Most Popular London Attractions #2 Tower of London
The Tower of London
Above: The Tower of London
The Tower of London is probably one of the world’s most famous palaces. It is also known as Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress or simply, The Tower.
It is found in central London, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough called Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
The tower’s primary functions are: as a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison for high status and royal prisoners. Its use as a prison was the origin for the term “sent to the Tower” connoting imprisonment. Other purposes of the tower include: execution and torture, an armory, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory. Since the turn of the 13th century the tower has also become the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Of course, now it is a tourist attraction – and one of the best in the city! (and probably the world!)
History
The Tower of London was built in 1078 by William the Conqueror. He ordered his court to build the “White Tower” inside the southeast corner of the city walls, adjacent to the River Thames. It was to separate them from the Londoners and also a protection to the Londoners from possible outside invaders. William ordered the tower to be built of Caen stone, a light creamy limestone quarried in northwestern France near the city of Caen. This gave the tower its white appearance. It was designed by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester. Kind of reminds of the Lord of the Rings – with the tower and, well, Gandalf.
In the 12th century, King Richard the Lionheart added a curtain wall to the Tower. Curtain walls in medieval times are made for added defense - it is another wall that serves like a fence. It is called so because the walls are like draped curtains, supported by the surrounding towers. King Richard also ordered to build a moat around the Tower. A moat, for those who did not know, is a body of water also used as added defense so that a castle or tower is only accessible through a bridge over the moat. This moat’s water came from the River Thames itself. The moat, however, was not completed until the reign of King Henry III, a full century after the moat was proposed. He also extended the curtain wall by breaking down the walls of the city to the east - despite protest from the surrounding populace and supernatural warnings. It was during his reign that the Tower was completely fashioned into a royal residence.
During the reign of King Edward I, another outer curtain wall was built around the first one. He then built another moat around the new outer wall.
Prisoners
Some of its more famous royal prisoners include the Princes in the Tower: Edward V of England and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York. They were sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. Both princes were declared illegitimate by an Act of Parliament in 1483 known as Titulus Regius. Richard III of England placed them both as prisoners in the Tower of London that very same year and no one had seen them since. Up until now there is still no concrete account as to what happened to the two – if they grew old there and died naturally or if they were actually killed in the dungeons. No funeral was ever made for the two. After almost two hundred years, during renovations to the tower, skeletons of two children were discovered under the staircase leading to the chapel. There was much speculation that they were the remains of the two princes and by order of King Charles II, the skeletons were reburied in Westminster Abbey.
Another famous prisoner was the future Queen Elizabeth I, who was imprisoned by then Queen Mary I for suspected collaboration with Protestant Rebel Thomas Wyatt. It was believed that his rebellion against the marriage of Philip of Spain and Queen Mary of England was all for the interest of Elizabeth. However, during his trial he did not confess enough to implicate the future queen. Nonetheless, she was put under house arrest for the rest of Queen Mary’s reign.
More Recent History
In 1830, with the advancements in weaponry and new age artillery, the moat was eventually drained and the military use of the Tower soon became a thing of the past. But the Tower remained a prison, especially during the World Wars. In the First World War, eleven German spies were executed in the Tower. Even Irish poet and patriot Roger Casement was imprisoned there during his treason trial in 1916.
In 1942, Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s deputy in the Nazi Party and a prominent figure in Nazi Germany went to Scotland to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom. He was arrested instead and was imprisoned in the tower for four days – during which a spy was placed in the same cell with him to learn of his true intentions. That spy was the last Englishman to be ever locked in the Tower. And the Tower remained a prison for all German POW’s throughout World War I.
The Tower officially remains a royal palace even though the true royal residence in now in Buckingham Palace. The Queen’s Guard still secures the place when it is open – one guarding the Queen’s House and one guarding the Jewel House.
Above: A sentry from the Coldstream Guards stationed outside the Jewel House.
Jewel House
You guessed it. This is where the Crown Jewels are kept.
