Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOWER OF LONDON
Tower Hill 0844 482 7799,
www.hrp.org.uk
.
March-Oct Mon & Sun 10am-5.30pm, Tues-Sat
9am-5.30pm; Nov-Feb Mon & Sun 10am-4.30pm, Tues-Sat 9am-4.30pm.£20.
MAP
One of the most perfectly preserved medieval fortresses in the country, the Tower of London
sits beside the Thames surrounded by a wide, dry moat. Begun by William the Conqueror,
the Tower is chiefly famous as a place of imprisonment and death, though it has been used
variously as a royal residence, armoury, mint, menagerie, observatory and - a function it
still serves - a safe-deposit box for the Crown Jewels. Before you set off, join one of the
free guided tours, given by the Tower's
Beefeaters
(officially known as Yeoman Warders).
As well as giving a good introduction to the history, these ex-servicemen relish hamming up
the gory stories.
Visitors today enter the Tower along Water Lane, but in times gone by most prisoners were
delivered through
Traitors' Gate
, on the waterfront. The nearby
Bloody Tower
saw the
murders of 12-year-old Edward V and his 9-year-old brother, and was used to imprison Wal-
ter Raleigh on three separate occasions.
The central
White Tower
is the original “Tower”, begun in 1076. Now home to part of the
Royal Armouries, it's worth visiting if only for the beautiful Norman Chapel of St John, on
the second floor. To the west of the White Tower is the execution spot on
Tower Green
where seven highly placed but unlucky individuals were beheaded, among them Henry
VIII's second and fifth wives.
The
Crown Jewels
are the major reason so many people flock to the Tower, but the mov-
ing walkways which take you past the loot are disappointingly swift, allowing you just 28
seconds' viewing during peak periods. The oldest piece of regalia is the twelfth-century
Anointing Spoon, but the vast majority of exhibits, including the Imperial State Crown,
postdate the Commonwealth (1649-60). Among the jewels are three of the largest cut dia-
monds in the world, including the legendary Koh-i-Noor, set into the Queen Mother's
Crown in 1937.
