The Tower of London

Visited 8th March 2003--------Entry £11.50 per adult

Report by Midgey

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Our visit to the Tower was put off for quite a while for the simple fact of the cost. We were pleased to discover in a railway promotion that we could go to the Tower on a buy one get one free basis, so that's what we decided to do. We decided to go early in the year to avoid the main tourist crowds, were actually surprised at the amount of people. It was by no means packed but there we a lot of people there, especially as the weather was pretty bad. We didn't let that deter us though, and after purchasing tickets and a guide to the Tower we headed in through the first main gateway in the Middle Tower, across a walkway and under the archway of the Byward Tower before we entered into the outer parts of the grounds.

Most of the area between the inner curtain walls was eventually occupied by the workshops, offices and houses of the Royal Mint which produced the country's currency. The section north of the Bell Tower is still called Mint Street.

As we exited the Byward Tower arch we found ourselves in the outer ward of the tower, opposite the Bell Tower. Water Lane was directly in front of us, a small shop and information were to our right and Mint Street was to our left.

For the first part of our tour we decided to explore the outer curtain between the entrance and the Cradle Tower. First stop was to look at Traitors Gate. The watergate was created during the expansion by Edward I as a new water entrance to the tower to replace to watergate of the Bloody Tower behind it. It is now referred to as Traitor's Gate because of the number of prisoners accused of treason who are supposed to have passed into the tower through it. The pool behind the Gate used to be home to an engine which was used for raising water to a cistern on the roof of the White Tower. The engine originally used the force of the tide or horse power to complete its task but was later converted to steam. in 1724-26 it was adapted to drive machinery for boring gun barrels and removed finally in the 1860's.

Water Lane got it's name for the simple reason that in the past it was under the Thames! The Outer Ward of the Castle wasn't created until Edward I's expansion of the Tower in 1275-85. Before this the inner curtain wall was right up against the riverside.

After Traitors Gate, we carried on along Water Lane to the Cradle Tower. There wasn't all that much to see here. The Cradle Tower was built by Edward III as a private watergate for his new lodgings. It was another of the towers later used as prison lodgings.

On leaving the Cradle Tower, we headed back towards the entrance to head into St Thomas's Tower, situated above Traitor's Gate. This is the first building to make up the Medieval Palace. It has been restored to show visitors to the tower the parts of the tower that were generally used by the Kings of England when they were in residence. This tower wasn't even open to the public until the early 1990's. The first room in the tower is unrestored but the second has been reconstructed to show what the King's private hall would have looked like in King Edward's time. In the small turret which looks over the wharf to Tower Bridge is a small room for prayer known as an oratory. We had to leave St Thomas's Tower via a covered walkway above Water Lane which leads into the Wakefield Tower.

The Wakefield Tower was originally called the Blundeville Tower after the then Constable of the Tower, John Blundeville. It was also known as the Hall Tower because of its close proximity to the medieval great hall. Also later as the Record Tower, when it became a repository for documents.

The Wakefield Tower is the second largest and also forms part of the Medieval Palace. In was built during the reign of Henry III, between 1220 and 1240. The chamber we first entered, the Upper Chamber, has been furnished to evoke it's appearence during the reign of Henry III's son, Edward I. After Edwards death the Wakefield Tower was abandoned as a residence and eventually housed the Crown Jewels for a while.

To leave the Wakefield Tower we had to walk up a spiral staircase which led to the south Wall Walk towards the Lanhorn Tower. This Wall Walk is an ideal lookout over the Inmost Ward of the Tower. The original Lanhorn Tower was built at the same time as the Wakefield Tower but was gutted by fire in 1774 and soon after demolished. The present tower was reconstructed in the late 19th century and today contains a number of 13th century artefacts which further illustrate life in the time of Edward I. We exited the Lanhorn Tower down the Queen Elizabeth II steps and went through the Queen Elizabeth II Arch back onto Water Lane. From there we went to look at Henry III's watergate before heading into the inmost ward and to the Bloody Tower.

Midgey's fanaticism for cuddly toys goes a bit too far...

I was always fascinated when I was younger with the stories told about the Bloody Tower and was so excited when my parents informed me that we were finally going to visit the Tower when I was about eleven. By then I had built up all these ideas of it being like a ghost house or something like that (had a love of the macabre even at that age!) and so was actually quite disappointed when I saw that there wasn't any walled up skeletons or, well, blood there. I went to the Tower again when I was 21. At that point it was decorated as it is today; to reflect what the room was like when Walter Raylegh was imprisioned there and I found it actually looked quite a nice place to be imprisoned! Even though I now know that it was unlikely that the young princes were even held in the tower (it is thought that they were more likely to have been held captive in the White Tower) it does still have some sort of hold over me and I make sure I visit it every time I go to the Tower of London, which is about 5 times now.

The Bloody Tower was once known as the Garden Tower as it adjoined the Lieutenants garden. It became known as the Bloody Tower sometime during the Tudor period because (or so James I was told when he visited the Tower in 1604) it was where the "Princes in the Tower" were murdered. Of course there has been much speculation over the princes disappearance for many years, especially the part that Richard III, then the Duke of Gloucester, played in it all.

There have been two authenticated violent deaths within the walls of the Bloody Tower. In 1585 the Earl Of Northumberland shot himself to escape conviction for treason, and in the reign of James I Sir Thomas Overbury was poisoned whilst a prisoner there, a scandal which touched the King himself.

