The Tower of London

1. The Tower of London History Year 8

2. The White Tower

3. To the far south east corner of the City of London lies, arguably, the most famous and historic of all London landmarks. The UK’s top visitor attraction - The Tower of London.

4. Dominated at its centre by the very recognisable White Tower, the history of The Tower of London extends right the way back nearly 1,000 years to when William the Conqueror first built the White Tower in 1078 as a fortress to protect the City.

5. William the Conqueror The great central keep was built by William the Conqueror and finished by his sons and successors, William Rufus and Henry I.

6. The Tower of London is the oldest palace, fortress and prison in Europe. The site William chose was the same one on which Claudius, the Roman Emperor, had built a fort more than a thousand years earlier; traces of the Roman wall can still be seen in the Tower. As king succeeded king the fortress was enlarged by building walls and smaller towers around the central keep. Towards the end of the 12th century Richard I added to its might by encircling it with a moat fed by the River Thames. (The moat was drained in 1830 whereupon many human bones were found – ugh!) The Tower of London is roughly square in shape with two lines of defensive walls enclosing the great White Tower. At intervals on the inner wall are thirteen smaller towers; this is the Inner Ward. The outer wall is defended by six towers on the river face, and by two semi-circular bastions at the northeast and northwest corners.

7. And ever since, over the centuries, The Tower of London has been at the very heart of English history having been closely associated with many famous and, indeed, infamous historical figures - as well as a few not inconsiderable historical events, mostly, it has to be said, of the bloodiest and most grizzly kinds.

8. Home, sweet home! • In the White Tower the medieval kings of England lived with their families and their court. • Here was the seat of government and here the laws of the land were made. • The royal family lived in the top storey; the council chamber was on the floor below.

9. It was customary for each monarch to lodge in the Tower before his coronation and to ride in procession to Westminster through the city of London from the Tower. • John Stow wrote during the reign of Elizabeth I, The Tower of London was "...a citadel to defend or command the city, a royal palace for assemblies or treaties, a prison of state for the most dangerous offenders; the only place of coinage for all England, the armoury for warlike provision; the treasury of the ornaments and jewels of the crown; and general conserver of the most records of the queen's courts of justice". • In fact the Tower was no longer used as a royal residence, except before coronations, when Stow wrote those words. The Tudors had changed all that.

10. Because when Henry VIII came to the throne he had different ideas! • Shortly after Henry VIII was crowned, his chief London residence, the Palace of Westminster, was destroyed by fire. So he was forced to make frequent use of the Tower. • But then he began building his new palace at Bridewell. • Some time after 1529 Cardinal Wolsey gave him York Place which Henry VIII transformed into Whitehall Palace. • And soon after that he began to build St. James Palace. • So he had little use for the rather cramped conditions in the Tower except for ceremonial occasions such the crowning of Anne Boleyn

11. Other uses of the Tower • The Tower was used as fortress and a prison. • It has housed the Royal Mint, the Public Records, and the Royal Observatory • For centuries it was the arsenal for arms and armour. • And, since it is one of the strongest fortresses in England, it has guarded and continues to guard the crown jewels.

12. In Henry VIII’s reign • The Tower adapted to the new age of artillery. Guns were positioned on various towers and the roof beams had to be strengthened in order to carry the weight. • Usually the guns had no more than a ceremonial function. However, when riots broke out in the city during the early reign of Henry VIII, he used the guns to try and subdue the mob. It didn't work! • The Tower had been used as an arsenal since the 14th century. Henry expanded that. Within a few years of his accession the Tower held so many guns a visitor noted "Hell itself could not resist so powerful a force". Though Henry bought many of the arms from foreign sources, he also brought gun founders to London and set up a gun foundry and gunpowder mill in the Tower. • Henry had so much ordnance he used all available space within the Tower for storage. When he ran out of room in Tower itself he built a new warehouse. • The ordnance stored at the Tower supplied not only Henry's Army, but his Navy as well. Today Henry's largest gun, 5 tons, which was used on his flagship The Great Harry is once again in the Tower along with guns from The Mary Rose.

