Nine hundred years of history is a long time for a building to stay relevant. The Tower of London has managed it by being everything at once: a fortress, a prison, a palace, a mint, a zoo, an armoury, and a tourist attraction. The White Tower, the central keep, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. Since then, the site has grown to 12 acres enclosed by two curtain walls and a moat that no longer holds water. Here is what sits inside those walls.
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In This Article
The Crown Jewels: 23,578 Gems Under Guard
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The Jewel House, a purpose-built underground vault completed in 1994, holds the Crown Jewels. The collection includes the Imperial State Crown, made in 1937 for George VI and reset for Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The crown contains 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and 4 rubies. The Star of Africa diamond, the largest colourless cut diamond in the world at 530 carats, sits in the Sovereign’s Sceptre. The Crown Jewels have been housed at the Tower since 1303, when the previous treasury at Westminster Abbey was robbed. The entire collection is valued at roughly 3 billion pounds. The moving walkway carries visitors past the display cases at a steady pace. You have roughly 90 seconds in front of the main crowns.
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The Prisoners: Who Went In and Who Came Out
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The Tower’s first recorded prisoner was Ranulf Flambard, the Bishop of Durham, in 1100. He escaped by climbing down a rope smuggled in a wine barrel. Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was held in the Queen’s House in 1536 before her execution on Tower Green. The scaffold was removed after the execution of Lord Lovat in 1747, the last person beheaded in Britain. Guy Fawkes was tortured in the Queen’s House in 1605 after the Gunpowder Plot. Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, was imprisoned in the Tower for four days in 1941. In total, the Tower held over 8,000 prisoners between 1100 and 1952, when the last prisoners, the Kray twins, were held for a short period.
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The Ravens: The Birds That Hold the Kingdom
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The Tower has maintained a resident population of six ravens since the reign of Charles II, who was told that the kingdom would fall if the ravens left. The ravens on duty are named Jubilee, Harris, Dunlop, Rocky, Poppy, and Rex. Each bird has a clipped flight feather on one wing to prevent it from flying away. The Ravenmaster, a Yeoman Warder appointed to the role, feeds them 170 grams of raw meat per day, supplemented with blood-soaked biscuits. The ravens have an average lifespan of 25 years in captivity. The oldest recorded Tower raven lived to 44.
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If you could go back to witness one event at the Tower of London, which year and what scene would you choose?
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Looking for more British travel inspiration? Check out our other guides to the United Kingdom and start planning your next European adventure!
There are four World heritage Sites that are among the leading sights of London, and of those the Tower of London provides arguably the most fascination for tourists. It is a historic castle on the bank of the Thames, founded in 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest, and one of the most popular tourist attractions in London.
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In the last year for which figures are available, some 2.4 million people visited the Tower of London, helped by its central location, close to key transport links, restaurants and the top London Hotels.
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The Tower of London is formally known as Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress, giving a clue to its historical use. It was used as a prison, an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie and the home of the Royal Mint. Famously, it was and still is used to store the Crown Jewels. It’s unique appearance and grandeur is mimicked at all places of luxury, such as the top Dubai Hotels or finest London restaurants. People seem to enjoy re-creating the pomp and circumstance of the era, even if the Tower itself had a grizzly past.
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The Tower of London was founded in controversial circumstances. William I, having just defeated the English king Harold, was keen to make his mark on England and commoners saw the tower as being a symbol of oppression.
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Over the next few hundred years, it was besieged several times, while in the 15th century it was the prison of the Princes in the Tower.
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On the death of Edward IV in 1483, his eldest son Edward V should have acceded to the throne, but his uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester, was declared Lord Protector instead, as the child was only 12. Edward was imprisoned in the tower, along with his younger brother Richard, and they are believed to have been murdered there in the late summer of 1483.
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Among the Tower of London’s other famous temporary residents was Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, who was imprisoned and later executed at the site. Guy Fawkes, one of the members of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Palace of Westminster in 1605, was tortured at the Tower.
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The Crown Jewels are stored in the Waterloo Barracks at the Tower, and are without doubt one of the most fascinating sights of London. The collection includes St Edward’s Crown, made in 1661, the Imperial State Crown made for George VI in 1937 and the George IV State Diadem, made in 1820.
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