Tower+of+London

By: Caitlyn Dixon

The Tower of London

What do you think of when you hear the Tower of London? Do you think of Kings and Queens? Do you think of terror in the dungeons? Do you think of death and hauntings? First, here is a brief history of the Tower, and then we can get into the terror and death. The first completed building of the Tower was the White Tower, the name given because of its whiteness. King William, or Duke William built the White Tower in 1078 of the 11th century on the north bank of the Thames River in central London, England. The whole Tower is made up of several buildings inside of two defense walls and surrounded by a moat. The Tower of London, or Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress, was originally meant to be a royal residence, like in its early history and not a prison like how it was used until 1100. Throughout history, the Tower has been used as an armory, a treasury, a menagerie, and now the home of the Royal Jewels of the United Kingdom. Under the Tudors, the Tower was not used as a royal residence anymore and despite attempts to repair the castle, its defenses lagged behind developments and started to crumble. During the 16th and 17th century, many people were being beheaded or hung on the Tower Hill. Even inside of the Tower many famous and infamous people were held prisoner. Some of the most famous people held in the Tower were Anne Boleyn, the two princes, Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes, Lady Jane Grey, and even Elizabeth I before she went into power. Here are some of their stories in the Tower: The Two Princes in the Tower: Their uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester, imprisoned Prince Edward and his brother Prince Richard of Shrewsbury in 1483 after their father's death and had them killed in their beds, at the age of 12 and 9, in the middle of the night. In 1678, they found a pair of skeletons under the stairs that lead to the princes' room. Anne Boleyn: The Queen of England was held within the walls of the Tower because of her husband, King Henry VIII. She was accused of adultery, treason, and even having an affair with her own brother. Of course, these were not true. She was in the Tower until her time of death, by beheading, on May 9, 1536. Lady Jane Gray: The cousin of Mary I and Elizabeth I was put in the Tower at the time of Queen Mary’s ruling only because she felt threatened by some talk over who was the rightful queen - Mary or Jane. Lady Jane was imprisoned 1553. She was then beheaded on February 12, 1554 by order of Queen Mary. Elizabeth Tudor: The future Queen of England was imprisoned by her own sister, Mary. Elizabeth was placed in the Tower in 1554 not only because Mary was threatened by her, but also because of alleged involvement in Wyatt’s Rebellion - a rebellion over Mary's marriage to Phillip II of Spain. Sir Walter Raleigh: Raleigh was placed in the Tower twice, the first briefly. The second time he was sent because he was plotting against the King and was sent to the part of the Tower called the Bloody Tower and was joined in the Tower by his wife and 2 kids. He was then released and attacked a Spanish outpost. He was arrested again was beheaded on the block in 1616. Guy Fawkes: This solider was placed in the Tower for stealing 35 barrels of gun power and trying to blow up Parliament as a religious protest. He was caught and was placed in a very uncomfortable cell called Little Ease- a cramped room that you could not stand nor lie down in.. He exposed the other men included in the plot and was found guilty of treason and was to be hanged. He was heading to the gallows when he broke free of the guards and jumped off the fence that surrounded the gallows. He killed himself by breaking his neck.

There were many more prisoners in the Tower over the years. There were even Nazi prisoners kept in the Tower and England even had a cell waiting for Hitler. Over 63 people were imprisoned in the Tower and 29 of those people were killed within or just outside the walls.

The Tower is still home to a small group of ravens that are cared for by the Beefeater guards. Legend states that if the ravens ever leave the tower, the tower will fall, then London will fall too. So, the raven's wings have been clipped so that they can not fly away. The Tower also holds the Crowned Jewels of England and the two largest diamonds in the world.

The Tower of London has a very interesting present but also the grizzliest past the world has ever known.

‘Off with his head!’ -King Richard the 3rd to Lord Hasting in Shakespeare’s play