A Day in the Tower

It was a bitterly cold day today with intermittent rain and sunshine. It was a perfect day to partake of the atmosphere of the Tower.

We took the Beefeater tour which gave us a great overview of the history of the Tower. The Beefeater tradition is interesting. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. It was built partly within the existing old Roman wall. There are bits of it left within the grounds.

The Tower has served variously as a palace, an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels. It was also a prison for dangerous or high profile prisoners.

The White Tower above was the original Norman building.

There were only 7 people executed within the Tower including Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Executions within the Tower took place here on Tower Green. Most other executions occured on Tower Hill which was up behind the Tower. The executed were then buried in the chapel behind. When they excavated this chapel, the Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula in the nineteenth century they found over a thousand bodies

This is the Queens House just inside the Tower. It was built for Anne Bolyen before she married the king and it was where she spent her final days before her execution.

This was the royal palace built by Henry III and extended by his son Edward I. It was situated over the watergate (later called the Traitors Gate)

Traitors Gate where prisoners were bought into the Tower.

Inside the White Tower

One of the ravens of the Tower. The story is if the ravens ever leave thenTower the monarchy will fall.

Once again another angle on my favourite bridge

 

There were open air dramas about events that had occurred in the Tower

The well inside the Tower.

Napping after lunch

Changing the guard..

The site of the scaffold up on Tower Hill where the public executions of important people occurred.

We ended up spending about 5 hours in the tower and still didn't see it all. But we both have colds and it was bitterly cold so we came home earlier than planned. It is a very evocative experience to be in the tower as it encapsulates so much of British history.