tower of london

• The Tower of London


  1,000-year-old castle that protects the Crown Jewels. It was a royal palace, a secure fortress, and an infamous prison. Kings and queens demonstrated their power from here, shaping our society and influencing our world.
• Framework of the Tower of London


  • Fortress
  • Palace
  • Prison
• The specification prohibits the use of the chosen site being linked directly to other topics being studied, but there is enough history at the Tower to avoid such prohibited overlaps
• Main areas of overlap


  • Normans
  • Elizabethans
  • Crime and Punishment
• If you are studying the Normans, begin your Historic Environment study at the Tower of London in the Tudor period
• If you are studying Elizabethans, focus your HE study at the Tower of London on the Norman or post-Tudor period, or make a comparison, e.g. between the Norman and Victorian Tower
• If you are studying Crime and Punishment, focus your HE study on the fortress and palace functions of the Tower rather than the Prison function
• Reasons for the location of the Tower of London


  • It was founded on the site of the easternmost Roman City wall of Londinium
  • It was situated at a strategic river location by the river Thames
  • The strategic location outside of Saxon Lundenwic was chosen by the Normans to impose their authority on the native population
  • Later fortifications to the Tower under Henry III and Edward I made the Tower a heavily defended concentric castle
• The Tower as a palace


  • It was the site of a royal palace and residence for king and queens of England
  • It was where many kings and queens began a procession on the morning of their coronation
• The Tower as a prison


  • The strong and secure fortress became used as a prison from as early as 1100 and up to the 1950s
• Why and when the Tower of London was created


  1. It was first built as a castle shortly after 1066 when William the Conqueror built a wooden motte and bailey structure on the site

  2. A solid stone building was begun in the 1080s and completed in the early 11100s

  3. It was built as a fortress to defend the Norman settlers, and to intimidate the local native Saxon population
• How the Tower of London has changed over time


  1. Medieval fortress, palace and prison, 1066-1509

  2. Tudor fortress, palace and prison, 1509-1700

  3. Industrial fortress, 1700-1850

  4. Tourist attraction 1850-present
• Uses of the Tower of London as a fortress


  • Protect Norman interests in London and intimidate the local Anglo-Saxon population
  • Produce, store and supply weapons such as cannons, guns, gunpowder and bows and arrows
  • Secure location for the Mint under Edward I
  • Adapted and reinforced to protect against military technology improvements
  • Became more important as a place to make, store and distribute weapons and gunpowder
  • Mint expanded to meet demand for coins
  • Fortress no longer needed, some buildings modified or removed for visitor experience
  • Mint moved to new purpose-built factory
• Uses of the Tower of London as a palace


  • The White Tower was built as a fortress and palace
  • New royal apartments built in the 1300s with rich decoration
  • Royal apartments refurbished for special events like Anne Boleyn's coronation
  • Tower no longer a fashionable and comfortable palace for the modern monarch
• Uses of the Tower of London as a prison


  • First prisoner was Bishop Ranulf Flambard who escaped
  • Llewelyn ap Gruffydd tried to escape but fell to his death
  • Edward I imprisoned 600 London Jews
  • Princes in the Tower imprisoned and disappeared
  • Tudors used it to imprison and execute political and religious enemies
  • Last prisoners were not state prisoners but criminals like the Kray twins
• Diversity of activities and people associated with the Tower of London


  • Fortress: Defence and attack, Display and propaganda, Armoury and arsenal, Accommodation, Treasure chest
  • Palace: Royal residence, Demonstration of royal power
  • Prison: Holding prisoners, Interrogation, Torture, Executions
• Reasons for changes to the Tower of London


  • Political: Intimidate Anglo-Saxons, Stability of royal power, Project power of monarchy
  • Military: Adapt to military technology improvements
  • Economic: Mint, Weapons production and storage
  • Social: Shift from palace to visitor attraction
• People imprisoned at the Tower


  • Elizabeth I
  • Anne Boleyn
  • Katherine Howard
  • Lady Jane Grey
  • John Gerard
  • Princes in the Tower
  • Richard III
  • Ranulf Flambard
  • Guy Fawkes
  • Jean le Bon
• Activities at the Tower


