London, England
Well today I decided to tour the Tower of London. This fortress has been many things over the years including a Royal Residence but of course it is most famous for being a prison and the site of many executions. The prison held priests and children and women and men. They were all very different but most had one thing in common…..there were considered traitors and/or a threat to the throne and were being tried for treason.
This is Traitors' Gate. It was used to bring prisoners into the tower in secret away from the eyes of possible supporters and other prisoners.
Two very famous prisoners were the Priest John Gerard and King Henry VIII’s second wife, Ann Boleyn. John Gerard eventually escaped from prison with a lot of help. He made the plans for the escape by making and sharing plans through secret notes written with orange juice. Some of these notes were exchanged with prisoners being held in Clink Prison.
This is where John Gerard was held.
Ann Boleyn was hanged by the King after he accused her of adultery. He of course moved on to marry a few more wives.
A portion of the inner Tower wall.
A couple of the characters that protect the Tower. I think I like the top one best. He's cute.
He is not so cute.
There are a lot of interesting parts to the Tower that you can learn from a Yeoman Warder. They traditionally might have been called Beefeaters (however they don’t really like that). They give guided tours throughout the tower (however I wanted to move at my own pace and took the audio tour instead…..I still spent over 3 hours in the place). The Yeoman actually live with their families at the Tower. Before someone can become a Yeoman they have to have at least 22 years armed forces experience with an honourable record.
If you take a tour here you will find many of the locations where prisoners were held and executed and their stories. You will also find evidence that had been left behind by some of those prisoners. Many a prisoner carved names or pictures or words in the walls of their cells.
One of the things that you will see around the tower are 6 ravens and yes I am referring to the birds. It is said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower the White Tower will fall. Because of this, King Charles I ordered that there always be 6 ravens on the site and there have been birds here ever sense. One raven actually died when it was 44 years old. The current birds actually have their wings clipped so they cannot go anywhere and are taken care of by a Yeoman warder known as the Ravenmaster. It is thought that the ravens may have originally been drawn to the tower by the bleeding heads and limbs that would have been hung from the gates and walls of the tower.
One of the ravens. They bite so I did not get too close.
The White Tower. Still standing but under going a few renovations.
This is on display in the White Tower. It would have been used to protect the Tower at some point in its history.
They are also in the White Tower. This is Gin and Beer (I know gin and tonic is much better). They are dated from the 17th century and would have been fixed over the buttery where food and drink were stored.
One of the big highlights (at least for me) is to the vault which is the current home of the Crown Jewels. Of course no pictures are allowed but if you really want to see them you can look them up online. Most items in the vault are just for display now but there still are a couple crowns and items that are used. The display vault is very neat. There are moving sidewalks on either side so that no one person can stand and block everyone else’s view. You can go back and see them again though if you want.
The top of the White Tower....with a lamp.
He is the best guard I have ever seen. I seriously thought he was fake until he started to march. I almost asked one of the Yeoman Warders if he was real...and then he moved.
One of the items still used today is the Coronation Robes. There were dated sometime in the 1800’s. They have been used in every coronation since then. The St. Patrick crown is the crown you will see during the coronation ceremony. The Imperial State Crown is used by the Queen when she Opens Parliament and the Queen Consort crown (currently called the Queen Mother Crown) is used by the Queen Consort at events. The Queen consort is of course the woman married to the king.
Me with the Tower Bridge from the outer wall of the Tower of London. This wall was used to help defend the Tower and there is still a lot of evidence of that remaining.
I love this skyline. You can see the very old and very modern buildings. So much fun.
Once I left the Tower of London I took a walk over the Tower Bridge. So nice to see it up close and personal.
That night I headed out for a drink and dinner with Adrian. He showed me a few more areas of the city. It was really busy at night with a whole lot of people around but a lot of fun to see everything.
Adrian had to take me past this little pub. We never went inside but apparently it is old school with very low ceilings and poor ventilation. Good thing people cannot smoke inside anymore.
Julie
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