The Tower of London

There are may things to see whilst at the Tower Of London:

THE CROWN JEWELS
The Tower of London has been home to the world famous British Crown Jewels since the beginning of the fourteenth century. Still used by the Queen and her family today, the Crown Jewels are an essential part of the visit.

THE MEDIEVAL PALACE
The Tower of London was a residence for the kings and queens of England as well as being a fortress. These rooms are shown as they may have appeared in the reign of Edward I (1272-1307). Presentations by costumed guards and an exhibition about how the buildings were restored can be found inside.

THE WALL WALK
The Tower of London is surrounded by a series of massive defence walls. A walk around the eastern section provides an opportunity to see how the wall towers have been used since the thirteenth century.

THE WHITE TOWER
Begun in the reign of William the Conqueror (1066-1087), the White Tower marks the start of the Tower of London's history. At present it is home to part of the Royal Armouries and houses four floors of weaponry and armour, and a shop. The remainder of the arms and armour are now stored at The Royal Armouries in Leeds, a purpose built modern museum constructed in 1996.

TOWER GREEN
Some of the Tower's most famous prisoners were held around Tower Green including Sir Walter Raylegh, kept in the Bloody Tower for 13 years. At the site of the scaffold two of Henry VIII's wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, were beheaded.

WESTERN ENTRANCE AND WATER LANE
An impression of how the Tower was protected from attack can be gained by entering through the West Gate. In Water Lane Traitors Gate can be found. This is where many famous prisoners entered the Tower for the last time.

THE RAVENS
The ravens are one of the most famous sights at the Tower Of London. Legend has it that Charles II was warned that should the Ravens leave the Tower, the monarchy would fall. After this warning the ordered that henceforth a small population should always remain (they do,in fact, have one of their wings clipped...just to make sure!). Information on the ravens can be found next to their lodgings outside the White Tower.

SHOPPING
White Tower Shop
Located within the White Tower, has ranges inspired by the history of the Tower, particularly relating to the Royal Armouries exhibition. Range includes a variety of replica helms and armour.
West Gate Shop
Situated opposite the main entrance. This shop offers souvenirs of your visit to the Tower. Gifts include guide books, t-shirts, teddybears.
Jewel House Shop
Near the exit to the Jewel House offers exclusive products based on the Crown Jewels (unfortunately quite expensive).
Medieval Palace Shop
This shop is near to the Ravens lodgings. Its range is based on the history of the Tower including the Yeoman Warders and the Medieval Palace. Range includes posters showing the monarchs of England, tapestries (hangings, bags and cushions), and other goods.

REFRESHMENTS
New Armouries Café
The New Armouries was originally built as a storehouse in 1663. As the new Tower restaurant it has a varied selection of foods for Tower visitors. The menu includes hot and cold dishes, sandwiches, cakes, children's meals and hot and cold beverages. (We ate in here, had sandwiches. The food tasted ok but was VERY expensive. If weather allows probably better to take a picnic than eat onsite)
Tower Café and Kiosk
Prét á Manger at the Tower has two outlets on the Wharf selling sandwiches, cakes and hot and cold beverages.

 

We managed to see much that the Tower has to offer when we visited in March 2003. There are parts that we didn't managed to see though. Below is some more information on the areas we didn't manage to see.

THE WALL WALK

The Wall Walk takes visitors round the four towers along the east side of the castle; The Salt Tower, The Broad Arrow Tower, The Constable Tower and The Martin Tower.

The Salt Tower
The first tower on the Wall Walk is the Salt Tower. The ground floor would have been used for storage during peaceful times. At times of trouble, archers would have been able to protect the walls of the castle at low levels by shooting though the arrow loops within the embrasures.

The first floor chamber, as well as more arrow loops, contains an original hooded fireplace abd a garderobe (lavatory), which are two essential features of a chamber fit for an occupant of high status. One of the earliest residents of the Salt Tower seems to prove this. John Baliol, previously King of Scotland (1292-96) was held here for three years between 1296 and 1299 after surrendering his crown to Edward I after defeat in battle. During the Tudor period the upper chamber was in constant use as a prison cell. Many Catholic priests were held here during the reign of Elizabeth I. Some of the inscriptions they carved into the walls during their imprisonments can be seen here including that of the English Jesuit priest Henry Walpole (1558-1595).

From the Salt Tower the Wall Walk leads the the Broad Arrow Tower.

