The Tower of London

TOWER OF LONDON

 Tower of London - Model layout. 

Story and photography by Allison O’Donoghue

The first thing I did when I arrived in London was to visit the Tower of London. Formerly known as Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress - it is more commonly known as the Tower of London. And what I thought was London Bridge is actually known as Tower Bridge, another iconic structure and one of many in London.

Tower of London - Gerkin in background

The historic castle was erected in 1066 after the Battle of Hastings as part of the Norman Conquest of England, built by William the Conqueror after his victorious battle to intimidate the Londoners. It became a Royal residence, an infamous prison and symbol of oppression by the people of London. The White Tower developed a reputation as a torture chamber, although only 48 cases of torture was ever officially recorded on the site, no doubt many more unreported cases occurred and surprisingly only 112 executions were carried out on Tower Hill over a 400 year period.

Tower Bridge

All this information comes via the Yeoman Warders on guided tours which I highly recommend as they imbue the talk with very interesting titbits on historical figures who once graced the castle over the centuries. For instance, our Yeoman regaled us with horror stories like the botched beheading of Anne Boleyn, rumour has it that it took the executioner three goes to chop her head off. How horrid! If ever there were a case of not-meant-to-be that would be it. She is known to haunt the halls carrying her head under her arm apparently so distressed by the substandard, untidy workmanship of the executioner. According to the Yeoman, so distraught by his unskilfulness, the executioner killed himself and Anne Boleyn still wrecks havoc on night staff as recompense to this day. The Yeoman Warders are great talkers and very entertaining, not only do they have a wealth of information they enjoy it and ensure the tour is a rewarding experience.

Tower Bridge

The White Tower has a long chequered history. It is a keep also known as donjon and was the strongest structure in the medieval castle. It has had various incarnations and uses over the centuries – it contained lodgings for the rich, famous and infamous. Originally three-storeys high, with a basement (which housed the infamous rack) an entrance, which was probably used by the Constable of the Tower and important officials and the upper floor had a grand hall and is where St Johns Chapel is located, the sight where Anne Boleyn, accused of treason by Henry VIII in 1536, prayed before her death. Each floor was divided into three massive chambers comprising of an extensive chapel, sleeping quarters, stunningly large fireplaces and latrines built into the walls.

The White Tower

In Saxon London, the Tower must have been a foreboding sight and designed to intimidate the enemy with impressive defences overlooking London traffic on the River Thames. Each successive King or Queen put his or her stamp on the Tower. Richard the Lionheart added the west wing in 1189-1199 complete with a moat and doubling the castles size. Edward the 1^st added the outer ward and the Tower Wharf in 1285 and was expanded by Richard 2^nd in 1377-1399. Henry the 3^rd ordered that a strip of land adjacent to the castle to be kept clear for military purposes during the 13^th century and fortified walls built, which still stand today. And of course Henry VIII added his touch in 1519. As his girth expanded so did the castle, it got bigger and bigger during his reign.

Salt Tower

Between1275 – 1279 Edward 1 extended the south side of the Tower of London onto land previously submerged by the River Thames. In the wall he built St Thomas Tower later known as Traitors Gate that replaced the Bloody Tower and became the castles water gate. 

The Bloody Tower no longer exists however it is believed to be the site where the murder of the young Princes, Edward (12) and Richard (10) took place. The notorious murder happened shortly after the death of Edward IV and apart from the botched beheading of Anne Boleyn, has become the most villainous incident to take place at the Tower of London. Edward IVs uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester was proclaimed King Richard III in July 1483 and the princes were last seen in public in June of that year. Bones thought to belong to the Princes were discovered in 1674 when the 12^th century fore building of the White Tower was demolished. King Richard III never regained public support, so outraged were they at the Princes demise and was swiftly deposed by Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The Lancastrian ascended to the throne as Henry VII and his reign is known as the Tudor period.

Implement of torture - neck brace

During the 16^th century the Tower gained a reputation as a forbidding prison however only housing high profile, famous, rich and prominent individuals who were used to luxury and allowed to bring in furnishings, their families, as well as servants. High status prisoners could live in conditions comparable to how they lived outside and often imprisoned for short periods of time and treated well by the Yeoman Warders. While Walter Raleigh was held in the Tower he had his prison cell altered to accommodate his family and one of his sons was born at the Tower in 1605. Not quite what we would consider harsh prison life compared to ordinary London citizens who were sent to really grim prisons, rife with disease to a sentence of hard labour.

