The Tower of London

698 Words2 Pages

The Tower of London, in central London, has a gloomy past. There was bloodshed, ghosts, wars, imprisonment, torture, and jewels. The Towers past maybe dark and gloomy but the history surrounding it is fascinating.
The Tower of London is a 900-year-old castle and fortress (Jarus). William the Conqueror created the first fortifications after the conquest of London in A.D. 1066 (Jarus). The Tower of London is not just one large tower; it is made up of 13 structures on the inside of the fortress, and 6 structures on the outside (McGillick). The entire fortress stretches across 12 acres of land (Jarus). On the outside of the Tower of London there is a large ditch and palisade on the north and west sides of the fortress (McGillick). There are four large turrets at the corners of the fortress. The dome shape of the turrets made it a great place to have first royal observatory in one of them (McGillick).
The Tower of London has a weird way of getting its name. The official name for the Tower of London is Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London (McGillick). The reason the fortress obtained the name the Tower of London is from White Tower. This is a white washed tower in the center of the fortress. Its walls are 15 feet thick and 90 feet tall (McGillick). The tower started as a wood and stone structure, later it was white washed by King Henry III (McGillick)(Jarus). This is the reason the tower is called white tower and the fortress is call the Tower of London.
The Tower of London has been used for a wide variety of affairs. One of the more interesting things it has been used for is holding the crown jewels (Jarus). The estimated value of the crown jewels is 32 billion dollars (25). The jewels were moved to the Tower o...

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...titions. One of which involving birds. There are a flock of ravens that live in the tower. These ravens are cared for and protected by the guards in the tower (Jarus). King Charles II is said to have been the first to order that the ravens be cared for (Jarus). The Ravenmaster Yeoman Warder is in charge of taking care of the ravens (Jarus). The reason that the ravens are

Works Cited

Jarus, Owen. “Tower of London: Facts & History.” Live Science. Tech Media, 23 Jan. 2014. Web.29 Apr. 2014
McGillick, Kathy. “The Tower of London.” Britainexpress.com. Kathy McGillick, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.
“Screaming Lady in the Haunted Gallery.” Historic Royal Palaces. Historic Royal Palaces, n.d. Web. 2 May 2014.
“Torture at the Tower of London.” Destinations-Uk-Ireland n.d. Web. 29 March 2014
“25 Facts About HM Tower Of London.” Royalcentral.co.uk. 13 Jan. 2013. Web. 5 May 2014.

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