The Broad Arrow Tower
From the 1300's the Broad Arrow Tower was associated with the Wardrobe. This was a department of the government responsible for the royal supplies. The tower takes its name from the broad arrow stamped on goods to show their royal ownership. In later centuries its main function, like many of the other towers, was as a prison. Like the Salt Tower it contains many inscriptions made by prisoners kept there. To the left of the fireplace is an inscription attributed to Giovanni Battista Castigilone, the Italian tutor of Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I, who was held here during the Protestant uprisings during the reign of Queen Mary I, Elizabeth's sister.

The Wall Walk now takes visitors behind the Hospital Block and the back of the Headquaters of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers to the Constable Tower.

The Constable Tower
The Constable Tower now houses a model depicting the Tower of London as it might have appeared during the reign of Edward III, c.1335.

The last tower on this Wall Walk is the Martin Tower.

The Martin Tower
This is the tower that displayed the Crown Jewels from 1669, for around two hundred years, hence it being known as The Jewel Tower previously. The Jewels were housed on the ground floor whilst the upper rooms were for the residence of the Keeper of The Regalia. Today the Martin Tower houses an exhibition called "Crowns and Diamonds: the making of the Crown Jewels".

At the present time this is where you descend the Wall Walk into the Inner Ward. There are a further four towers that are not currently open to the public. The Brick Tower, Flint Tower, Bowyer Tower and the Devereux Tower.

 

THE BEAUCHAMP TOWER
This tower is situated on Tower Green, in close proximity to the site of the scaffold. It was built by Edward I around 1281 to replace the twin towered gatehouse of King Henry III's time which had controlled the land entrance to his castle across the moat. The tower takes it name from Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who was imprisoned there by Richard II from 1397-1399.

It was especially suitable for prisoners of high rank due to its close proximity to the Constable or his deputy who resided where the Queen's House now stands and because of the ample accomodation it affords. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and his five sons were held here during the reign of Mary I; Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, died within the Beauchamp Tower walls during Elizabeth I's reign and during the reign of James I Lord Cobham spent the last 14 years of his life here.

Today the lower chamber of the tower has on show a very rare 15th century crossbow (we didn't realised this otherwise we would have made a beeline for the Beauchamp Tower!) and a display explaining the original defence functions of the tower and the other wall towers.

THE CHAPEL ROYAL OF ST PETER AD VINCULA
The chapel isn't a place that you can just walk into whenever you want to. Visitors are only permitted into the chapel during one of the services, on a Yeoman Warder tour or after 4.30pm.

The chapel is situated close to the site of the Scaffold and is the last resting place of all seven who died there and of many who died on Tower Hill. St Peter's had originally been a parish church outside the walls of the Tower until it was incorporated into the castle when it was enlarged by Henry III.

THE FUSILIERS MUSEUM
The Museum of the Royal Regiment of the Fusiliers is on the east side of the Inner Ward. Close by are to former Ordnance buildings, the Hospital Block and the New Armouries.
The regiment was founded in 1685 by James II (1685-1688) to protect the royal guns kept within the Tower. Two of these guns flank the steps to the museum. The museum contains accounts and exhibits from the many campaigns the regiment have been involved in. These include the American War of Independence, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, the troubles in Northern Ireland and the Gulf War.

 

OTHER INTERESTING INFORMATION
Here are some snippets of information about the Tower that may be of some interest.

1) There was originally a tower where the West Gate shop now stands called the Lion Tower. It was here that the Royal Menagerie was kept until 1834 when it was moved to form the nucleus of London Zoo.

2)Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I, was imprisoned in the Tower for two months in 1554 while she was being questioned about her knowledge of plots against her sister Mary I.

3)Twenty different masons' marks are preserved in the lower Wakefield Tower. These marks were used by masons on piecework to identify every stone which they had cut, so that the paymaster could calculate how much money was due to each mason.

4)In 1641 the Lanthorn Tower was described as being 'parte of the kings lodgings, under which is a prisoners lodging, with a dore next to the lowe gardens'.

5)The Inscriptions in the Wall Walk towers include those of Ambrose Rookewoode (Martin Tower) and Sir Everard Digby (Broad Arrow Tower), two of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot who were held at the Tower before being executed in 1606.

6)The first Keeper of the Regalia was Talbot Edwards who died in September 1674 and was buried in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula on Tower Green. His memorial stone can be seen on the south wall of the Chapel.

7)The Crown Jewels have been held at the Tower of London since the 14th century, except for the duration of the Second World War when they were moved to a secret location before being returned to the Tower in 1945.