Crown Jewels is a collective term for all the regalia and vestments worn by the sovereign of the United Kingdom. This includes crowns, scepters, orbs, swords, rings, spurs, colobium sindonis, dalmatic, armill, and the royal robe. All these have been in the Jewel House since 1303.
The current structure of the Jewel House was made in 1992, to accommodate the ever increasing visitors of the Jewels. Actually, this high traffic of visitors is what funded the reconstruction of the place. It cost around 10 millions pounds to construct the new building – which is now three times the size of the old Jewel House. They also applied a more efficient crowd management technique that can accommodate four times the number of visitors – averaging at around 2,500 heads in an hour. This feat is due largely through the use of the moving pavement. But unlike other vaults of this importance, the Jewel House is only a single-level, above ground building.
Colonel Blood
Above: One of the more famous stories of the Tower of London was that of Colonel Blood.
In 1671, Irish-born Colonel Thomas Blood visited the Tower of London dressed as a clergyman, together with a woman companion who pretended to be his wife. During this time, security of the Jewel House was lax, and the Crown Jewels could be viewed by simple payment of a fee. While viewing the jewels, Blood’s “wife” faked a sudden stomach ache and asked Mr. Talbot Edwards, Master of the Jewel House, to give her something to drink to help ease the pain. Since the ruckus was close to where the Edwards lived, the Master’s wife invited the “Bloods” to their household to recover. After some time, the “Bloods” thanked their kind hosts and left.
Over the next few days Blood returned to visit the Edwardses and presented Mrs. Edwards with gifts of white gloves as a gesture of thanks – and to get closer to the family. Blood even offered for a fictional “nephew” to marry the Edwardses’ daughter. On May 9, 1671, while waiting for dinner prepared by Mrs. Edwards, Blood convinced Mr. Edwards to show the Crown Jewels to him, his “nephew,” and two other friends. Blood’s accomplices concealed rapier blades inside their canes, and hid daggers and pocket pistols in their cloaks. Once inside and the door closed in, a cloak was thrown over Edwards and he was knocked to the floor, bound, gagged, and stabbed just enough to keep him from freeing himself.
Blood and his accomplices managed to flatten St. Edward’s Crown, file the Scepter with the Cross in two, and stuff the Sovereign’s Orb down one’s trousers. Around the same time, Mr. Edwards was able to free himself and sound the alarm.
Fleeing on horses, Blood was the only one captured. A certain Captain Beckman caught him before he reached the Iron Gate. The flattened out crown then fell from his cloak, to which Blood said, “It was a gallant attempt, however unsuccessful! It was for a crown!” Blood was then taken to the king and was asked by King Charles himself, “What if I should give you your life?” to which Blood replied, “I would endeavor to deserve it, Sire!”
Much to everybody’s surprise, Blood was pardoned for his crime. Plus, the King even gave him land in Ireland. Nobody can tell for sure why the King did so. Many believed that the king may have feared an uprising by Blood’s followers. While others believed that the king had a fondness for his audacity (Blood said the crown was only worth 6,000 pounds when in fact they were priced at 100,000). Some say that during that conversation, Blood revealed that he had previously plotted to kill the king while King Charles was bathing in the River Thames. Blood said that he was in “awe of majesty” – the reason why he decided not to pursue his plot. It has also been suggested that the attempted robbery was planned by the king himself – who was believed to be short of cash during that time.
Yoemen Warders
Above: One of the Yoemen Warders conducting a tour of the Tower of London.
The longer more politically correct term for this group is Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London – more popularly known as the Beefeaters. The term Beefeaters was possible derived from the payment of the Yoemen Warders, which included a ration of beef. But this was not just any kind of beef; it was beef straight from the King’s table - a privilege for the guards.
The Yoemen Warders are the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. In principle, since they are the royal guards of the Tower, they supposed to be responsible for looking after the prisoners of the Tower and, of course, safeguarding the British crown jewels. But in reality they act as the tour guides of the Tower. The Yeoman Warders are very popular and are well-loved by tourists who have come to visit the Tower of London.
