The History of the Tower of London

At the Tower of London it is hard to separate fact from fiction. Prison and royal stronghold, it was said that whoever controlled the tower, controlled London. And whoever controlled London, controlled the nation. It was also believed that if the ravens ever left the tower a terrible misfortune will befall the Kingdom - these days their wings are clipped just in case.

Norman Fortress
The oldest part is the White Tower, the original keep of William the Conqueror's Norman castle, with its 30-metre high walls. Between 1190 and 1285, two outer curtain walls were added, each with its own towers, and a defensive moat which diverted water from the Thames. This medieval plan has remained largely unchanged. Used as a royal residence for hundreds of years, Henry VIII was the last King to have domestic living quarters here.

The Bloody Tower
The so-called Bloody Tower is where Edward V and his younger brother were said to have met their deaths. The 12- year-old Edward and his brother Richard were held here by their uncle, the future Richard III. Centuries later, two skeletons were discovered here and taken to Westminster Abbey for burial. Some historians now believe the princes were actually held in the White Tower.

Princess Elizabeth (later to be Elizabeth I) spent three months in the Tower of London in 1554 while she was questioned about plots against her half-sister Queen Mary I.

Blood on the Green
Tower Green was the place where executions took place - including those of Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. The most horrific was Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, by order of Henry VIII. She refused to put her head on the block and was chased around the green before being struck 11 times with the axe. Her crime? Her son, the Archbishop of Canterbury, opposed Henry's divorce.

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