When we left the Bloody Tower we stopped for a quick drink by the site of the scaffold, which is another of my favourite parts of the Tower. This is the place in the Tower grounds where seven famous prisoners were executed (excuse my morbidity). When I first visited the Tower with my parents I was bought a book which contained a few stories about the Tower. One of which was about Margaret Pole, the 70 year old Countess of Salisbury who was executed in 1541 by order of Henry VIII basically for having Yorkist blood and for being loyal to Rome. I will have to be forgiven if the details are sketchy as I can't find the book and it was 17 years ago. Basically the reason this story has stayed with me is that this woman refused to go quietly to her death. The executioner had to chase her round and eventually hack her to death because she just wouldn't go down without a fight. I suppose I have always admired her for having the courage in that day and age, and at her advanced age, to stick to what she believed in. I suppose too in her way she reminded me of my grandmother who never really seemed to give up without a fight. That is what made this trip to the tower more emotional and memorable to me. The 8th March was her birthday, and the first I had spent without her as she passed away on 19th January this year after a long battle with many illnesses. The Tower of London was a place that she always wanted to visit with me. She had been in the early '60's with my grandfather to the Ceremony of the Keys and I think it was her retelling of that throughout my life that led to my fondness of the Tower.

My skill with a camera knows no bounds

At this point tummys started rumbling so we headed back past the Medieval Palace shop towards the eastern side of the Tower and into the New Armouries Café. This elegant building was built in 1663-64 for the Board of Ordnance as a new store for military equipment and supplies. In the 17th and 18th Centuries it was one of many stores, but it was the oldest and today is the only one to survive. It is now home to the main Tower restaurant. We only had sandwiches and a shared bag of crisps here but that was enough. There was a variety of cakes, sandwiches and hot meals available and it all looked quite nice, the only problem being...the price. Everything was so expensive.

Feeling refreshed after some food we decided to tackle the White Tower. saying tackle isn't really an exaggeration as the thing with the White Tower is that you can't just pop in, head to the area you are interested in, and pop out. Once you are in that's it. You have to examine all four floors; entrance floor, first second and basement, before you can leave the building, very clever!

Awww, they are so cute when they're not trying to peck your eyes out

(On the way there we got a good look at some of the ravens, I thought they were beautiful. I got within touching distance of one, but didn't want to lose any fingers! I noticed that this bird had only one wing trimmed, I assume the others are all the same. There is a legend that says that the monarchy will fall if the ravens leave the tower, so I guess someone decided they'd better not risk it and had the ravens's wings trimmed. I was hoping one would try to fly away because I wanted to see if it would spiral around and get dizzy. - Shimmer)

Hey, cool bag, the paper thing in Midgey's hand I mean

The White Tower is probably the best known part of the Tower of London as it is the oldest and largest building. The exact date that this magnificent tower was started is unknown but it is largely believed to be 1078. The White Tower is the home of the Tower Of London's section of the Royal Armouries. There was a time that the whole armouries was here. The majority is now held in a purpose built museum in Leeds and has been since 1996.

Nasty sharp pointy stick things

The Armouries in the Tower is the oldest museum in England, having its first recorded visitor in 1489. The museum today has been redesigned to tell the story of the Armouries in the Tower. The White Tower is made up of nine galleries/armouries that display a wide range of arms and amour across the centuries and from different countries. There is even one gallery specifically for Spanish arms and armour. In additon to the galleries there is the Chapel of St John the Evangelist on the first floor and a triforium on the second floor. There is also a quite expansive shop in the basement, though the stock isn't as good as that in Leeds Armouries - Midgey!.

Bloke in a skirt! Is that Eddie Izzard in there?

There are two main things here that I like above the others. One is Henry VII's skirted armour for wearing on horseback (see photo!) and the other is the Line Of Kings. This is basically what it says it is; a line of Kings of England. Though now it is mainly a line of replicas of each king's horse with armour mounted behind. The Line of Kings is first recorded in the Tower in October 1660, perhaps having been set up earlier in the year to celebrate the restoration of monarchy to England. It had come from Greenwich Palace. It is not known how many figures there were originally but was thought to include some or all the eight figures listed in Henry VIII's inventory of possessions in 1547. More figures were added over the years, the last in 1768. The line then consisted of the following kings: William I, Edward I, Edward III, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, James I, Charles I, Charles II, William III, George I and George II.

At this point only Henry VIII and Charles I actually wore their personal armour. Others had been shown in totally incorrect armour. Henry VII wore the silvered and engraved armour of Henry VIII, and an armour probably made for Charles I when he was Prince of Wales was given to the young king Edward V. The most amusing mistake had to be that of William the Conqueror. He had been dressed in a Greenwich armour of around 1590 and provided with a matchlock musket!!

On leaving the White Tower we decided that after a short break we would head over to see the Crown Jewels and then quickly look in the remaining shops before heading out of the Tower and onto pastures new. The Crown Jewels are now housed in the Waterloo Barracks, mainly called the Jewel House these days. In their time though they have been kept in other towers including Martin Tower and Wakefield Tower. Once inside the Jewel House you pass through a series of introductory areas which illustrate the use and history of the jewels, and include footage of the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, before reaching the treasury where the Crown Jewels are held.

The baked beans the night before finally did the trick of thinning out the crowds

This was the area where we encountered the most people. It is probably one of the main reason that foreign tourists visit the Tower. Also until you actually get into the Treasury you have to walk near enough in line as all the areas leading to the Treasury are cordoned off in such a way so that the only way to progress through is in an almost orderly line. ( I wasn't too impressed with the crown jewels, they look gaudy close up and they aren't really displayed all that well -Shimmer).

Not the best place to stand during wartime

On leaving the Jewel House we headed first to the Medieval Palace shop, then the West Gate shop in the main grounds just outside the Tower where the Lion Tower once stood. Once both shops had been thoroughly gone through we decided to call it a day, stopping only to admire the impressive cannon. A great day out, I really do recommend going out of season and trying to get a special offer on the price though.

Click here to read more about the Tower of London