Tower of London
The Tower of London - Mighty Fortress, Royal Palace, Infamous Prison.
The Tower of London today
In the 1070s William the Conqueror built a mighty stone tower at the centre of his London fortress, defeated Londoners must have looked on in awe. Now nearly 1000 years later, the Tower still has the capacity to fascinate and horrify.
As protector of the Crown Jewels, home of the Yeomen Warders and its legendary guardians, the pampered ravens, the Tower now attracts over three million visitors a year. Here, the Ceremony of the Keys and other traditions live on, as do the ghost stories and terrible tales of torture and execution.
And did you know? When the gates are locked and all the visitors have gone, the Tower embraces a thriving community within its walls as it’s still home to the Yeomen Warders and their families, the Resident Governor, and a garrison of soldiers. There is a doctor and a chaplain. There is even a pub!
We can’t wait for you to visit here - this site is included in all of the tour packages we currently run! A definite ‘must visit’ find out more about our tour packages here!
History
The Tower also has a richer and more complex history, having been home to a wide array of institutions including the Royal Mint, the Royal Armouries and even a zoo. As the most secure castle in the land, the Tower guarded royal possessions and even the royal family in times of war and rebellion.
But for 500 years monarchs also used the Tower as a surprisingly luxurious palace. Throughout history, the Tower has also been a visible symbol of awe and fear. Kings and queens imprisoned their rivals and enemies within its walls. The stories of prisoners, rich and poor, still haunt the Tower.
Immediately after his coronation (Christmas 1066), William I the Conquerer began to erect fortifications on the site to dominate the community and to control access to the Upper Pool of London, the major port area before the construction of docks farther downstream in the 19th century. The central keep known as the White Tower (due to Henry III having it painted white in 1240) was built of limestone from Caen in Normandy and during the 12th and 13th centuries the fortifications were extended to beyond the city wall.
The Spookier Tower
The Tower has been a visitor attraction since the 18th century, but numbers of tourists increased dramatically in the 1800s. Visitors were fascinated by the stories of England’s turbulent and sometimes gruesome history. Stories of ghosts haunt the Tower. Anne Boleyn is said to stalk the site of her execution on Tower Green. Arbella Stuart, the cousin of Elizabeth I who starved while under arrest for marrying without royal permission, is said to frequent the Queen’s House still.
Two smaller ghosts are thought to be the ‘princes in the Tower’, and the Yeomen Warders even tell a chilling tale of a huge bear who occasionally appears to frighten visitors to death. The story of the two smaller ghosts is interesting as during the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI was murdered in the Tower in 1471 and, later, the children of his great rival Edward IV – the Princes in the Tower - vanished within its walls in 1483. Then, in 1674, two skeletons were unearthed at the Tower. The bones were re-examined in 1933 and proved to be those of two boys aged about 12 and 10, exactly the same ages as the princes when they disappeared.
How spooky?!
Famous Prisoners
Throughout its history the tower was used to imprison a wide range of prisoners, from deposed monarchs to more common criminals. Prisoners included Lady Jane Grey, who was queen for about a week in the 16th century before she was deposed by Mary I. Two of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, were both imprisoned and later executed. Henry VIII, who turned England into a Protestant country, also had a number of dissenting clergyman committed to the tower and later killed, including his former counselor Thomas More.
Another notable prisoner was Guy Fawkes, who in 1605 attempted to blow up the House of Lords and the monarch by detonating gunpowder in the cellars below. He was imprisoned in the tower and tortured. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, the tower was used less commonly for prisoners. The last prisoner of note to spend time in the tower was Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, who fled to Scotland in 1941 and was sent to the tower briefly until he was transferred.
William Penn (founder of the Province of Pennsylvania) was imprisoned in the Tower of London for 8 months in 1668, after writing a follow-up tract entitled The Sandy Foundation Shaken as this attacked the doctrine of the trinity. Though freed, Penn argued on behalf of the thousands of jailed Quakers. In Bushel’s Case, 1670, Penn was arrested and tried. When the jury came back with a not guilty verdict, the judge put the entire jury in jail. Penn’s dying father paid the fine to get him out of jail, telling him: “Let nothing in this world tempt you to wrong your conscience.”
Sir Henry Vane the younger was executed at the Tower of London. He was a puritan who emigrated to Boston Massachussetts between 1635-37. He became Governor of Massachussetts in 1636 but returned to England in 1637. He became joint-treasurer of the navy in 1636 and treasurer in 1639-41 and a leading figure in Parliament during the Commonwealth. Vane was one of the twenty non-regicides who were excluded from the Act of Indemnity. He was brought to trial in June 1662 charged with high treason. He conducted a skilful defence in which he asserted the supreme power of Parliament, which is said to have prompted Charles II to remark that Vane was "too dangerous a man to let live". He was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. Rather than the usual traitor's death, Vane was beheaded at Tower Hill on 14 June 1662, his courage and dignity on the scaffold greatly impressing observers.
The Crown Jewels
Kings and queens of England have stored crowns, robes, and other items of their ceremonial regalia at the Tower of London for over 600 years. Since the 1600s, the coronation regalia itself, commonly known as the 'Crown Jewels' have been protected at the Tower.
Over 30 million people have seen them in their present setting at the Tower. They are possibly the most visited objects in Britain, perhaps the world. But most remarkable of all is that this a unique working collection. The Imperial State Crown is usually worn by the monarch for the State Opening of Parliament. When the next coronation comes around, key items will be taken to Westminster in readiness for the ceremony.
The Crown Jewels
The Beefeaters
Over the ensuing centuries, many towers as well as a protective wall were added to the Tower of London complex. In the late 1200s, for example, King Edward I ordered the construction of a mint in the complex, which remained in use until 1968.
Since 1485, security at the Tower of London complex has been maintained by a special order of guards known as the Yeomen Warders, commonly known as “the Beefeaters.” The name of the Beefeaters is allegedly based on a comment from an Italian nobleman in the 17th century, who remarked that members of the security corps were given a large daily ration of beef.
The Beefeaters
Sources Used:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tower-of-London
https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/tower-of-london
https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-story-of-the-tower-of-london/#gs.cwh9pv
https://www.livescience.com/42821-tower-of-london.html
https://www.fggam.org/2014/03/william-penn-imprisoned-in-the-tower-of-london-for-8-months/
http://bcw-project.org/biography/sir-henry-vane
https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/explore-the-collection/551-600/sir-henry-vane-the-younger-kt/