The Tower of London
Ranked #8,275 in Travel & Places, #218,673 overall
Off With Their Heads!
Anyway I finally went this year.
My partner and I have really gotten into the TV series "The Tudors" and wanted to soak up any sort of connection we could have to King Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas More, Anne Boleyn etc. "Look Honey! This is where Jonathan Rhys Meyers lives".
Image opposite: Traitor! Me posing in front of Traitors Gate with early morning wince. I wore my very beautiful Raven earrings specially- shaped like ravens and even made by a girl called Raven.
Contents at a Glance
What I Expected
A doodle by Melted Rachel.
“...I was hoping for Hogwarts but got National Trust...”
Misconceptions
For some reason I thought it was one big tower- just one big building- with ravens flying around it. Yep, that's what I imagined- one tower, sort of a bit crumbling and falling apart, covered in ravens with the crown jewels being kept in a room right at the top of the building!
I thought you'd have to work your way through the buildings until you got to the top. I thought you'd start in a dungeon, filled with cobwebby torture equipment whilst Beefeaters gave you a surly look. Then you'd file out and maybe go up another floor and ravens would be swooping in and out of arrow slits trying to take your eyes out.
I thought that when you got to the top the crown jewels would be spinning around in little cabinets and there would be dust and cobwebs.
Basically I was hoping for Hogwarts but got National Trust!
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This is London
By Miroslav Sasek.
The Moat
Ew!
This moat used to be filled with water (obviously). Apparently all bodily waste and general grim stuff got chucked in here and it stunk!The Thames River would wash into here with the high tide and "flush" everything out. Human effluence would then get washed across the English channel and dumped on the shores of France- not my words, the words of a Beefeater.
Anyway- I don't think it worked too well because it the Beefeater dude said it smelt really bad and if you fell into the moat you were basically dead from all the gloop and germs.
“King Henry is a bit like Tony Soprano, in that you didn't know when he was suddenly going to explode”
The Bell Tower
This is where Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher were held prisoner. This is because they refused to sign some dusty old document which said that Henry was better than the Pope, or something like that.King Henry is a bit like Tony Soprano, in that you didn't know when he was suddenly going to explode in a psychotic rage. Thomas More was one of his closest and oldest friends who he loved dearly but Henry still had him decapitated.
I like Thomas More and Bishop Fisher because they were on Katherine of Aragon's side when Henry was trying to divorce her. They were good men who stood up for what they believed in. I'm not Catholic but I think that if you're going to say you believe in something then you should stick to it.
Plus Jeremy Northam is hot for an older guy.
Beefeaters
They're real!
Beefeaters are also known as "Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London".I always thought Beefeaters were guys from the past and that the ones at the tower today were actors in costume.
But no, they're real Beefeaters!
The term Beefeater may come from olden times when they were paid in beef from the King's table. It may have been an insult from jealous paupers who couldn't afford to eat red meat.
To be a Beefeater you have to have served in the armed forces (I believe). Although they don't accept anyone from the Navy because they haven't pledged alleigance to the crown.
Beefeaters get to live in houses within the tower keep and one of them gets to be Ravenmaster and look after the killer ravens! Cool!
(Photo from Wikimedia).
Hand's Up! Who's From the Colonies?
Not my words, the words of a Beefeater
Murder Holes and Portcullis
See that hole there?That's a murder hole.
If your enemies try to break in to your fortress you just pour boiling oil on them and then you slam the portcullis down on top.
Traitors Gate
If you come in this way you're probably not going to be leaving again... at least not with your head still attached.
Queen Elizabeth 1st managed it. If you watch the first Elizabeth film you'll see her brought through here (in a boat obviously).
Chapel Where Anne Boleyn is Buried
I couldn't really hear what the Beefeater was saying about this chapel because I was sat at the back. I think the general gist is that this is where traitors were buried and that Anne Boleyn is still buried in the chapel in an unmarked grave.
Six Wives
By David Starkey.
Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII
Amazon Price: $3.82 (as of 02/17/2012)
My partner is reading this and really enjoying it. He hates all books apart from Harry Potter so that is a good sign. Apparently Anne Boleyn is a lot cleverer and brilliant than she's protrayed in The Tudors. The majority of this book is taken up by Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, this is because the others didn't do much whereas Katherine refused to get divorced and Anne Boleyn's life had such a huge affect on England. Jane Seymour was very quiet and died quite early on. Anne of Cleaves was content with a quick divorce and friendship. Catherine Howard was executed for being a teen flirt and Kateryn Parr was probably well behaved but died quite soon after childbirth.
“I haven't seen those little princes for... why, it must be going on 5 years now.”
The Murdered Princes
Apparently there were two sweet little princes that lived in the tower with their uncle- the slightly suspicious-seeming Richard III. Well Shakespeare didn't like him...Anyway, one day, someone in the tower must have said "I haven't seen those little princes for... why, it must be going on 5 years now".
The boys were last seen in 1483.