  • Prison accommodation
  • Interrogation
  • Torture
  • Executions
• The Tower


  • It was built by an invading power (the Normans) to intimidate and subdue the local Anglo-Saxon population
  • The stability of royal power impacted how the Tower was used, with the unstable Tudor dynasty using it as a prison frequently
  • Henry III had the White Tower whitewashed to project the power of the monarchy
  • The toilets in the White Tower faced east so human waste staining was not visible from the city
  • The restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and introduction of constitutional government in 1689 meant the Tower lost its role as the start of royal coronation processions and as a royal residence
• Environmental and geographical changes


  • As London grew, the water-filled moat was drained in 1843 as it was being used as a cesspool
• Military changes


  • The changes in military technology defined the shape of the Tower
  • The White Tower is typical of Norman defensive architecture
  • The later inner and outer curtain walls featured defensive structures typical of their time
  • The Bell Tower had faceted edges to prevent undermining in case of a siege
  • The Outer wall and moat formed a concentric castle with several layers of defence
  • Later additions and modifications such as Legge's and Brass Mount show how the Tower was adapted to hold and resist new firepower from large cannon
  • Inside the Tower, buildings were built to accommodate industrial processes of arms manufacture and making coins
  • A great fire in 1841 destroyed the grand weapons storehouse and many nearby buildings
  • New buildings were designed with the needs of the Victorian army in mind - with officers housed separately from ordinary men, reflecting Victorian class segregation
• Social changes


  • The fall in the number of offences punishable by execution meant the Tower saw fewer high status and high profile executions
  • In the 1270s, Jewish people were imprisoned in the Tower as it was a royal fortress and the only place capable of holding over 600 prisoners
  • By the early modern period, lower status offenders could be held at other prisons such as Newgate
  • The palaces of Westminster and Whitehall became the seats of political and royal power, larger than the Tower with space for new monarchy functions, while the Tower's constrained site and walls meant it could not expand and was at the wrong end of town
• Religious changes


  • Under Mary I, persecution of Protestants meant many were imprisoned at the Tower
  • Under Elizabeth, it was the Catholics who were imprisoned at the Tower
  • Under later kings and queens, having the wrong religion was not seen as treason, so people were not sent to the Tower for it
• Economic changes


  • The industrial revolution meant the Mint moved to a new purpose-built factory nearby at Tower Hill
  • The Tower today is run by an independent charity called Historic Royal Palaces, and receives no money from the government or the Queen to run the site, so it has to charge an entry fee to conserve the site and allow people to visit and learn about it
• The roots of the Tower of London can be found in the settlement of the Roman city of Londinium
• The Roman's decision to settle on this site, close to the River Thames and near the nearest crossing point to the sea where a bridge could be built, is fundamental to the history of London and the Tower
• The site was left to ruin by the Anglo-Saxons, who built their city of Lundenwic further west
• The Normans built their first wooden castle on the site, and then built the magnificent White Tower which dominated the London skyline until the 1960s
• The building of the Tower was a turning point in the site's history, and of England's history - it represented the conquest of the Anglo-Saxons by the Norman invaders
• The White Tower was begun in the 1080s and probably completed by around 1100
• Later kings, such as Henry III and Edward I


  • Used the Tower as a royal fortress and palace
  • Used new castle-building technologies such as a concentric castle design, walls shaped to avoid defeat during a siege, drawbridges, weapons, and portcullises
  • Made the Tower a huge and powerful fortress which further dominated the City of London
• Medieval kingship was a dangerous business, and kings needed strong fortresses to defend their land, to make their coins, and make and supply weapons for their armies
• The Tower became the most prominent mint and armoury in the country
• To ensure the kings could rule effectively, they needed to be constantly on the move to see their people and be seen by them, and the Tower was one of many royal bases, decorated lavishly with expensive furniture and textiles, all of which could be taken on the road with the king
• The Tower was the symbolic start of royal coronations, with medieval kings and queens spending the night before their coronation at prayer in the Tower, so they were spiritually clean and ready to accept their new role as monarch
• The Tudors continued to use the Tower as a palace and the starting point for coronation processions
• During the Tudor period the Tower became notorious as a place of imprisonment and execution, with high status and high profile prisoners including three queens of England
• After the Civil Wars the Tower ceased to be used as a royal palace, as other, newer palaces such as Whitehall, Hampton Court and Greenwich were preferred by kings, queens and their court
• The Tower's role as a place of weapons storage, production and supply, and as an army base, and mint became more prominent