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Tower of London - the towers
The Tower of London is not one tower but a complex of many towers, each with a history of its own. |
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The Tower of London- part 2 The Towers of The Tower of London The Tower of London is a combination of buildings begun during the time of William the Conqueror. Originally built as a fortress, to keep hostile Londoners at bay it was also used to sight approaching enemies on the Thames River. It has been used as a palace, a library, a mint, a treasury, a bank, an arsenal and an observatory. The most famous reputation is that of a prison. There are several towers within the Tower of London, the oldest part of the building and the most conspicuous being the White Tower [which was named during the 13th-century when Henry III had it whitewashed}. This is the central keep built by William the Conqueror and completed by his sons William Rufus and Henry I. The walls of the White Tower are 15 feet thick and it is 90 feet high. Of interest is that one of the Four Corners (turrets) contained the first royal observatory. The White Tower currently contains the Chapel of St. John, one of the few unchanged areas where the Royal Family and the court worshipped and where the knights of the Order of Bath spent their Vigil the night before the king or queen was crowned. The White tower also contains an exhibition of arms, armor and torture instruments. The Middle Tower was built in the 13th century and the archway, together with Byward Tower and Bloody Tower were defended by portcullises (spiked like gates), two of which are still there. The Bloody Tower was originally known as the Garden Tower. [The name Bloody Tower, however, is only traced back to 1571] It was here that two little princes Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, were supposedly murdered in 1483 with orders from Richard Duke of Gloucester, who was subsequently crowned Richard III. Many years later, during the reign of Charles II, two sets of bones of young boys were found under a stairway (the presiding king ordered the bodies buried in Westminster Abbey) and thus the name Bloody Tower came about due to treachery and murder within its walls. In 1603 Sir Walter Raleigh became a prisoner here - the period during which he wrote his History of the World, but he was kept "prisoner" in what was considered "comfortable circumstances". He was released in 1616 and died in 1618 when James I had him beheaded. The Wakefield Tower is where Henry VI (founded Eton and Cambridge University) was brutally murdered. In 1471, during the time of the 'Wars of the Roses' - England's medieval civil war, he was stabbed to death while praying. The Wakefield Tower housed the Crown Jewels from 1879-1967 but it is now an empty tower. Important prisoners were kept in Beauchamp Tower, where the inside walls are still covered with graffiti and inscriptions carved by the prisoners. The most elaborate is a memorial to the five Dudley brothers, one of whom was Lord Guilford Dudley, husband of Lady Jane Grey - the pair was executed in 1554. The Tower Green is where two of Henry III's queens and several other people at his request were beheaded. It was a rare honor to be beheaded inside the tower; most people were executed outside on Tower Hill, so the crowds who enjoyed such events could get a better view. The Traitor's Gate was originally known as Water Gate but the name was changed when it began to be used as a landing place for traitors. This is where the prisoner boats arrived, many hoping they would be ransomed or pardoned. In more modern times, German spies were executed in the courtyards during the two World Wars, and in 1941, Hitler's deputy - Rudolph Hess, was actually imprisoned in the Tower. The Jewel House is where you'll find the Crown Jewels, a collection of gold, silver, precious stones and other royal regalia. The Chapel Royal and St. Peter ad Vincula is the oldest chapel royal in England. It is in this chapel that most of those who died on Tower Hill and six of the seven executed on Tower Green were laid to rest under flagstones without ceremony. Between the Chapel and Tower Green is a small paved area where a scaffold was erected for beheadings. The six people beheaded on the site were three queens of England: Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey. The Queens House built around 1530, probably by the second queen of England and mother of Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn . She lived there only 18 days as a prisoner while awaiting execution and was beheaded on Tower Green for alleged infidelity. It is used now as the Council Chamber and it is here that Guy Fawkes was interrogated before being tortured on the rack in the White Tower and signing a confession incriminating his fellow conspirators. Adjoining the Council Chamber is a room in which William Penn (who founded Pennsylvania) was once a prisoner. The Martin Tower was built by Henry III and is famous as the scene of Colonel Thomas Blood's attempt to steal the crown jewels. King Edward's son returning from abroad interrupted him and his accomplices. The Salt Tower is another tower built by Henry III about 1235. Later it was used as a prison for Jesuits. It also contains a number of inscriptions, the most notable one being a complicated diagram for casting horoscopes cut into the stone wall . In several places on the walls a pierced heart, hand and foot have been carved signifying the wounds of Christ- with a cross and H the sign of the Jesuits. The Bell Tower was built in the 13th century. In the past when the bell at its top was rung in alarm, drawbridges were raised, the portcullises were dropped and gates were shut. The only time the bell is now rung is in the evening to warn visitors that it is time to leave. Prisoners were kept in the tower. One of the most famous was Sir Thomas Moore, who was at one time a close friend of Henry VIII. More refused to acknowledge the validity of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon or acknowledge him as supreme head of the Church, and in consequence he was imprisoned there in 1534. He was executed in July 1535 and buried in St. Peters Chapel. Later, one of Henry's own children was imprisoned there - princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) In 1554 Elizabeth was held by her half sister Mary I on suspicion of being concerned in a plot against the throne.
To open a map of the Tower of London in a separate browser window, click here. The Tower of London on the
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Tower Hill, Thames waterbus to Tower Pier.