13. The Lion Tower • And from the 13th century until 1834 it housed the Royal Menagerie in the Lion Tower. • Henry I kept lions in the tower, hence its name. • Henry II was sent 3 leopards by Frederick III, and a white bear from the King of Norway, and later an elephant from Louis of France. • James I is said to have entertained his guests to a bear baiting display in the Bear Pit. • In 1834 the menagerie was sent to Regents Park where it formed the nucleus of the present London Zoo.

14. The Lion Tower

15. Traitor’s Gate • When you first arrive at the Tower, you walk by the water entry which has come to be known as Traitor's Gate. Traitors gate

16. Traitor’s Gate • It is here, the entrance to the Tower of London from the River Thames, through which many high ranking prisoners came to serve their sentence. • Many famous prisoners arrived at the Tower this way, including Elizabeth 1 before she became Queen, when she was imprisoned by her sister Mary. • Elizabeth is said to have proclaimed upon that landing in 1554: "Here lands as true a subject, being prisoner, as ever landed at these stairs."

17. Why was she imprisoned? • When her Roman Catholic half-sister, Mary I, inherited the crown in 1553, Elizabeth faced different dangers. • She was now sought out to lead Protestant conspiracies, despite the fact that she had supported Mary’s accession and attended Catholic services. • Mary was afraid of what Elizabeth might do.

18. In 1554 Mary had Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower of London, briefly threatened her with execution, and then placed her under house arrest. Elizabeth lived quietly at her family’s country retreat north of London until she became queen upon her sister’s death in 1558.

19. Inside St Thomas’s Towerwhere Elizabeth lived St Thomas’ Tower

20. Prison

21. Elizabeth spent just two months in the Tower of London, but she had no idea that her stay would be so brief - and it did not feel particularly brief.  She truly believed some harm would come to her and she dwelt most upon the possibility of poison.  She knew Mary hated her and that many of her councillors constantly spoke ill of her, encouraging either her imprisonment or execution.

22. The Tower as a prison • The Tower of London was used to imprison only the aristocracy. • Ordinary folks were generally sent to Newgate Prison and executed at Tyburn 3 miles away (where the present day Marble Arch stands. • Many of the aristocracy were beheaded on Tower Hill, before a large crowd

23. A public beheading!

24. Tower Green • There is a plaque that commemorates the spot on Tower Green where the scaffold stood for private executions. • The area was paved by order of Queen Victoria. The plaque lists the names of people known to have been executed here.

25. Main entrance today

26. Beefeater

27. Although the Tower of London is today seen as a visitor attraction, it is also a thriving community; about 150 people still live within its walls including the Yeoman Warders (or ‘Beefeaters’) and their families, the Tower Doctor and Chaplain, the Resident Governor and, of course, the famous Ravens.

28. Beefeaters • The Yeoman Warders came to be nicknamed ‘Beefeaters’ because of the special rations and privileges they have enjoyed over the centuries enabling them to dine, for example, on unlimited amounts of meat - beef in particular. However, this was sometimes frowned upon as being inappropriate and unfair, especially at times when meat was considered a luxury and well beyond the means of ordinary people.

29. There was never a time when the Tower was only used as prison, and there were long periods when there were no prisoners at all. The most intensive period of internment was between the mid-16th and mid-17th centuries. Within the castle, there are no purpose-built 'prison cells'; prisoners have been kept in whatever space could be found for them.

31. The Bell Tower

32. The Crown Jewels

33. The Ravens Legend has it that Charles II was told that if the Ravens left the Tower, the monarchy would fall; so he ensured that a limited number would be kept here permanently. The Ravens are cared for by one of the Yeoman Warders, with the title of Ravenmaster. Their lodgings, next to the Wakefield Tower, can be visited. Ever since, seven ravens are in permanent residence in the Tower of London; their wings are clipped, so they can't fly away.

34. Your week next week: • Each person or pair must choose from this list: • Women in Tudor times • Tudor houses and homes • The poor in Elizabethan England • Medicine in Tudor times • Tudor Christmas ( and include other celebrations like weddings if you like) • Theatres in Tudor time ( including Shakespeare) • Tudor food and drink - maybe a recipe or 2? • Tudor clothes • Education in Tudor times • Crime and Punishment in Tudor times • Book your topic early to avoid disappointment, as no repeats are permitted.