Avengers - Tower of London

THE TOWER OF LONDON

The Tower of London played an important role in Tudor history. Although it wasn't a major residence for the Tudor monarchs as it had been for the Plantagenets and earlier dynasties, it did serve as a prison very frequently.

THE ROYAL MENAGERIE

Not far from Middle Tower and the Thames River was another tower, now gone, that held a group of animals called the Royal Menagerie.

As early as the 1200s animals were kept in the Tower of London. King Henry II had leopards and a polar bear. The polar bear¹s trainer would attach a long leash to the bear and allow it to fish in the Thames River. James I baited his lions with dogs in the 1600s. Eventually the menagerie was moved to the new London Zoo in 1835.

THE MINT

Metals were worked and coins were minted for 500 years, beginning in the late 1200s, in the area called Mint Street.

TOWER GREEN AND SCAFFOLD SITE

Only seven executions took place on the Tower Green, reserved for the most important prisoners. Others occurred outside the Tower¹s walls.

In 1536 the gaoler (jailer) and others watched over Anne Boleyn¹s beheading.

Boleyn, who had been one of the wives of King Henry VIII, requested a sword, believing it would be swifter than an ax. Smart choice: Many beheadings took more than one swing of the ax.

There is a plaque showing the site of the scaffold used for the private executions on the Tower Green. Seven famous prisoners were executed here. The private executions took place on the Tower Green within the walls of the Tower to avoid embarrassing the prisoner or the monarch. Normally, the executions took place outside on Tower Hill and were usually viewed by thousands of spectators.

A plaque shows the names of those executed on the Tower Green along with the dates.

YEOMAN WARDERS HOMES

Yeoman warders and their families‹including James¹s family‹live in row houses along the thick outer walls of the Tower. Yeoman warders are often called beefeaters. Some say the nickname came about in the 1670s when certain men had to test the king¹s food to protect him against poisoning.

But the name probably originated because beefeaters were once given daily rations of meat as part of their pay. Today they receive a paycheck.

THE JEWEL HOUSE

The crown jewels are on display in the Jewel House in Waterloo Barracks. The priceless gems and crowns sometimes worn by England¹s royalty have been housed in different areas of the Tower since the 14th century.

In 1671 Thomas Blood and three accomplices made the only attempt to steal the crown jewels. Blood tucked a crown under his robe but was captured outside the Tower.

THE WHITE TOWER

Warders lock the Tower¹s outer gates each night just before ten o¹clock. But locked gates didn¹t stop Bishop Ranulf Flambard from escaping in 1101. The Tower¹s first prisoner‹and its first escapee‹lowered himself down the walls of the White Tower using a rope that had been smuggled into his cell.

Flambard was later pardoned.

The White Tower got its nickname after King Henry III ordered a coat of whitewash in 1240.

The oldest part of the Tower complex, construction is thought to have begun in 1078 under the orders of William the Conqueror. It is the oldest example of a Norman keep in England. Its dimensions are 90 feet tall and 107x118 feet across. The entrance to the Tower is on the first floor (second story in America) via a removable staircase, designed to make invasion of the Tower more difficult.

The name "White Tower" probably comes from when it was painted white during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272). The onion domes were added to the turrets in the 16th century. The earlier ones were probably cones or pyramids.

The Chapel of St. John the Evangelist is located on the second floor of the White Tower. It is one of the earliest church interiors preserved in England. At one time the columns were possibly painted in bright colors. This was the place of worship for the sovereign and court when they were at the Tower. (Regular residents would, and still do, attend services in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula.) Some famous events in royal history took place here: Elizabeth of York (Queen to Henry VII) lay in state here after her death in childbirth in 1503. Mary I was betrothed to Philip of Spain by proxy here in 1554.

The White Tower has been used as a residence, a prison, a place for state events, an astronomical observatory and a repository for papers. The first record of the Armouries in the White Tower is from the reign of Elizabeth I in 1565. In 1599 there is record of a servant appointed to collect entrance fees. Soon after though, it became a storehouse for arms and records. (Some genius even decided to put a lot of papers next to the gunpowder stores!) In the late 19th century, it was opened to the public.

THE ROYAL ARMORIES

Weapons and armor were created by talented metalworkers. Some of the armor worn by England¹s long-dead soldiers is on display in the Tower¹s Royal Armouries, located in the White Tower.

THE BLOODY TOWER

Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned in the Bloody Tower. He spent some of his time planting tobacco on the Tower grounds while he was there. Other well-known people‹including Princess Elizabeth, a future queen, and William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania‹were also kept there.

