New Public Spaces Open Brief: Revisions related to remembering 1190
February 2026
In the run up to Planning Committee in December 2025 a number of interested groups including English Heritage, York Liberal Jewish Community, Dr Hampson from University of York Centre for the Study of Christianity & Culture, York Interfaith Group and York Civic Trust expressed concerns and offered further ideas about the 1190 Memorial Space.
In summary, these concerns related to:
- Ensuring the space is large enough for school visits, commemorations and reflective gatherings.
- Clearly defined so it isn’t mistaken for a pathway and is understood as a place of significance
- Respectful and welcoming, with appropriate seating that supports contemplation without overwhelming the space.
- Open to the idea of an interfaith peace garden as part of the memorial landscape.
At the Planning Committee the planning consent was granted and this has established an important spatial ‘baseline’ in terms of the 1190 memorial’s footprint. But there is scope to adjust and redefine parameters to make the space work and feel right.
A meeting with the groups noted above, the council’s City Development representatives and My Castle Gateway facilitators (Helen Graham and Phil Bixby) took place on 27 January 2026 to discuss and continue to iterate and evolve the 1190 Memorial Space as part of the Castle & Eye of York scheme. The meeting focused on the 1190 area, and how we could best shape this in the context of the scheme parameters, as well as in the context of understanding the proposed interfaith elements.
The outcome was a set of key requirements to be tested and for the New Public Spaces Open Brief to be updated for this specific space within the wider approved scheme.
You can read the draft revised Open Brief and give feedback here.
Feedback is invited by 27 February 2026, and the updated Open Brief will then be finalised and shared in early March.
This will be used by the City of York Council team to inform an updated design for the 1190 Memorial Space, alongside further work on the interpretation plan and conversations with the planners and delivery team to check the budget and programme.
Hi, Is there any mention of why Clifford’s Tower (well the mound) was built? The pogrom in 1190 happened approx. 120 years after the Harrying of the North by the Normans. This left between half and three quarters of the land around York as Waste. There was widespread suffering, famine and death. The tower mound and wooden castle was built to supress the locals. This was the reality of life in York which almost certainly contributed to the pogrom. Before the Norman invasion York was a relatively rich and populous city.
Hi Jason, English Heritage, who run Clifford’s Tower, have got a timeline that covers the history of the site in case that is useful: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cliffords-tower-york/history-and-stories/history/