Sights of the city of London include such interesting objects as St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace (the official residence of the Queen), Windsor Castle (home of the royal family), the Church of the Templars and many others. But this article will be devoted to only one historical monument - the Tower. This is one of the largest medieval castles in Britain. Throughout its long history, it has been a royal palace, a prison, a mint, an arsenal of weapons, a warehouse, a menagerie, until it finally became a museum. For the British, the Tower is always a symbol of roy alty and a prison for its enemies. So many people were executed or secretly killed within the walls of this fortress that now ghosts often seem to visitors. We will mention decapitated queens and strangled princes. But the focus of our attention will be the Bloody Tower.
Building the Tower
Wilhelm the Conqueror began building the fortress in 1066 as a sign of his Norman power in Britain. She built on everythingrules of medieval fortification architecture. In the middle of the citadel stood a donjon. Now it is the White Tower. There was a fortress wall around the perimeter. It was cut through by numerous towers having protective, defensive functions. Some of them served as the tops of gates and bridges. Now the Tower of London is surrounded by two rings of defensive structures and a moat. For a long time it served as a royal residence. It was repeatedly rebuilt and fortified, as the monarch always felt threatened by his barons. With the invention of gunpowder artillery, the Tower ceased to be considered a safe place and began to be used as a prison for dignitaries. It kept objectionable pretenders to the throne, opponents of aristocratic origin and unfaithful queens. Therefore, the Tower soon got a different name - the Bloody Tower in London.
Construction of the White Tower
The Donjon Tower began to be built in the next decade after the defensive walls. The Rochester Manuscript (12th century) mentions that Bishop Gandalf supervised the work. The White Tower was completed in the 1090s and was at the time the tallest secular building in London. The royal family lived in a spacious and luxurious dungeon. But already in 1100, Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham, was imprisoned in the basement. The donjon received its name - "White Tower" under King Henry III (first half of the 13th century). This monarch expanded and fortified the Tower. He also ordered the Great Tower to be whitewashed with plaster, in accordance with European fashion. King Henryfurnished his home, enriching the interior with statues and paintings.
But already in the next century, the White Tower is increasingly used as a place of imprisonment. Under Edward III (1360), the King of France, John II the Good, was kept here, in 1399, the contender for the English throne, Richard II. Women were also kept here - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the second and fifth wives of Henry VIII. So the former donjon was named the Bloody Tower in London.
Tower Fortifications
The Royal Palace was protected by walls with defensive towers. They all had names: Martin, Lanthorn, Flint, Deverex, Beauchamp, S alt, Sadovaya. The latter initially served as the dwelling place of the commandant of the fortress and his family. It got its name due to the fact that it faced the Lieutenant's Garden as an outer wall. Later, the commandant built a house for himself inside the fortifications. And the Garden Tower began to serve as a prison for high-ranking officials. Judge Geoffrey, Wilhelm Laud, Thomas Cranmer and other officials lived in prison here. After the mysterious murder of two young princes of royal blood at the end of the fifteenth century, the former commandant's house also received the name "Bloody Tower". It was believed that a beautiful, cozy and spacious room on the first floor of this building was the last habitat for boys. But was it really so?
Bloody tower in London: history
This fortification was built much later than the main donjon, only in 1220. The garden tower is located on the shoreThames. When the Tower was surrounded by only one ring of walls, it served as the main entrance to the citadel. Later, the tower of St. Thomas was built with new gates. Initially, the commandant's house had a vaulted passage to the walls. The gates were equipped on both sides with descending gratings. The Bloody Tower in London has been rebuilt several times. Now the gates are driven by a winch installed at the level of the second floor. The basement of the tower indicates that a we althy family lived here. There is a fireplace, and the floor is beautifully tiled. Large windows contradict the notion that prisoners were kept in this room.
Bloody tower in London: legend
During a tour of the Tower, tourists will learn that this place in a series of fortifications is called the Prison of Princes. What kind of children were these and what fate befell them? Twelve-year-old King Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York were last seen alive in the summer of 1483. In June, they disappeared without a trace. There are two versions regarding their death. One says that the princes were kidnapped and later killed in captivity by Richard III. According to another, Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII) was the customer of the crime. When King James visited the Tower in 1600, he was told the story of the murder of two princes. Allegedly, the older boy was stabbed with a dagger, and the younger one was strangled with a pillow. According to legend, the Garden (Bloody) Tower in London was the site of the bloody crime.
The real place where princes died
BAt the end of the seventeenth century, the Tower once again began to be rebuilt. In 1674, it was decided to demolish the upper third floor of the White Tower, built in the 1490s. On June 17, when the stairs were broken into, workers found the skeletons of two children wrapped in velvet fabric underneath. It was immediately decided that these were the remains of Edward the Fifth and his brother Richard. The princes were buried with honor in Westminster Abbey (London). Thus, there was no doubt that the children were abducted and kept for some time in the White Tower. After the murder, their corpses were hidden under the stairs leading to the upper floor. Therefore, it is the former donjon of the Tower that has every reason to bear the name "Bloody Tower in London". History shows that the commandant's house also served as a prison. The last prisoner in it was Sir W alter Raleigh, imprisoned in the Tower because of a palace plot against the monarch James.
What to see in the museum?
When you come to London for at least a day, you should definitely visit the Tower. In the White Tower you will see the treasury and the armory. In the chapel of St. John (a typical example of Norman architecture), many prisoners prayed before ascending the scaffold. To the north of the donjon, a memorial plaque has been erected at the place of their execution. On the walls of the rooms, you can still read the inscriptions left by the prisoners. The Tower is open as a museum from 9 am to 5.30 pm in summer and 4.30 pm in winter.