AND HE WAS KEPT IN THE TOWER OF LONDON BECAUSE HE UPSET QUEEN ELIZABETH

THE WAKEFIELD TOWER

The Wakefield Tower housed Edward I¹s sumptuous throne room in the 13th century. Although the Tower is still officially a royal palace, it has not been the principal home to a king or queen since Henry VII died in 1509.

FORTRESS

In 900 years not a day has passed without soldiers in the Tower. Cannons fired from the Tower in the 1400s during the Wars of the Roses.

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. Many famous prisoners arrived at the Tower this way, including Elizabeth I 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."

CHAPEL OF ST. PETER AD VINCULA

The original Chapel of St. Peter's was outside the Tower walls until they were expanded by Henry III. The Chapel has served as the place of worship for the Tower community from that time onward. (The Chapel in the White Tower was only for the sovereign and the court) The present form of the chapel dates from 1519-1520 and is a rare example of early Tudor church building. All of those executed on the Tower Green were buried in the Chapel and many executed on Tower Hill were buried here as well. The executed prisoners had their bodies hastily buried without markers. The chapel was renovated in 1876 during the reign of Queen Victoria. The remains uncovered in the nave of the church (some with still intact coffins) were re-interred in the crypt.

The remains that were uncovered in the chancel were reburied under the marble in front of the altar. Some of these skeletons were identified: Anne Boleyn and her cousin Kathryn Howard notable among them.

THE QUEEN'S HOUSE

Built in the reign of Henry VIII, the Queen's House is currently the home of the Resident Governor of the Tower of London. Originally, the Lieutenant of the Tower lived here and was the custodian of several famous prisoners: Lady Jane Grey, Guy Fawlkes. Anne Boleyn is said to have stayed here before her execution as well.

THE BELL TOWER

Several famous prisones were held in the Bell Tower during Tudor times, including Sir Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and the Princess Elizabeth. During special celebrations for the year 2000, the cell of Thomas More was opened to the public.

THE BEAUCHAMP TOWER

This tower was where the sons of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland were held after the attempt to put Jane Grey on the throne instead of Mary I. It has a large number of carvings etched into the walls by various prisoners.

Story of the Tower

The Tower of London has a very interesting story behind it. It was begun by a man who was not even English, William of Normandy. At the time he was the cousin of England's Kind Edward. It all started because William became outraged when Edward backed down on his promise to give the throne to William and ended up giving the throne to his English brother-in-law, Harold. William sailed his army across the English Channel to conquer England. On October 14, 1066, he met Harold at Hastings and conquered him.

On Christmas Day later that year, William - now called William the conqueror - was crowned King of England. Immediately after William took over as king, he built forts everywhere. One stood in the southeastern corner of London, near an old Roman wall on the north bank of the Thames River. William ordered that this fort be removed in 1078 to be replaced by a huge stone stronghold. This would be the "symbol of his power, a fortress for his defense, and a prison for his enemies". (Fisher, 1987) He named it the Tower of London.

The Tower was finished twenty years later, rising nearly one hundred feet high, with its walls fifteen feet thick in certain places. Inside was a chapel, apartments, guardrooms, and crypts. The Tower was protected by a wide ditch, a new stone wall, the old Roman wall, and the river. This was done to secure the fact that this tower was a prison that no prisoner would escape from.

The Bishop of Durham was probably the Tower's first distinguished prisoner.

He was very fat, greedy, and unpopular. He was dragged to the prison by his brother with his servants and bags of money. But the Bishop lived very well inside the Tower because he could bribe the guards with gold. One night in February,1101, he gave a huge banquet with a lot of food and liquor. When he had gotten the guards very drunk, he pushed his bags through a window and slid down a rope to freedom.

Around the year 1240, King Henry III made this tower his home. He whitewashed the tower, widened the grounds to include a church, a great hall, and other buildings. He renamed the entire new area the Tower of London, and renamed the Tower the White Tower. Although the tower was still a prison, Henry had turned the White Tower into a breathtaking palace. He entertained many important visitors, many of which came with animals as gifts. Near the drawbridge of the tower, Henry built the Lion Tower, a zoo where visitors would be greeted with roaring beasts. Here is a map of the tower (JPG 33k).

In 1377, when Richard II was king, the Tower continued to be a stronghold.

But four years later, on June 14, a group of overtaxed farmers stormed the Tower. Richard and his brothers safely hid themselves inside. But the farmers found the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Royal Treasurer, a tax official, and a doctor. These men were taken to Tower Hill where their heads where chopped off. Richard later made peace with these farmers. The leader of the farmers, Wat Tyler, was beheaded. Richard was eventually thrown into a Tower dungeon, where he was forced to give up the throne to Henry IV.

