London: The Tower! Part 1

June 12, 2013: The Tower of London. So much history that I never knew! This tour was so fun, and fascinating, and the Tower of London is so much more than a tower. It is a whole complex. Let me take you on a tour.... :-)

First, to orient you. (Pretend you are standing where the little yellow guy says "You are here." :-)

 The Moat. Now, before you wonder "Why on earth did Erin take a picture of the grass, that isn't even the moat..." you need to understand that the only place I was more excited to see than the Tower of London, was Hampton Court. Because I am a 
Shakespeare freak, I have studied the Tudors and Elizabethan Era quite a bit, and so this was all SO cool for me. So yes...this used to be the moat. 

Its kind of a pretty little park now, (you can see the little dog playing above). A little history: through the centuries they began to fill it in. They started with all the mussel shells from the Seine. Then layered it up. By WWII it was a huge garden, growing food to help keep the people of England surviving.  I thought that was neat.

The moat has been a great archeological site. In the 1990's they uncovered the remains of Henry III's `Noble Gateway' that worried Londoners in 1240, when it was first built. They also found a late-medieval fish trap, which showed that the moat was used for more than just protection, but also as a source of food for the castle. The moat was designed to flush itself out to the Seine, which this little bridge shows. It didn't work very well though, so all the "waste" that went into the mote (if you know what I mean) didn't get "flushed" out (no pun intended) and it all just sunk to the bottom of the moat. My guess is, they weren't able to fish there after a while....

Joseph is so good to me, and my picture taking!

The dark line at the bottom is a water line, to give you an idea of how high the water came up. (remember the grass is all filled in...it was a deep moat).

I am standing in the moat of London Tower! Touching the wall at the water line! excited.

Brand new gutter pipes! ....from 1840!

Our guide was a real "Beefeater!" In order to be able to be a Beefeater, you must have been on officer in the Queen's forces for (I think he said at least 20 years, maybe it was 40). Notice the military decorations on his shoulder. But any regiment under the Queen qualifies, so that includes Canada and Australia, etc. Their main job is to be her bodyguards, guard the royal jewels, and any prisoners at the Tower (of which there are none, anymore). When you are "stationed" at the Tower, that also means you are a tour guide as well, but you and your family get to live there at the Tower. Its like a little city! The grounds include a church as well. "Where did you grow up?" "England." "Oh yeah? Where in England?" "Oh, the Tower of London...."

With an ominous name like "Bloody Tower" there has to be a story, and yes there is. This is the place where the 2 princes were supposedly murdered by Richard III.  Although some historians say there is no proof, history tells us that once they were put in the tower, they did "disappear" and were never seen or heard of again. Several years later, during "remodeling" or something like that, the bones of 2 children were found here, cementing the legend that they indeed had been killed by their uncle.

Interestingly, Richard III's bones were just found this year! Which is incredible that they can identify WHO they were, from so far back. For more information, you can click here. It is pretty fascinating:

Body of Richard III discovered

As we listened to our guide, I looked back to see these guys coming up the walk. 

Some of the Ravens of the Tower. There is a legend that says that as long as there are 6 black ravens at the Tower, all will be well. But if they ever leave the Tower, the Tower and England will fall. The protection of the ravens started back with Charles II. They clip their wings, and then are treated like Kings. No, I didn't mean that to rhyme...but it did. :-) Seriously though, he said that they are the best treated birds in all of England, maybe the world!

During WWII bombings, 2 of the Ravens died. They kind of panicked a little, especially considering the time, and the fact that the Germans were right there on their doorstep! They got 4 more ravens (if I remember right) and there are now 7 on the premises...just to be safe, there is a spare! :-) England didn't fall, and the legend continues.

Kind of in the middle of the grounds in one corner is the anachronistic memorial, set inside all the centuries-old stone and history. It is a memorial to those who died on this very spot by beheading. Including Anne Boleyn.

This is the only Tudor house, really from the Tudor era, that still exists in England. All the others burned, or have since been destroyed. Which is what outlawed thatched roofs in England. The guard stands watch because guess who owns the house? Yep. The Queen. Any residence owned by the Queen, has the Queen's guard at the door. So although she never lives here, I doubt, she even visits it, it is a remarkable landmark, and is protected by the Queen's Guard.

Just a little alley way. I told you there was more here than just a prison tower!

Of course I couldn't take pictures inside, but it was pretty sparkly!

Some Crown Tidbits:
The first monarch to be crowned in Westminster Abbey was in 1066, and they have been crowned there ever since.

The Coronation Spoon (yep, I know) is the oldest treasure in the Crown Jewels. It was made for either Henry II or Richard I in the 1100s.

In 1367, Edward III's eldest son is given a large red gem, said to be the "Black Prince's Ruby" now in the Imperial State Crown.

In 1587, Queen Elizabeth I loved pearls. Some of the pearls in the Imperial State Crown are said to have belonged to her.

I loved this shot because it has the Queen's Guard on one end, and Raven on the other.

Next on our tour, is the Norman Garderobe. What is that, might you ask? A REALLY OLD, like, from NORMAN times, ....privy, ...loo, ...potty. :-) The original "throne."

The original Norman toilet, or garderobe, served the great chamber and was one of six in the White Tower. These were the fancy rooms!

I loved that the covered the hole with plexiglass, so you could see the drop it all would take, down into the moat!

This Norman Fireplace is one of the earliest known wall fireplaces in England and was one of four in the White Tower. Early Norman fireplaces pre-dated the introduction of chimney stacks, so the smoke was allowed to escape through two holes in the side of the building through a flue built into the thickness of the wall.

This type of fireplace was a great improvement on earlier designs where a fire burned in the center of the room, but without a flue to remove the smoke. The smoke would fill the room and eventually escape through holes in the roof. We've come a LONG way baby, with our central heating!!!

Just some other artifacts hanging about in the Tower....

A HUGE book! The Board of Ordinance.

Executioner's Mask, block and axe.

Only 22 people have been executed here. 7 in the 15th and 16th centuries, 3 in the 18th century, and 12 in the 20th century. I find that a little disturbing, that it is so famous for the 15th and 16th centuries, and that barbaric time, yet we have executed more in the place during our lifetimes.

I suppose in our defense, many Tower prisoners who were sentenced to death, met their fate on nearby Tower Hill.

As far as the executioner's mask, all though the Victorians said that is what it was, most modern historians think that it is pretty unlikely that an executioner would have worn an iron mask, and that it was actually one that was used to punish gossips. Ha!

Joseph tried his hand at pulling a long bow, and checking his power and aim. (the picture below)

I just wanted you to see how thick the walls are!

Joseph and Merinda at a very cool old door!

The Tower! Part 2 coming up!