THE TOWER OF LONDON
In the 1070s, William the Conqueror, began to build a massive stone fortress in London, to defend and proclaim his royal power.
Nothing like it had ever been seen in England before.
The Tower took around 20 years to build.
Nearly 1000 years later, the Tower still has the capacity to fascinate and horrify.
Henry III and Edward I, expanded William’s fortress, adding huge defensive walls with a series of smaller towers, and enlarging the moat.
Arms and armour were made, tested and stored here until the 1800s.
The Tower of London has also been the infamous setting for stories of royal tragedy, and death.
During the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI was murdered here in 1471 and later, the children of his great rival Edward IV – the Princes in the Tower – vanished within its walls in 1483.
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, the same ages as the princes when they disappeared.
The Tower is the protector of the Crown Jewels, and home of the Yeoman Warders ~ and the Tower’s legendary guardians, the Ravens.
One of the most famous legends of the Tower surrounds the ravens.
The story goes that should the ravens leave the Tower, both it, and the kingdom will fall.
The Tower also has a richer and more complex history, having been home to a wide array of institutions including the Royal Mint, 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.
For 500 years monarchs also used the Tower as a home.
Kings and queens lived in luxurious apartments at the Tower.
They worshipped in the Chapel Royal, and welcomed foreign rulers at magnificent ceremonial occasions.
Although long since vanished, there was once a splendid royal palace to the south of the White Tower.
Henry VIII modernised the rooms inside in preparation for the coronation of his new bride, Anne Boleyn in 1533.
Anne and the King feasted here in splendour the night before Anne processed in triumph through the City of London to Westminster Abbey.
Three years later Anne was back at the Tower, this time accused of adultery and treason.
She was held in the same luxurious lodgings, before being exEcuted by sword on the 19th May 1536.
Kings and queens imprisoned their rivals and enemies within its walls.
Some stayed for only a few days, other many years.
During the Tudor age, the Tower became the most important state prison in the country.
The future Elizabeth I, Lady Jane Grey, Sir Walter Raleigh and Guy Fawkes were all ‘sent to the Tower’.
Even in the 20th century, German spies were brought here and shot.
The stories of prisoners, rich and poor, still haunt the Tower.
The Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula, is perhaps best known as being the burial place of some of the most famous Tower prisoners.
This includes three queens of England: Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard and Jane Grey, all of whom were exEcuted within the Tower in the 16th century.
Henry VIII’s wives Anne and Katherine were accused of adultery and treason.
Lady Jane Grey was an unfortunate pawn in a plot to replace Mary I, and was exEcuted for high treason in 1554, aged only 17.
In 1876, when the Chapel was restored, the remains unearthed in the chancel, including those of Anne Boleyn, were reburied beneath a marble pavement, inscribed with their names and coats of arms.
When the gates are locked and all the visitors have gone, the Tower embraces a thriving community within its walls.
The Tower of London is still home to the Yeomen Warders and their families, the Resident Governor, and a garrison of soldiers.
There is a doctor and a chaplain.
And there is even a pub!
Today the Yeoman Warders or the ‘Beefeaters’ guard the visitors, but still carry out ceremonial duties, such as unlocking and locking the Tower every day in the Ceremony of the Keys.
They wear their red state ‘dress uniforms’ for important occasions at the Tower, and also for special events such as the firing of the huge cannon on the Wharf, known as the Gun Salutes.