in the Old Law. And so, nearly all of them, except for a few who later pretended to convert to belief in the Lord Jesus, obeyed his urging. Taking up a knife, he cut the throats and arteries of each one, having first thrown their wealth into the filthy water that ran below. At last, he likewise took his own life in the same manner. Thus, the enemies of the Christian name left their bodies unburied, exposed to dogs and birds, while their souls were consigned to eternal torment in the flames of Hell.

Nam cum apud Eboracum quadringenti et eo amplius Judæi in munitione regia inclusi haberentur, ob persecutionem Christianorum, qui tunc ad comitatus convenerant, declinandam, nihilominus tamen a quibusdam militibus et prædictæ urbis civibus sunt obsessi et acrius expugnati. Cumque assultus expugnantium diutius ferre non possent, et jam omnis spes evadendi sublata fuisset, miserabilem mortem dirioris mortis metu voluntarie sibi ipsimet accersierunt, eligentes potius mutua cede deperire quam persequentium rabie truculentius atque impudentius jugulari. Erat autem quidam inter eos natu major et in lege Mosaica instructior, quem Rabi cognominabant, cui omnes auscultabant, a minimo usque ad maximum, qui eosdem ad tam horribile genus mortis exhortationibus et exemplari doctrina patrum in Veteri Lege præcedentium, animaveret. Cumque fere omnes, exceptis quibusdam paucis, qui se postmodum in Dominum Jesum credere simularunt, ejus hortatui obtemperarent, ille, arrepto cultro, incidit fibras gutturis singulorum cum arteriis, projectis prius eorum pecuniis in aqua ccenulenta, que subtus decurrebat, ac tandem semetipsum simili morte jugulans. Sicque inimici Christiani nominis cadavers inhumata canibus et avibus exposuerunt; animas vero gehennalibus flammis in perpetuum cruciandas tradentes.

On 12th July 1537 Robert Aske (age 37) was hanged in chains at Clifford's Tower. The date may have been Friday 06 Jul as implied by the letters of the Duke of Norfolk?

George aka William Lumley and Nicholas Tempest (age 57) were hanged at Tyburn [Map].