Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tower Green
In medieval times, this spacious courtyard within the walls was the “town square” for those
who lived in the castle. Knights exercised and jousted here, and it was the last place of
refuge in troubled times. The Tower is still officially a royal residence, and the Queen's
lodgings are on the south side of the green, in the white half-timbered buildings where a
bearskin-hatted soldier stands guard.
The north side of the Green is bordered by the stone Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad
Vincula (“in Chains”). The current structure was built by Henry VIII, and his most fam-
ous victims are buried here (among them his wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard).
The chapel's interior is open only on the Beefeater tour, except during the last hour of the
day, when anyone can go inside to see it. If you aren't on a tour, wait for one to come
around, discreetly squeeze into the group while the Beefeater is talking outside the chapel,
and go in with the group.
Near the middle of Tower Green is a granite-paved square marked Site of Scaffold.
 
 
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