Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hanging by the neck until nearly dead, then “drawing” (cut open to be gutted), and finally
quartering, with your giblets displayed on the walls as a warning. (Guy Fawkes, who tried
to blow up Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder, received this treatment after being
tortured here.) Any cries for help were muffled by the thick stone walls—15 feet at the
base, a mere 11 feet at the top.
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Either now or later, find time to go inside the White Tower for its excellent museum.
White Tower Museum
Inside the White Tower, a one-way route winds through exhibits re-creating medieval life
and the Tower's bloody history of torture and executions.
In the
Royal Armory,
you'll see some suits of armor of Henry VIII—on a horse,
slender in his youth (c. 1515), then more heavy-set by 1540 (with his bigger-is-better cod-
piece). Next to Henry is the child-size armor once thought to be for his long-awaited male
heir, Edward VI, who died young. But the armor actually belonged to Henry, Prince of
Wales (1594-1612), the popular son of James I. Get up close to see the incredibly detailed
battle scenes. Continuing along, other suits of armor, including those of a 6'8” giant and a
3'1” midget (more likely a child), and swords are identified by king. End this section by
finding some memorabilia of Princes William and Harry.
