We planned today at breakfast. The original idea was to do the Hop-on-Hop-off today but friends Karen and Mark are arriving this afternoon, on their way back to Australia, so we have decided to postpone the bus until Monday. Instead, it’s off to the Tower of London “To gaze on Ann Boleyn’s ghost” as the poem goes. Walked to Russell Square and caught a train to Tower Hill. We purchased Oyster Cards yesterday which makes it easier. Can be used on all public transport and no lining up to buy tickets etc.
The Tower was pretty busy even at this hour of the morning (glad we didn’t come any later and that we had booked online). We started off on a guided tour but the group was so large we couldn’t really hear the guide so went and hired a ‘talking guide” instead.
This place is amazing. All I knew about the tower was that it was a place where people were imprisoned before being beheaded so expected it to be some sort of prison. It’s so much more than that. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. It was used as a prison since at least 1100, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence.
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| The Tower of London |
As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat on the bank of the Thames (controlling traffic up and down the river). There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries.
The Tower has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death, only seven people were executed within the Tower – First Baron William Hastings, 1483; Queen Anne Boleyn, 1536, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, 1541; Queen Catherine Howard, 1542; Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford 1542; Queen Lady Jane Grey 1554; and Robert Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex, 1601. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, with 112 occurring there over a 400-year period.
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| Tower Bridge from the Tower of London |
So much to see it was exhausting. You need a whole day for this place. While I queued up to see the crown jewels (very impressive) Jill went back to the moat to watch a medieval dual. Met up for lunch at one of the cafes within the walls and then headed back to College Hall to meet up with Karen and Mark. Spent some time catching up on each others travels before heading off for drinks and dinner.
Had drinks sitting outside one of the pubs. While there Jill saw 2 women about to cross the street – the short one looked like Peta Stamell, Kiruna’s sister (last time we had seen her she was a child but Jill had seen a recent photo of her on Facebook (!!!) – we had also spoken to Kiruna about her when we had met up). Peta had been visiting a friend who lived nearby. It’s a small world. May catch up with her again before we leave London.
On to a Filipino restaurant for dinner (another chip-free day) and then to a supermarket before home.