Several monarchs died in the Tower of London. One was thirteen-year-old King Edward V. When his father, King Edward IV died, his uncle Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, plotted to take the throne for himself. Richard had the thirteen-year-old king and his younger brother, the Duke of York, taken to the tower. Lord Hastings, a royal officer, tried to protect Edward, but was unsuccessful. Hastings' head was chopped off on the Tower Green, and Edward and his brother were murdered. These murders most likely took place in the Garden Tower, which was later renamed the Bloody Tower.

Since the Tower of London was so dangerous, King Henry VII formed a personal bodyguard. Henry moved into the Tower in 1485 after killing Richard III in a battle. His protectors were called the Yeoman Warders, who to this day still guard the tower. King Henry was a very frugal man. He seldom gave parties and tried very hard to avoid war, which both cost a lot of money.

After the death of Henry VII, the Tower of London was never again used to house an English queen or king. The dungeon was still used to hold England's enemies, and the Tower was still used for many celebrations. The marriage of King Henry VIII to his second wife, Anne Boleyn, took place at the Tower on May 19, 1533. A huge party was thrown for the next 11 days at the Tower, topped off with an enormous feast.

But the Tower of London was not always a place of celebration. On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed under Henry's orders at the Tower Green. Anne had been accused of misconduct, but the plain truth was that she had born a daughter rather than a son, who would become a future king of England. This daughter was Elizabeth I, who would later become the Queen of England.

Elizabeth was held prisoner in the Tower for two months by the order of her half sister, Queen Mary. Mary felt that her throne was being threatened by Elizabeth, so she imprisoned her in the Tower. If you look really carefully, you can see Anne Boleyn's Ghost about the tower. She will tell you about the royalty.

Founded nearly a millennium ago and expanded upon over the centuries since, the Tower of London has protected, housed, imprisoned and been for many the last sight they saw on Earth.

It has been the seat of British government and the living quarters of monarchs ... the site of renown political intrigue, and the repository of the Crown Jewels ... It has housed lions, bears, and (to this day) flightless ravens ... not to mention notorious traitors and framed members of court, lords and ministers, clergymen and knights.

Elizabeth was innocent, and people knew it, leading to a public outcry.

Elizabeth was released on May 19, 1554 (ironically, May 19 was the day on which Anne Boleyn was married and killed, and the same day that Elizabeth was released from jail.) In 1558, Elizabeth became the queen of England. She spent three days on her coronation in the Tower, to symbolize that it was her duty to "take possession" of it as the royal monarch of England. (Fisher, 1987) On January 15, 1559, she left in a festive parade to be crowned at Westminster Abby. Elizabeth would never return to the Tower.

In 1603, part of the Tower of London became a museum. King James I had ordered that the royal jewels be kept in the Tower Jewel House and be put on display for the Tower visitors. Though its roots trace back to a non-Englishman, the Tower of London has had a very interesting place in English history. It has been the sight of murders, marriages, uproars, museums, and zoos. But the Tower of London will always be remembered as a "symbol of royal power, a fortress for the monarch, and a prison for the monarch's enemies".

Her Majesty's Tower of London is situated in East London on the boundaries of the boroughs of Stepney and the City of London. Directly south, spanning the River Thames, lies the famous Tower Bridge. To the east of the Tower are the St Katherine's Docks. The Tower of London dominates the river approaches to the City of London, and can be reached by Underground Tower Hill Circle.

The Tower Of London is probably the most haunted place on Earth.

During its 900 years of excistence many people have been executed there.

The most well known was Anne Boleyn, one of Henry V111`s wives.

She was beheaded on Tower Green and is now reported to wonder the area with her head under her arm.

The first part of the Tower was built in 1066 by William the Conqueror.

Today the Tower serves as a tourist attraction as well as a home to the yeoman warders and their families.

The Tower is most famous for the prisoners who lost their lives there‹and who supposedly still haunt the Tower grounds. Take the dark and gloomy Salt Tower, where years ago a yeoman warder claimed he was almost killed by a ghost. ³It¹s supposed to have quite a few spirits,² James says. ³It¹s one of the spookiest towers.² Some people have gruesomely lost their lives at the Tower. At just 16, Lady Jane Grey was dethroned in 1553 after only a nine-day reign, then later beheaded by the new queen. In 1483 two young princes named Edward and Richard mysteriously disappeared. Almost 200 years later bones of two children were found near the White Tower, but no one really knows whose bones they are.

The Tower of London is not just home to ghost stories and bloody legends.

There are large birds called ravens lurking there. They eat a special diet of raw meat and blood-soaked biscuits.

Despite looking a bit scary, the ravens are an important part of the Tower¹s lore. ³If the ravens leave the Tower,² says James, explaining the legend, ³then the White Tower‹and the monarchy‹will crumble.² But while the ravens are real, James still isn¹t convinced ghosts roam the Tower.

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