Tower of London

The Tower of London has many centuries worth of historic value. It got its start when William the Conqueror invaded England. The White Tower, which was protected by two Roman walls as well as ditches, was constructed under William the Conqueror (Tower of London). He wanted to have strongholds in London so that he could display his power and authority over the Londoners (Tower of London). Later the fortress was expanded to be twice its original size, when Richard the Lionheart was king. During Kind Edward I’s reign, the Tower was strengthened and became the largest and strongest concentric castle in England (Tower of London). Edward transformed the Tower to have many purposes. The Tower functioned as a prison, a storehouse for keeping goods, a branch of the Royal Mint, and even included “comfortable royal lodgings” so royalty could enjoy staying there (Tower of London).

The Tower of London is probably most famous as being a prison. Prisoners here have not been only scoundrels, but many royals have also been prisoners. For example, after the War of the Roses, Henry VI was held prisoner at the Tower where he ended up dying (Hibbert 99). Young Edward V and his brother were held in the Tower by their uncle and were never heard of again (Hibbert 101). While they may not have been prisoners technically, once they were put in the Tower, they never came back out. Another famous prisoner who was held at the Tower of London is Anne Boleyn. When Henry VIII was getting ready to marry Anne, he had the Tower improved for her particular enjoyment as she was preparing for her coronation. However, when she was accused of adultery, she was taken back to the Tower, but under very different circumstances than her first visit (Tower of London). She was soon after executed for treason against the King. Henry VIII imprisoned other famous people, including another one of his wives, Sir Thomas More, and Bishop Fisher of Rochester (Tower of London).

The Tudor era was also a time where torture was part of the Tower of London. The idea of torture and the Tower of London may sometimes be synonymous; however, torture probably was a rare occurrence (Ashbee 8). Torture had a very specific purpose for the law of proof. It was used during interrogations to gain information. Because of this, there is a lot of documentation on this topic (Ashbee 8). Torture, although used for a short period of time in history, remains one of the most memorable parts of the Tower.

After the Tudors, the Tower of London had a shift in purposes. When Charles I became king, a civil war erupted. The Tower was captured by the Parliamentarians and when Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector, Parliament sold the Crown Jewels that were held in the Tower (Tower of London). However, when Charles II came back to England to be king, the new Crown Jewels were put back on display at the Tower of London. These jewels were attempted to be stolen, but the plan failed when the jewel keeper’s son found the culprits. This escapade did cause the Jewels to be under better security (Tower of London). One of the last times that the Tower of London was seen as a symbol of power was during the Chartist demands for electoral reform. The Chartists never attacked, though the Tower was strengthened in case they did. At this point in history, the focus became more of maintaining the building than making additions to the Tower (Tower of London).

As I visited the Tower, I enjoyed being surrounded by the history that was all around me. I especially liked learning about the stories of various prisoners who stayed there. It made the history seem more real. Also, I liked hearing about the different buildings within the Tower, the purposes behind them, and how they shifted as time passed. The Tower of London seemed to have the essence of historic England; so many monarchs and influential people stayed there, both as rulers and as prisoners. The Tower of London is a crucial part of England’s history. The stories of the Tower are incidentally also the stories of England.

Works Cited

Ashbee, Jeremy. "Torture at the Tower." History Today 53.5 (2003): 8-9.

Hibbert, Christopher. The Story of England. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1992.

Tower of London. Historic Royal Palaces. 09 Jun 2008. <http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/buildinghistory/default.aspx>.