Have you ever heard of the Tower of London? It's one of the most famous landmarks in England and the site of many famous events in English history.

Building the Tower

The Tower of London was originally built by a British King known as William the Conqueror following an important battle, The Battle of Hastings, in the year 1066. The tower has been built and rebuilt many times since then, but many of the earlier buildings – like the palace of Henry I (I is a Roman numeral that means "one." When placed after a king's name, it signifies or means he is called Henry the First) – are completely gone now.

William the Conqueror Born: 1027
Died: September 9, 1087

Is It Really A Tower?

Many people are surprised when they visit the tower to discover that the it is actually a complex of buildings arranged in a square around a center courtyard area known as the green. There are many buildings and towers in the tower complex.

The tower was used mostly as a jail and has housed some of the most famous prisoners in the world

Prisoners

Who are some of the prisoners once kept in the Tower of London? You've probably heard of Henry the VIII (VIII is also a Roman numeral and it means eight, which means this Henry was called Henry the Eighth). He was one of the most famous monarchs to rule England.

Henry had six wives and two of those wives were Anne Boelyn and Katherine Howard. Being the Queen in Henry's day was a very dangerous job. Both Anne and Katherine were beheaded after being imprisoned in the Tower. The place where the scaffold (a platform where the beheadings took place) once stood is visible on the tower green inside the tower complex.

Ann Boleyn was Queen of England only three years before she was beheaded on May 19, 1536

Other very famous figures in English history also met their ends while imprisoned in the tower, including Lady Jane Gray, a girl who was placed on the English throne for a few days. Lady Gray was executed in 1554. Other famous people to be executed at the tower were Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell.

Two young princes, the sons of a king named Edward and nephews of Richard III, another king, were imprisoned in one of the towers. They disappeared and it is believed they were murdered.

Other famous prisoners who stayed in the tower, but were not executed, were Sir Walter Raleigh, who was Queen Elizabeth I's favorite and one of the early explorers of America, Queen Elizabeth I herself and several kings. In addition to English royalty, World War II Nazi criminal Rudolph Hess was also imprisoned there.

The tower's prisoners left much evidence behind over the many hundreds of years the tower was used as a prison. This evidence includes graffiti. The graffiti – names, dates and other writings left behind by those who were imprisoned – was carved into the tower's stone walls. Much of it remains today.

There are also graves inside the complex. Both of Henry VIII's queens – Anne and Katherine – are buried there, along with Lady Jane Gray and the dukes of Sommerset and Northumberland.

Riches Beyond the Imagination

Along with the jails are other interesting exhibits, including the crown jewels of England. The jewels are kept in a well-guarded tower open to the public. They include crowns and scepters encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones and are worth a very large amount of money. The jewels are kept in glass cases. Most of them are only removed from the tower for maintenance and when members of the royal family must use them for state occasions.

Other Things To See

The tower complex also houses several museums, among them the are a military museum and an armory. The armory contains many, many examples of weapons used over the ages, along with some of the instruments used to execute prisoners.

Just beyond the Tower of London one can see Tower Bridge, which most tourists call "London Bridge," although that is not the correct name. The bridge spans the Thames (pronounced "Tims") River, which flows through the heart of London.

One can stand on top of the walkways at the Tower and see the bridge.

Visiting London is very nice and the Tower of London is one of the main attractions. It takes a long time to go through it and see all there is to see, so if you should make that trip, be sure to reserve a whole day just for the tower and the bridge!

Learn More About

The Tower of London

Here's a link to a kid's page all about the Tower:

http://www.toweroflondontour.com/kids/

Here's the official site of the Tower of London:

http://www.tower-of-london.com/

Here's a virtual tour of the Tower of London:

http://www.toweroflondontour.com

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