 Sydney Smith, the famous wit, writer and vicar of Foston-le-Clay, successfully led a campaign to save Clifford's Tower, emphasising the historic importance of the location for the surrounding city.An alternative proposal, put forward by architect Robert Wallace, would have seen the conversion of Clifford's Tower back into a habitable building to form the hub of a radial prison design, but this was turned down.In 1825, Clifford's Tower and the Waud house were purchased by the county of Yorkshire at the cost of £8,800 (£665,000 at 2009 prices).