Tower of London
2012-07-26 @ 14:00:09
The tower of London is not really a tower. It is, or rather has been a royal palace, a fortress and a prison, and also a place of executions. Its story begins with William the Conqueror. Twelve years after the Battle of Hastings, he decided to build a fortress on the site of the present Tower of London. Its construction took twenty years. it is now at the very centre of the grounds within the outer walls and is called the White Tower. The inner wall with its thirteen towers was built in the reign of Henry III. Various historical facts are associated with those towers. The Bloody Tower got its name from the murder of the Little Princes Edward V and his brother the Duke of York. According to tradition their murderer was the Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III.
St. Thomas's tower was the prison of Sir Walter Raleigh. In the bell tower sir thomas More was imprisoned and also Princess Elizabeth I, the daughter of King Henry VIII and the future queen Elizabeth I . She belonged to the few lucky ones who left the Tower alive. As you know, it was much easier in those days to get into the Tower than to get out of it. Beneath St. Thomas's Tower, there is a gate called Traitors' Gate witch opens right upon the river Thames. In the old days prisoners were brought to the Tower throught this gate in barges which landed at the foot of the Bloody Tower. Another interesting fact about the Tower is that the Crown Jewels are kept there. In the past they were kept in the Martin Tower and an attempt to steal them was made during the reign of Charles II. Now they are kept in the Wakefield Tower, and attemps to steal them are only made in crime stories. In charge of the Tower and all its treasures are the Yeomen Warders. On important occasions they wear their ver picturesque scarlet and gold Tudor dress.
St. Thomas's tower was the prison of Sir Walter Raleigh. In the bell tower sir thomas More was imprisoned and also Princess Elizabeth I, the daughter of King Henry VIII and the future queen Elizabeth I . She belonged to the few lucky ones who left the Tower alive. As you know, it was much easier in those days to get into the Tower than to get out of it. Beneath St. Thomas's Tower, there is a gate called Traitors' Gate witch opens right upon the river Thames. In the old days prisoners were brought to the Tower throught this gate in barges which landed at the foot of the Bloody Tower. Another interesting fact about the Tower is that the Crown Jewels are kept there. In the past they were kept in the Martin Tower and an attempt to steal them was made during the reign of Charles II. Now they are kept in the Wakefield Tower, and attemps to steal them are only made in crime stories. In charge of the Tower and all its treasures are the Yeomen Warders. On important occasions they wear their ver picturesque scarlet and gold Tudor dress.