The Tower of London - It all began with William the First
The person who started all this was King William the First, more popularly known as William the Conquerer. He was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Normandy - not at all a ‘proper’ Englishman. Yet he is known for one of the most famous battles in the history of Britain - the Battle of Hastings in 1066 - when he invaded England. His side won and he and was crowned King in the same year.
Perhaps he felt insecure in this regal position that he had gained through brutal force, because he set to and built an enormous fortress to guard the approaches to London via the River Thames. The Tower is the most perfect medieval fortress in Britain and also serves as a prison and a palace.
Tower of London - Bloody Tower Hill
Over the centuries the Tower has been a place that saw more human misery, torture and suffering than possibly any other building in the world. Just outside the Tower, on Tower Hill, the scaffolds were built, and for several hundred years, from 1388 to 1747, this is where the executions took place.
Scores of eminent people were, literally, given the chop. Probably the saddest case of all is that of the seventeen-year-old Lady Jane Grey who was petrified with fear. She was unable to control the violent shivers that convulsed her small body as she walked towards the executioner's block.
Eighteen years earlier, another Queen of England, Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, was accused of adultery with her own brother and arrived at Tower Hill on May 19 1536. It is said that her body was thrown into an old chest and she was given the simplest of funerals. And did the delightful Henry go into mourning for her? Yes, he did. For just twenty-four hours.
Tower of London - Sad ghosts wander
There are tales of ghostly sightings within the Tower. The most ‘popular’ are Anne Boleyn and Sir Walter Raleigh, the great explorer and colonizer who was executed in 1616, the charge against him being his supposed involvement in a plot against King James.
Tower of London - World War Two
The last execution within the Tower took place on 14 August 1941. The victim was a rather pathetic German spy who broke his ankle when he was dropped by parachute. He was immediately arrested and because of his injury was allowed to be seated when he was shot.
Around this same time, the Tower was hit fifteen times by bombs and twenty-three people were killed - including two of the famous ravens who are supposed to guard the Tower.
Tower of London - The Famous Ravens
Today, the ravens hang out in the gardens towards the river by the White Tower. The suspicion is that, if they leave, the White Tower and Commonwealth will fall. They have their own Raven Master whose sole task is to look after them.
It would seem the ravens have been a bit negligent in their duties, as there is very little of the Commonwealth left.
The best way to arrive at the Tower is by river. As you pass under London Bridge, try to imagine how those long ago prisoners felt as they saw the severed heads of previous inmates stuck on the spikes of the old bridge. Not a happy thought.
Explore London's landmarks from the top of a red double-decker bus - Take the No.15 bus!
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