This great tower, perched high on a Norman motte, remains a solemn reminder of York's troubled past. In 1068, William the Conqueror constructed a large mound (motte) on the banks of the River Ouse and built a wooden castle at the top. Just over 100 years later, amid the riots in York when a group of Jews took refuge in the tower, it was burned to the ground. Something of a gruesome legend exists about this incident. Apparently, the reddish vein running through the brickwork on the outside of the tower, was 'dyed' by the blood of the Jewish victims as they were mercilessly slaughtered