Chopping Block

Lady Jane Grey was housed at the Tower for quite a while before she was executed on the 12^th of February 1554 not on Tower Hill but on the Tower Green due to public safety but more than likely to assure the dignity of Lady Jane and nothing to do with OH&S issues. Considering Marble Arch was one of the principle public execution sights in London where crowds would rush to grab a piece of rope to sell so, it is highly doubtful the Privy Council or ruling elite would care less about the public, let alone their safety. Londoners lived in poverty, dressed in rags, drank and bathed in filthy water from the Thames and worked in dreadful conditions.

Toe Cutters

Interesting one of the first recorded prisoners in the Tower was the first and last to escape. Bishop Ranulf Flambard was hated by the English for his harsh tax regime and was one of the first to be imprisoned in the Tower. As was customary he lived in luxury, permitted servants and ate well. One night while washing down his banquet with wine he plied his guards with wine, got them drunk - while they were laid out, he used a rope smuggled in a vat of wine to shimmy down the castle wall to freedom. After that, rules and regs were introduced and guards were not permitted to fraternise with prisoners under no circumstances, no matter who they were.

Traitors Gate

In 1552 Queen Mary I imprisoned her sister Elizabeth in the Tower under suspicion of heresy. Mary was a Catholic and Elizabeth a Protestant. Unbeknownst to Elizabeth her confidant, Sir Thomas Wyatt plotted against Mary and was promptly killed along with several others. Elizabeth denied any knowledge of the crime but was imprisoned anyway under pressure from the Duke of Norfolk who coveted the crown. The Traitors Gate, where Elizabeth was led, is still there although closer to the tower. The Vatican pressured the Catholics to get rid of Elizabeth and many times her life was in danger. She led England to victory over France and Spain and raised her people out of abject poverty into relative poverty. The bastard child of Anne Boleyn became Queen Elizabeth 1st - The Virgin Queen and considered Divine. England became one of the most powerful and richest Empires under her 40-year reign, which became known as The Golden Age.

Weaponry

The Tower of London still stores valuable contents and contains priceless objects including money, as it was once the Mint. Munitions, as it was once a military base and the Crown Jewels guarded within the fortress. The jewels are still housed in Tower today although the day I went the jewels were out for cleaning, which was most disappointing. Soon the Tower will be home to the Olympic medals and guarded by a private security team.

The Crown jewels dates back to Henry III day in the 13^th century, housing the royal regalia, the crown, sceptre and sword and often used by the treasury as collateral when times got tough or the Royal Court needed to increase funds. It ensured the monarch independence from the ruling elite, the pervasive aristocracy, always scheming to rid the country of the monarch. It was during Queen Elizabeth 1^st reign that the virtue of holding the people close to the bosom of the monarch became a weapon against the aristocracy. If the monarch had the love, respect and admiration of the people then they were relatively safe and they’re position assured.

Edward I bedchamber - St Thomas Tower

It is not only Anne Boleyn who haunts the castle, but also Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole and the young Princes who have been seen from time to time. Ghost stories were all the rage in Elizabethan England awash with death, disease and public execuitons.

During WW1 & WW2 the castle was again used as a prison and 12 men were executed for espionage on the grounds of the Tower Green and Tower Hill. Amazingly the Castle avoided much damage from the Blitz and only needed minimal repairs.

Henry VIII

Tower of London was mainly used as a place of residence for Kings and Queens, centres of administration and fortifications during wars and less as the prison that it is uniquely known for. Built originally from Roman stonewalls and structures, the mind boggles at the destruction of Roman architecture but then again they were also a symbol of oppression so reusing their fine masonry was at least preserving some history.

Henry VI - died on this spot in 1471

The Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that runs the Tower of London and is strangely not funded by the government or the Crown. The money they from tourism make goes into the up-keep, restoration and preservation of the buildings.

Beefeater

And one last bit of information - no Royal has stayed at the Tower of London since Queen Victoria who stayed the night before her coronation and who was the first Sovereign to live in the newly built - Buckingham Palace.

I could go on and on as there are so many stores to tell but its best you check it out for yourself. Enjoy.  


Yeoman Warders Tours: meet at the entrance - 1hr every 30 minutes.
www.tower-of-london.org.uk
www.hrp.org.uk
Ticket sales: 0870 756 7070 

The White Tower

Tower Bridge

Kings Throne

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge