Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress , more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower ), is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It is the oldest building used by the British government.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and moat.
The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Today the Tower of London is cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.
Location
The Tower is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, at the eastern boundary of the City of London financial district, adjacent to the River Thames and Tower Bridge. Between the river and the Tower is Tower Wharf, a freely accessible walkway with views of the river, tower and bridge, together with HMS Belfast and London City Hall on the opposite bank.
The nearest London Underground station is Tower Hill on the Circle and District Lines. The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Tower Gateway. London Fenchurch Street is a nearby National Rail station. River cruise boats and Thames Clipper services stop at the Tower Millennium Pier.
Construction history
The White Tower
At the centre of the Tower of London stands the Norman White Tower built in 1078 by William the Conqueror (reigned 1066–87) inside the southeast angle of the city walls, adjacent to the Thames. This was as much to protect the Normans from the people of the City of London as to protect London from outside invaders. William appointed Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, as the architect. Fine Caen stone, imported from France, was used for the corners of the building and as door and window dressings, though Kentish ragstone was used for the bulk of the edifice. According to legend the mortar used in its construction was tempered by the blood of beasts. Another legend ascribed the Tower not to William but to the Romans. William Shakespeare in his play Richard III stated that it was built by Julius Caesar.
The White Tower is 90 feet (27 m) high and the walls vary from 15 feet (4.5 m) thick at the base to almost 11 feet (3.3 m) in the upper parts. Above the battlements rise four turrets; three of them are square, but the one on the northeast is circular, in order to accommodate a spiral staircase. This turret was briefly used as the first royal observatory in the reign of Charles II. Completing the defences to the south of the Tower was the bailey.
In the 1190s, King Richard the Lionheart (reigned 1189–99) enclosed the White Tower with a curtain wall, and had a moat dug around it filled with water from the Thames. Richard utilised the pre-existing Roman city wall, to the east, as part of the circuit. Part of the wall he built was incorporated into the later circuit wall of Henry III and is still extant, running between the Bloody Tower and the Bell Tower, the latter of which also dates to his reign. In 1240 Henry III had the exterior of the building whitewashed, which is how it got its name.
Due to the changes in function and design the tower’s interior has gone through since its construction there is little left of the original interior, save the chapel. St John’s Chapel, located on east side of the first level, is perhaps the “most complete surviving examples of early Anglo-Norman ecclesiastical architecture.” Archeological evidence shows that the space was considered in the original design of the tower plan. This is seen in the foundations of the building which include an apsidal projection, which deviates from the basic rectangular box layout of the tower’s main part. Described as resembling a choir of a Romanesque church of apse and ambulatory design, this space is marked a simple layout.
In keeping with the characteristics of Romanesque design the design includes the ever common rounded arches, as seen in the arcade, and the vaulted nave and aisles, where respectively barrel and groin vaulting was employed. The nave is flanked by two aisles, which are separated by columns that form an arcade which creates the ambulatory. The columns of the arcade are opposite the pilasters along the outer walls of the aisles. Above is a gallery arcade which lets in more light into the space, but is not a clerestory in the sense that it is above the roof.
The defining element of this space is the design of the columns’ capitals. While at first glance the design is uniform, further examination shows that the capitals are quite varied. Some are block-shaped, some have volutes, and others are cushion capitals. Yet, what these capitals, save three, have in common is the “rare embellishment of Tau crosses, or T-shaped projections.” These crosses are reminiscent of designs common to Anglo-Norman architecture of this period.
The Inmost Ward
In the early thirteenth century Henry III (reigned 1216–72) transformed the Tower into a major royal residence and had palatial buildings constructed within the Inner Bailey to the south of the White Tower. This Inmost Ward was entered by the now ruined Coldharbour Gate to the NW and bounded by a wall, fortified by the Wakefield Tower to the SW, the Lanthorn Tower to the SE, and the now ruined Wardrobe Tower to the NE. The well appointed Wakefield Tower and the Lanthorn Tower were integral parts of this new royal palace, and adjoined the now demolished Great Hall situated between them. The Tower remained a royal residence until the time of Oliver Cromwell, who demolished some of the old palatial buildings.
The Inner Ward
The White Tower and Inmost Ward are situated in the Inner Ward, defended by a massive curtain wall, built by Henry III from 1238 onwards. In order to extend the circuit the city wall to the east was broken down, despite the protests of the citizens of London and even supernatural warnings, according to chronicler Matthew Paris. The wall has thirteen towers:
- Wakefield Tower — the largest of the towers in the curtain wall. According to tradition this was where the imprisoned King Henry VI was murdered as he knelt at prayer.
- Lanthorn Tower
- Salt Tower
- Broad Arrow Tower
- Constable Tower
- Martin Tower. The Crown Jewels were kept here from 1669 until 1842. This was the scene of the attempted theft of the jewels by Colonel Blood in 1671.
- Brick Tower
- Bowyer Tower
- Flint Tower
- Devereux Tower
- Beauchamp Tower (pronounced 'Beecham')
- Bell Tower — the oldest tower in the circuit, built in the 1190s as part of the fortification of Richard I and later incorporated into that of Henry III. Named after the curfew bell which has been rung from this tower for over 500 years.
- Bloody Tower (or the Garden Tower), so named after a legend that the Princes in the Tower were murdered there.
The Outer Ward
Between 1275 and 1285 Edward I (reigned 1272–1307) built an outer curtain wall, completely enclosing the inner wall and thus creating a concentric double defence. He filled in the moat and built a new moat around the new outer wall. The space between the walls is called the Outer Ward. The wall has five towers facing the river:
- Byward Tower
- St Thomas's Tower, built between 1275-1279 by Edward I to provide additional royal accommodation for the King.
- Cradle Tower
- Well Tower
- Develin Tower
On the north face of the outer wall are three semicircular bastions, the Brass Mount, the North Bastion and Legge's Mount.
The water entrance to the Tower is often referred to as Traitor's Gate because prisoners accused of treason such as Queen Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More are said to have passed through it. Traitor's Gate cuts through St Thomas's Tower and replaced Henry III's watergate in the Bloody Tower behind it. Behind Traitors Gate in the pool was an engine used to raise water to a cistern located on the roof of the White Tower. The engine was originally powered by the force of the tide or by horsepower and eventually by steampower; this was adapted around 1724 to drive machinery
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