Yeoman Warders began their service at the Tower in 1485. They are a chosen few. to be one of them, you must be former senior non-commissioned officer of the British Armed Forces with at least have 22 years of service behind you. You must either come from the Royal Army, the Royal Marines or the Royal Air Force - these members of the Armed Forces took their oaths to the Crown. Also, you must hold the Long Service and Good Conduct medals. Currently, there are a total of 35 Yeomen Warders and one Chief Warder.
The Yeoman Warders and their families live inside the fortress. Although, they must own residence outside for when they retire. So the community inside the Tower of London is made up of them and their families, the Resident Governor and officers, a chaplain and a doctor.
Each night, the Yeoman Warders participate in the famous Ceremony of the Keys:
Just before 10 in the evening, the Chief Warder (dressed in a special Tudor Watchcoat) meets the Military Escort (Yeoman Warders) and they make their way to secure the main gates of the Tower. On their way back to Water Lane, they are halted by a sentry (also played by a Warder):
Sentry: Who comes there?
Chief Warder: The keys.
Sentry: Whose keys?
Chief Warder: Queen Elizabeth’s keys.
Sentry: Pass Queen Elizabeth’s Keys. All’s well.
Then they make their way back into the fortress. Once at the bottom of the Broadwalk Steps they stop. On the top is another Sentry, who then presents arms to the Chief Warder, who in turn raises his hat and says:
Chief Warder: God preserve Queen Elizabeth.
Sentry: Amen!
He then takes the keys to the Queen’s House for safekeeping, while the Last Post is sounded. The Last Post is a bugle call used in British Army to signal the end of the day.
One Yeoman Warder serves as the Tower’s Ravenmaster - who takes care of the Tower’s, er, Ravens. The Ravens are said to have been living in the Tower for centuries. During the reign of King Charles II, he ordered to remove these ravens from the fortress, but was told of a legend that should these ravens ever leave, the tower, the monarchy, and the entire kingdom will crumble. Hence, the ravens were kept and they have been taken care of ever since. To prevent the birds from ever flying away, their wings are clipped slightly. The warders say that these ravens are the real “beefeaters” since they receive a daily ration of beef, bought from the market by the Ravenmaster himself.
There are currently nine ravens under the care of the Ravenmaster:
• Gwylum (male, 18 years old)
• Thor (male, 15 years old)
• Hugin (female, 11 years old)
• Munin (female, 11 years old)
• Branwen (female, 3 years old)
• Bran (male, 3 years old)
• Gundulf (male, 1 year old)
• Baldrick (male, 1 year old)
• Fleur (female, 4 years old)
Aside from the White Tower tours of the Yoemen Wardens, the Tower of London offers lots of different special tours to be enjoyed by the young and old alike. This is your chance to experience history as you are given the opportunity to wear a gauntlet, carry a musket, and draw swords and bows – and even be imprisoned Elizabethan style. You can visit the Medieval Palace, the Tower Green, and talk a walk along the inner curtain walls of the fortress. And don’t forget the Crown Jewels and the Ravens. This place is jam packed with things to do and historical attractions that will surely leave a cherished memory.
Tourist Info
The Tower of London is open all year round.
The summer schedule (March 1 to October 31 October) is Tuesday to Saturday from 9.00 in the morning til 6.00 in the evening, and on Sunday to Monday from 10.00 in the morning also til 6.00 in the evening. Last admission during the summer season is 5.00 in the evening.
The winter schedule (November 1 to February 28) is Tuesday to Saturday from 09.00 in the morning til 5.00 in the evening, and on Sunday to Monday from 10.00 in the morning also til 5.00 in the evening. Last admission during the winter season is 4.00 in the afternoon.
Here are the entry fees:
Adult £16.50
Child (5 to 15 yrs old) £09.50
Family (2 adults, 3 children) £46.00
Senior or Student £14.00
Senior or Student online price £12.00
Senior or Student visitors should have a valid identification ready for presentation to avail of the discount. Children under five get in for free.
You can call +44 (0) 20 7488 5663 for further details.
Here is a detailed map in and around the Tower of London:
