Tower of London
The age old fortress stands as a monument of English and European history. Through monarchs, bloody battles, from prisoners to executions and a touch from all London’s prominent events in history, the Tower Of London is renowned for more than just its magnificent appearance.
The tower was founded by William, Duke of Normandy when he conquered England in 1066. He began building the stronghold as a declaration of his power to the English people who were resentful of his reign. William invaded England and defeated King Harold and his armies at the Battle of Hastings. When he began building, the white tower was constructed, which was the first step of many more additions to make the castle we see today. Because it was built around war time, the tower was designed with the principle of defense. Roman walls, guard towers and gates were put up around the tower. Later other monarchs would also add more defensive walls, a moat, more towers and reinforce the military tower guards, Yeomen warders or more commonly called Beefeaters. Many of the monarchs continually improved on the white tower, in attempts to make it more and more secure. From its beginning the white tower has been the most formidable part of the royal castle.
Royal monarchs did not start living on the grounds until several hundred years after its construction. In 1220 Henry III began to largely expand on the royal palace and increased the castle defenses. When the tower did become a common place for monarchs, it also became a new stage for climatic events in England. The palace became a place for royal ceremonies and drama. The casual attributes of the tower like the armory, treasury, temple, the castles green and even an added Jewel house were all made mo...
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...s Learning Co, 1992.
• DC. May “Tower Of London” Picture Book Of London. Hundry Publishing, 1997.
• Christopher Hibbert “Tower Of London” Newsweek, 1997. Easy Bib. http://easybib.com/cite/results?source+book&query=toweroflondon&pubtab
• Historic Royal Palaces. Copyright. Historic Royal Palaces 2004-2014. Tower Of London. http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/
• Camelot International “Tower Of London” Knight International Bulgarian Property Specialist 2001-2004. Copyright 2001 Hermien Jerian du’fort http://www.camelotintl.com/tower_site/index.html • Youtube/Historic Royal Palaces, March 19, 2009. Copyright youtube license. 1-21-14 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6iUU9wbM3k
• PBS, Tower Of London, pbs program 2014. Copyright PBS 2014. 1-20-14 http://www.pbs.org/program/secrets-tower-london/ • “Tower Of London” Britanica publishing 2009. Copyright Britanica Encyclopedia
The Seige of 1216 and Dover Castle "THE SIEGE OF 1216 BROUGHT ABOUT LITTLE REAL CHANGE TO DOVER CASTLE.
Founded nearly a millennium ago, The Tower of London has been expanded over the centuries. The first foundations built by William the Conquer have been constantly improved. “The Tower of London is the oldest palace, fortress and prison in Europe (“The Tower of London”, “Tower of London”). The Tower of London was never supposed to be a prison.The Tower was originally a Royal Palace also serving as a defensive fortress (“Twenty-Five Facts”). Phil Wilson, a yeoman sergeant, once commented that “hundreds of people have been held prisoner and died [there]” (Go World Travel).
The church in the Middle Ages was a place that all people, regardless of class, could belong to. As a source of unity, its influence on art and architecture was great during this time. As society drew away from the feudal system of the Romanesque period, a new spirit of human individualism began to take hold; alas, the birth of Gothic. Here, the Church became a place where humanity became more acceptable, alas becoming the ideal place to visual such new ideals. The beauty and elegance of Gothic architecture is depicted most in the great cathedrals of the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries—St. Denis, Notre Dame, Chartres, Salisbury, Durham, Amiens, and more. The experience of looking at one of the great gothic cathedrals is to look up towards God. Indeed, most Gothic structures emphasize the vertical, drawing one’s eyes upwards toward the heavens with the awesomeness of God. These cathedrals were built with towering spires, pointed arches and flying buttresses giving impressions of harmony and luminosity. One of the major accomplishments of the 12th and 13th centuries was to develop the engineering mastery of the ribbed vault, pointed arch and flying buttress to create a great cathedral that is at once taller, lighter, wider, and more elegant than the ones before. Even though the pointed arch could support more weight than its predecessors, there was still the problem of finding a way to support the heavy masonry ceiling vaults over wide spans. In order to support the outward thrust of barrel vaults, vertical support walls have to be very thick and heavy. What makes possible the extensive use of ribbed vaulting and pointed arches to “open” and “lighten” the walls and space of the cathedral is the flying buttress—“an arched bridge above the aisle roof that extends from the upper nave wall, where the lateral thrust of the main vault is greatest, down to a solid pier.”
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament, serves as the meeting place for the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Old Palace was a medieval building that was destroyed by fire in 1834. After the fire, a competition was held for architects to submit plans for the new building that should be in a Gothic or Elizabethan style hoping to embody the conservative values of England. A Royal commission chose Charles Barry’s designs for a Perpendicular Gothic palace. Barry’s own style was more classical than Gothic which is why Augustus Pugin’s involvement was so crucial in Barry winning the competition. Barry’s plans reflected more of his knowledge of the neo-classical style through its symmetry. Pugin was the leading authority on Gothic architecture at the time. Almost all of the remains of the Old Palace were incorporated into the new design. Their work on the Palace began in 1840 and, while most of the work was finished by 1860, the New Palace of Westminster was not complete until a decade later. One of the most identifiable features of the Palace is the Elizabeth Tower, commonly identified by its main bell, “Big Ben”. The building is also known for two main spaces; the Lord’s Chamber and the Common’s Chamber. It is well identified by its main façade which runs parallel to the River Thames. The Palace, as it stands today, has been conserved very well to best display the designs as Charles Barry and Pugin intended them to be displayed. The Palace was, and remains, the center for political life in the United Kingdom, just as it remains a major iconic landmark of London. Many articles and books have been written discussing and disputing the history and design of the New Palace of Westminster, as well as the...
Gothic structures had a tendency to be very tall, light walls, towering structures and with large widows, a lot of light could flow in, giving a strong sense of happiness and godliness. Many town halls castles, palaces, and guild halls were structured in such fashions all over the European continent. Gothic styles are most remembered for the churches and cathedrals which overlook over some European cites. Although it was not as common, some people actually had the interior of their homes styled in a gothic manner.
The Eiffel Tower is so amazing. It stands 1,063 feet tall in Paris and took 2 years, 2 months, and 5 weeks to build which is an impressive time for such a tall building.The Eiffel Tower is a strong yet delicate building. It was made from puddle iron and many rivets.(rivets are kind of like big nails) It used to be the tallest structure in the world,but many buildings have past it's height since it was first built in 1887. The Eiffel Tower comes from four different feet that are held in the ground by many rivets. All of the feet meet up in the middle and go up for 984 feet until the top. The Eiffel Tower has three different platforms at different heights. The intermediate platform is just above the meeting of the feet. All the platforms are reached by stairs and elevators. The Eiffel Tower has been visited by more than 167 million people since it first opened in 1889. (http://www.eiffel-tower.us/Eiffel-Tower-Why-Was-the-Eiffel-Tower-Built.html),(http://corrosion-doctors.org/Landmarks/eiffel-history.htm),(Munro,16+17)and,(http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/world/eiffel-tower.html)
The medieval period, also known as the middle ages, went from 1066 to 1500. During this, England went through many changes in rule. In 1042 Edward the Confessor, son of King Aethelred and Emma, became the King of England, after he learned the and the French culture, and people. After his Edward’s death in 1066, the Normans invaded England, which led to the defeat of the Anglo-Saxons elite. Under the rule of William the Conqueror federalism was introduced to govern England. Once Williams was crowned he started work on the Tower of London, and later Canterbury Cathedral, that lead to the Norman style of architecture. After William died his son Henry I took the throne; he then died without a male heir, so his daughter, Matilda, married Stephen of Blois, who was supported by the church, but his rule led to anarchy. Stephen reign lasted nineteen years.
The first castles built (Motte and Bailey) were made of wood and quick to build, but they were burnt and worn down easily, so the next castles were made of stone. (Square keeps) They were tall, strong, large and lasted long, but attackers would surround the castle and wait for ages for the people inside to come out. The third castles (Shell Keeps) were even stronger, but because they were made of heavy stone, they might collapse. So finally, the fourth castles (concentric) were built and they were the strongest, largest most defensive and most expensive castles built.
...survived public lashings and invasions since its erection in 1889. Even though some thought it would detract from the gloriousness of Paris, it brought in millions upon millions of people from every nation who had the desire to see the breath taking monument that is the Eiffel Tower. Thousands, if not millions, spend their lives dreaming and wishing they can one day visit the Tower, jars are labeled ‘Eiffel Tower Fund’ and spend years filling up. The Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, has brought delight and bliss to many with its income and the addition to science around the world.
The most impressive structure of Windsor Castle is the Round Tower, or Keep, which stands 80 feet high. According to tradition, King Arthur sat with the Knights of the Round Table within this tower. Surrounded by a moat, it was also used as a prison until 1660.
Eiffel Tower, consider by many as a miracle of the world, is a magnificent creation of the 19th century European architecture that has become a characteristic symbol of Paris.
Buckingham Palace is best known as a residence of the British monarchs located in the City of Westminster. Today, the palace is the administrative headquarters of the Monarchs. It was originally built for the Duke of Buckingham in the early 18th century and has been in a private ownership for at least 150 years. However, during the 19th century, the Palace was enlarged by two British architects, John Nash and Edward Blore. Only few additions to the Palace were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East front, which contains the balcony on which the royal family traditionally greets the crowd.
The tower of Pisa is a well known masterpiece of architecture and it is considered the crowning glory of Pizza. It is the tallest building structure in the whole of Europe and a real example of the medieval engineering . The tower of Pisa is also known as the bell tower and it is a part of a big complex that includes four important buildings. The tower was built by Guglielmo and the sculptor Bonanno and the tower was made of some storeys and its final point is the bell. The purpose behind building the tower was to use it for gravity experiments. In addition , people of the city wished to display how wealthy and prosperous they were. The construction of the tower began in 1172 and it was constructed in the city of Pisa. It took 234 years to build this tower as it was built in three stages. It is known as the leaning tower of Pisa because of the leaning of its foundation and every year the leaning of the tower increases for some inches. The exact cost of constructing the tower is not known because the tower was built over some stages. However, it is estimated to be very high.
The tower served the city and the rest of the world through scientific research, which ensured the tower would not be torn down.1
The tower is a medieval architecture, in romanesque style. Beginning of construction began in 1173 and was done around 1399. The designers were Bonanno Pisa, Giovanni di Simone, Giovanni Pisano and Gherardo di Gherardo. The Tower of Pisa got its name from a Greek word meaning “marshy land”.