The Tower of London
The Tower of London
The Tower of London, the oldest fortified palace in Europe, was built by William the Conqueror in the late 1000's. It has served as a fortress, prison, palace, and the final resting-place of many people
("Tower of London" Encarta 1). Its history is full of amazing and horrific stories of life and death. To truly appreciate this magnificent group of structures a look must be taken into its history through it's architecture, uses, and those held in the prisons and dungeons. The Tower Of London is not actually one tower, it is a group of 13 towers located on 7.5 hectares of land known as Tower Hill ("Tower of London" Encarta 1). To the south of the tower is the Thames
Rivers, which used to feed a moat that was drained in 1830. The general shape of the tower is a square with two lines of defensive walls surrounding it. The outer wall is defended by six towers on the river face, and there are two semi-circular bastions at the northeast and northwest corners (Tower of London Virtual Tour
3). The original tower, also known as the White Tower, is flanked by four turrets (Encarta 1). By looking carefully at the architecture of the tower you can see the painstaking workmanship put into every little detail. The group of thirteen towers collectively known as the Tower of London has five areas, which are especially interesting. One such tower was the Lion Tower, called so because it once housed the royal managerie. Often bear baiting performances were held here (Virtual Tour of the Tower of London 4). The
Bell Tower is known by this name because of the belfry located at the top of it. The bell in the belfry was used as a warning system of an oncoming attack from enemies to the English (Virtual Tour of the Tower of
London 6). Another building is the famous Bloody Tower, which is called this because it is the location of the murder of Prince Edward V and the Richard, the Duke of York (Virtual Tour of the Tower of
The Tower of London, the oldest fortified palace in Europe, was built by William the Conqueror in the late 1000's. It has served as a fortress, prison, palace, and the final resting-place of many people
("Tower of London" Encarta 1). Its history is full of amazing and horrific stories of life and death. To truly appreciate this magnificent group of structures a look must be taken into its history through it's architecture, uses, and those held in the prisons and dungeons. The Tower Of London is not actually one tower, it is a group of 13 towers located on 7.5 hectares of land known as Tower Hill ("Tower of London" Encarta 1). To the south of the tower is the Thames
Rivers, which used to feed a moat that was drained in 1830. The general shape of the tower is a square with two lines of defensive walls surrounding it. The outer wall is defended by six towers on the river face, and there are two semi-circular bastions at the northeast and northwest corners (Tower of London Virtual Tour
3). The original tower, also known as the White Tower, is flanked by four turrets (Encarta 1). By looking carefully at the architecture of the tower you can see the painstaking workmanship put into every little detail. The group of thirteen towers collectively known as the Tower of London has five areas, which are especially interesting. One such tower was the Lion Tower, called so because it once housed the royal managerie. Often bear baiting performances were held here (Virtual Tour of the Tower of London 4). The
Bell Tower is known by this name because of the belfry located at the top of it. The bell in the belfry was used as a warning system of an oncoming attack from enemies to the English (Virtual Tour of the Tower of
London 6). Another building is the famous Bloody Tower, which is called this because it is the location of the murder of Prince Edward V and the Richard, the Duke of York (Virtual Tour of the Tower of