Soggy Moose Travels : The Tower

Amazingly, we slept in and were up at 8 am and had a great breakfast here at The Royal Garden (included with our room). Then we were off to Tower Hill for a London Walks tour.

So many bits of history were imparted and I shall try to share some of the information we gleaned.

When William the Conqueror built a mighty stone tower at the centre of his London fortress in the 1070s, defeated Londoners must have looked on in awe. Now nearly 1000 years later, the Tower still has the capacity to fascinate and horrify.

Here, traditions live on, as do the ghost stories and terrible tales of torture and execution.
The Tower also has a richer and more complex history, having been home to a wide array of institutions, including the Royal Mint, the Royal Armories and even a zoo.

William intended his mighty castle keep not only to dominate the skyline, but also the hearts and minds of the defeated Londoners. Interestingly, one would think the Tower was designed to protect London from invasion from the Thames, yet some of the canons were placed facing the angry citizens of the city.   The Tower took around 20 years to build. Masons arrived from Normandy, bringing with them stone from Caen in France. Most of the actual labor was provided by Englishmen.

Although long since vanished, there was once a splendid royal palace to the south of the White Tower. Henry VIII modernized the rooms inside in preparation for the coronation of his new bride, Anne Boleyn in 1533. She and the King feasted here in splendor the night before Anne proceeded in triumph through the City of London to Westminster Abbey.Three years later Anne was back at the Tower, this time accused of adultery and treason. She was held in the same luxurious lodgings before being executed by sword on Tower Green.

During the Tudor age, the Tower became the most important state prison in the country. Anyone thought to be a threat to national security came here. Some of the noted guests were the future Elizabeth I, Lady Jane Grey, Sir Walter Raleigh and Guy Fawkes, they were all ‘sent to the Tower’. Even in the 20th century, German spies were brought here and shot.
There are stories of ghosts which haunt the Tower. Anne Boleyn is said to stalk the site of her execution on Tower Green. There are also more modern ghosts roaming about.

Arbella Stuart, the cousin of Elizabeth I, who starved while under arrest for marrying without royal permission, is said to frequent the Queen’s House still.Two smaller ghosts are thought to be the ‘princes in the Tower’, and the Yeomen Warders even tell a chilling tale of a huge bear who occasionally appears to frighten visitors to death.

One of the most famous legends of the Tower surrounds the ravens. The story goes that should the ravens leave the Tower, both it and the kingdom will fall. Seven ravens live at the Tower today and are cared for by a dedicated Yeoman Warder known as the Ravenmaster.

After our tour we wandered about The Tower and soon made our way to the Minories to meet friends for lunch. We had a nice time visiting and learned of some interesting places to visit during future trips to the UK.