So anyway, a bit later (about 200 years) someone decided to shift some stuff about in the tower during renovations work and found two small skeletons under a staircase leading to the chapel.
The skeletons were reburied and unfortunately no tests can be done to confirm their identity now.
Here they are- painted 400 years later by, one of my favourite, John Everett Millais.
The Princes in the Tower
By Alison Weir.
The Princes in the Tower
Amazon Price: $3.48 (as of 02/17/2012)
Learn more about Edward V and his brother. What really happened to them? What are the facts and the speculation?
The Crown Jewels
English Coronation Regalia.
I probably should have been much more impressed by the crown jewels than I was but, hey, I am not a diamond girl!
I was very amused by the conveyer belt which glides you swiftly past the cabinets of crowns and sceptres- why I hardly had time to press my nose up against the glass.
Opposite is an artist's interpretation of the jewels!
I was, however, in love with a big embroidered robe that they had in a case in another room.
Imperial State Crown
Oohh shiny!
Rickerty Bits and Plastic Diamonds
When we came out from looking at the Crown Jewels there were some smaller "turrety" towers whcih hasd little displays about some massive diamond on some sceptre- including a series of replicas which showed you how some dude had chopped up this diamond into smaller diamonds. Obviously I don't know anything about diamonds but I think you get your raw lump and then you have to chop it up to get perfect diamond pieces which are clear.
Anyway I got really excited about this because there was this episode of Dr Who with Queen Victoria and a werewolf and there was all this stuff about Prince Albert having this diamond and continually making cuts in it until he could put it in this telescope and use it to somehow defeat the werewolf... I can't really remember... anyway, where was I?
And there was this base for a crown with no jewels in it which looked way prettier and more interesting without all the added bling!
And the smaller towers had these spiral staircases that are really narrow and make me feel sick... so that was fun.
Ravens
Do not feed the Ravens!
They will snip off your fingers and steal your eyes when you're not looking!
It's said that if the Ravens ever leave the tower then England is in trouble, therefore it is cheating to clip the Ravens' wings.
The Ravens' wings are clipped.
The Ravens
“They're apparently very intelligent and are probably one day plotting to steal the crown jewels”
The Raven's Cage
The Ravens can roam all around the tower if they wish. Although they are probably not allowed in to see the Crown Jewels. This is their cage, where they live.
The Ravens eat raw meat which is apparently bought from Smithfield meat market.
The Ravens can talk- they can count up to five, I believe, and apparently they talk to the Ravenmaster and answer a few questions. They're apparently very intelligent and are probably one day plotting to steal the crown jewels and take over Buckingham Palace.
I read somewhere that during the Second World War all of the Ravens but one died of shock. The Survivor was called Grip.
Apparently there is a Celtic Raven god called Bran- this is probably not important but I think it's cool.
Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds
By Bernd Heinrich.
Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds
Amazon Price: $8.49 (as of 02/17/2012)
This book is all about Ravens and it looks amazing. It's definitely going on my Wishlist.
The White Tower...
...And Henry's Armour.
Opposite: The queue to get into the White Tower to see King Henry's armour.Henry's armour was so impressive- much more impressive than the Crown Jewels!
Included in the exhibition were jousting poles (whatever the proper term for those is!), several sets of armour- including a very portly set for Henry in his later years, horse armour and some very impressive white-flocked models of horses. I probably wasn't supposed to find the life-size horse models impressive- but they were!
There was an interesting helmet there with curved ram's horns and glasses- very odd!
Tales from the Tower of London
By Daniel Diehl.
Tales from the Tower of London
Amazon Price: $156.09 (as of 02/17/2012)
Want to really find out about the Tower? Try this book and check my "facts"!
Tower of London, seen from the River Thames, with a view of Traitor's Gate
By Viki Male.
Share Your Thoughts
Reader Feedback.
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aj2008
Feb 5, 2010 @ 9:26 am | delete
- What a brilliant lens. I love your very unique "commentary" about The Tower of London. I have not been since I was a child and methinks I should take my own Little Princesses there - maybe if they dont behave I could leave them there! Congrats on a well deserved Purple Star.
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MeltedRachel
Feb 5, 2010 @ 9:49 am | delete
- Thanks so much AJ! :D
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jaysonGalloway68
Feb 2, 2010 @ 4:36 am | delete
- Awesome lens. I am going there this year as well and will take notes from you. I just booked my hotel and did Awesome lens. I am going to london in Summer and I just went to Compare car hire just to see the prices of the car, but not sure if I will use it in the end.
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MeltedRachel
Feb 3, 2010 @ 11:03 am | delete
- Thanks for visiting! :) Hope you enjoy your trip.
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MeltedRachel
Aug 13, 2009 @ 1:21 pm | in reply to Janusz | delete
- Thanks so much Janusz! :D
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About Melted Rachel
Textiles Artist.
by MeltedRachel
I'm Rachel, a textiles artist from the southwest of England.
I love using recycled materials to create one-of-a-kind:
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