Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tower's four turrets, topped by stylish Tudor cupolas, only three are square: the fourth is
rounded in order to encase the main spiral staircase, and for a short while was used by
Charles II's royal astronomer, Flamsteed, before he moved to Greenwich. he main
entrance to the Tower is the original one, high up in the south wall, out of reach of the
enemy, and accessed by a wooden staircase which could be removed during times of siege.
Royal Armouries
The four floors of arms and armour displayed within the tower represent a mere
smidgen of the
Royal Armouries
(the majority of which resides in Leeds), originally
established by Henry VIII in Greenwich and on display here since the time of Charles
II. Among the most striking armour displayed on the ground floor is the colossal
garniture of 1540 made for Henry VIII (and famous for its protruding codpiece, which
women used to touch to boost their fertility), juxtaposed with boy king Edward VI's
tiny suit of armour. Several exotic gifts presented to the royalty reside here, too,
including the Japanese shogun armour presented to King James I by the East India
Company. The collection takes a lurch into the present day with a polo helmet and
knee pads belonging to Prince Charles.
he
Line of Kings
, on the same floor, is a display first recorded in 1660, a sort of
Restoration waxworks only in wood, originally depicting the monarchs of England on
horseback. Also on show here is a suit of armour for a man six feet nine inches tall
(once thought to have been John of Gaunt) and one for a boy just three feet one and a
half inches high (possibly Charles I). On the top floor, there's an interesting exhibition
on the executions that have taken place within the Tower and on Tower Hill over the
years - the block and axe from the last beheading are here (see opposite).
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Chapel of St John
Whatever your interests, you should pay a visit to the first-floor
Chapel of St John
,
a beautiful Norman structure completed in 1080, making it the oldest intact
ecclesiastical building in London. It was here that Henry VI's body was buried
following his murder in 1471; that Henry VII's queen, Elizabeth of York, lay in state
surrounded by eight hundred candles, after dying in childbirth, and that Lady Jane
Grey came to pray on the night before her execution. Today, the once highly decorated
ROYAL MENAGERIE
The
Royal Menagerie
began in earnest in 1235 when the Holy Roman Emperor presented
three “leopards” to Henry III; the keeper was initially paid sixpence a day for the sustenance of
the beasts (they were, in fact,
lions
), and one penny for himself. From the 1330s, they were put
on public display in the outer barbican (which became known as the Lion Tower), and joined
some years later by a
polar bear
from the King of Norway (who was put on a leash and
allowed to catch fish in the Thames) and an
elephant
from the King of France. James I was
particularly keen on the menagerie, and used to stage regular animal fights on the green, but
the practice was stopped in 1609 when one of the bears killed a child. In 1704, six lions, two
leopards, three eagles, two Swedish owls “of great bigness”, two “cats of the mountains” and a
jackal were recorded. Visitors were advised not to “play tricks” after an orang-utan threw a
cannonball at one and killed him.
The menagerie was transferred to the newly founded
London Zoo
in the 1830s, leaving the
Tower with just its
ravens
, descendants of early scavengers attracted by waste from the palace
kitchens. They have been protected by royal decree since the Restoration, and have their
wings clipped so they can't fly away - legend says that the Tower (and therefore the kingdom)
will fall if they do, though the Tower was in fact briefly raven-less during the last war after the
Tower suffered heavy bombing. While the ravens may appear harmless, they are vicious,
territorial creatures best given a wide berth. They live in coops in the south wall of the Inner
Ward, are fed raw meat from Smithfield Market, have individual names and even have their
own graveyard in the dry moat near the main entrance.
