The Tower has had many different functions over the years. As a fortress guarding the Thames, a royal palace and a fearsome prison.
In this story we introduce these three key uses of the Tower.
Did you know that the oldest military ceremony in the world, the Ceremony of The Keys, takes place at at the Tower every evening at 9:53pm? This historic fortress was built by William the Conqueror as a stronghold in the City of London.
The Tower of London was the most secure castle in the land and guarded royal possessions and even the royal family in times of war and rebellion.
King Charles II said there must always be six resident ravens. Legend has it the kingdom and the Tower of London will fall if the resident ravens leave the fortress.
There was once a splendid royal palace to the south of the White Tower. Henry VIII even modernised the rooms inside in preparation for the coronation of his new bride, Anne Boleyn
in 1533.
The Byward Tower is home to one of London's most precious artworks that features the archangel Michael. In the centre you can see a chimney breast painted with a Tudor Rose has been built over the medieval mural.
Although the Tower was not built as a prison, hundreds of people have been incarcerated inside its walls. Some of the most well known are best remembered in the Bloody Tower.
The Bloody Tower is named for its popular association with the disappearance of 12-year-old Edward V and his younger brother Richard. Their fate remains a mystery to this day.
We hope you enjoyed taking a little peek inside the Tower walls.
Now continue your journey and explore the Tower of London
.
The Tower on canvas
A view of the Tower of London from the south, over the River Thames, showing distant figures on the Tower wharf, and a large British naval frigate with other boats on the river.
A London icon
By this time, the interior of the fortress and the eastern end of the wharf, had been progressively filled by industrial, storage, administrative and barracks buildings, and had become the home of various institutions including the Royal Mint, Royal Armouries, Board of Ordnance, Jewel House, Royal Observatory and Tower Record Office.
A lively area
The main riverside buildings of the Tower at this date can be identified (from west to east): the Byward Tower, Queen's Stairs, Queen's House, St Thomas's Tower and Traitors' Gate, and the Lanthorn, Cradle, Well and Develin Towers.
John the Baptist
The first figure on the left is Saint John the Baptist, who is pointing at the tiny Lamb. St John was a patron saint of Richard II and had a special significance for the King
The Virgin Mary
In the centre is the Virgin Mary which would have flanked a lost depiction of the Christ on the Cross.
John the Evangelist
Here is Saint John the Evangelist, also a part of this 'Crucifixion' scene.
The Byward Angel
St Michael the Archangel holds a giant set of gold scales to weigh the souls of the dead. Christians believe this will take place at the Last Judgement to determine who will go to heaven or hell.
The Tudor Rose
A wall painting with a Tudor rose, half of which still survives, is painted on the chimney breast.
Explore the Byward Angel
This 14th century wall painting is one of London's rarest artworks
View AllThe Gunpowder Plot
This monument in the Council Chamber of the King’s House at the Tower of London is a unique reminder of one of the most notorious events in British history; the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
A unique work
Made of pink and black marbles and alabaster, this monument appears, at first glance, to be a fireplace overmantel or a funerary monument. It is, of course, neither but the unnamed stonemason who made it had no other precedent to follow for designing such a unique monument.
Praising the King
In the oval panels Latin texts praise the King and his family, extoll the virtues of the Privy Councillors who foiled the Plot, and condemn the wickedness of the plotters, whose names are listed.
Protestant opposition
A passage in Hebrew in the lower left oval quotes the Old Testament; 'He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death' (Job xii.22). The choice to use Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, for this particularly apt text is a reflection of Protestant opposition to the Latin translations used in the Roman Catholic church.
A thwarted plot
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