8)Tower Green is the setting for many of the Tower's traditional ceremonies including state parades, the swearing-in of new Yeoman Warders and the Installation of the Constable, a ceremony which takes place every five years when a new Constable of the Tower is appointed.

9)The seven famous executions held at the Scaffold are:
i)William, Lord Hastings. 1483. Hurriedly beheaded after his arrest at a meeting of the royal council at the Tower, on the orders of the Protector, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Anne Boleyn. 1536.
iii)Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. 1541.
iv) Catherine Howard. 1542.
v)Jane, Viscountess Rochford. Catherine Howard's lady-in-waiting. 1542.
vi)Lady Jane Grey. 1554.
vii)Robert Devereux, Earl Of Essex. 1601.

10)The five women above were the only women to suffer death by beheading for treason.

11)Anne Boleyn was beheaded with a sword, in the manner of French people of rank, rather than with the customary axe. The sword was brought to the Tower from Calais by a Frenchman especially to perform the task.

12)In the White Tower in 1399 King Richard II was condemned as a tyrant and forced to abdicate by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, who became King Henry IV (1399-1413).

13)The first recorded prisoner at the Tower of London was Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham, who was imprisoned in the White Tower in 1100 by the orders of Henry 1. In 1101 he managed to escape, using a rope smuggled to him in a pot of wine, and fled to Normandy.

14)The Fusiliers' first Colonel was George Legge, Lord Dartmouth who was also the Constable of the Tower. In 1691 he was accused of conspiring against the new king, William II, and was imprisoned in the Tower where he died before he could be brought to trial.

15)One of the first recorded royal salutes to be fired from the Tower of London was on Whit Sunday 1533 to mark the coronation of Anne Boleyn. Since then gun salutes have been fired to mark a variety of occasions including the Union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1800 and the opening of Tower Bridge in 1894.

 

GLOSSARY OF USEFUL TERMS

ARSENAL: An establishment for the manufacture and storage of arms and ammunition.
BARBICAN: An outer defence protecting the entrance to a castle.
BASTION: A projecting part of a fortress, especially one at the angle of a wall, from which the ground before the wall or rampart is defended.
CAPITALS: The head or crowning feature of a column.
CASTELLATED: Having battlements, or other 'military' features.
CRENELLATION: Battlement or raised part of parapet with openings to either side.
CURTAIN WALL: A wall enclosing a castle or one of its parts
EMBRASURES: A recess for a window, door etc, or a small opening in a defensive wall or parapet (usually splayed on the inside) used as a shooting position.
LOOP: A narrow vertical slit ina defensive wall, from which bows, and later guns, could be shot. The interior of the loop was often deeply splayed to increse the angle of fire.
MURAL TOWERS: Wall Towers.
NEO-GOTHIC: A modern form of Gothic architecture (the style prevalent in Western Europe from the 12th to the 15th century) popular in the 19th century.
PORTCULLIS: A heavy iron or wooden grating lowered vertically as a defensive barrier at the entrance of a gatehouse.
PROOF YARD: A place for testing cannons or small fire-arms.
ROMANESQUE: The style of architecture current in the 11th and 12th centuries, characterised by round arches and vaults.
SLIT: see loop.
VAULT: An arched ceiling or roof, usually of stone or brick.
WINDLASS: A mechanical device for raising weights by winding a rope or chain upon a barrel or drum driven by a crank.

 

OTHER HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES IN AND AROUND LONDON

HAMPTON COURT PALACE: The Palace is set in 60 acres of stunning gardens which include popular features such as the Maze and the Great Vine.
Enquiries telephone: 0870 752 7777; ticket sales: 0870 753 7777.

THE BANQUETING HOUSE, WHITEHALL: The Banqueting House is the only surviving part of Whitehall Palace.It was here that Charles I, the only English monarch to be executed, met his fate.
Enquiries telephone: 0870 751 5178.

KENSINGTON PALACE: Birthplace of Queen Victoria. The public have access to the State Apartments and the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection.
Enquiries telephone: 0870 754 5170; ticket sales: 0870 754 5180.

KEW PALACE: Set in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Provides a glimpse into Royal domestic life in the early part of the 19th century. At March 2003 closed for refurbishment.
Enquiries telephone: 0870 752 7777.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S COTTAGE: Also in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Named for Queen Charlotte, consort to George III.
Enquiries telephone: 0870 752 7777.

TOWER OF LONDON: Enquiries telephone: 0870 756 6060; ticket sales: 0870 756 7070

MORE INFORMATION ON THE HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES IS AVAILABLE ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.hrp.org.uk