Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It is the oldest building used by the British government.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and moat.
The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
The White Tower is a central tower at the Tower of London. The great central keep was started in 1078 by William the Conqueror who ordered the White Tower to be built inside the south-east angle of The City walls, adjacent to the River Thames. This was as much to protect the Normans from the people of the City of London as to protect London from outside invaders. William ordered the Tower to be built of Caen stone, which he had specially imported from France, and appointed Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester as the architect. The tower was finished around 1087 by his sons and successors, William Rufus and Henry I.
In the 12th century, King Richard the Lionheart enclosed the White Tower with a curtain wall and had a moat dug around it filled with water from the River Thames. The moat was not successful until Henry III, in the 13th century, employed a Dutch moat-building technique. Henry refurnished the Chapel and had the exterior of the building whitewashed in 1240, which is how the tower got its name.
The White Tower is a massive construction, 90 feet (27.4m) high and 118 feet (35.9m) by 107 feet (32.6m) across, the walls varying from 15 feet thickness at the base to almost 11 feet in the upper parts. Above the battlements rise four turrets; three of them are square, but the one on the north-east is circular. This turret once contained the first Royal observatory. The four weather vanes on the turrets of the tower date from 1669. At the southeast corner is a semicircular protrusion which houses the Chapel of St. John.
Its walls are now home to displays from the Royal Armouries, including original armours worn by Henry VIII and Charles I plus a reconstructed display of the massive collection of weapons once housed in the Grand Storehouse. The 'Spanish Armoury' contains the Tower's historic instruments of torture, including the infamous block and axe.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and moat.
The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
The White Tower is a central tower at the Tower of London. The great central keep was started in 1078 by William the Conqueror who ordered the White Tower to be built inside the south-east angle of The City walls, adjacent to the River Thames. This was as much to protect the Normans from the people of the City of London as to protect London from outside invaders. William ordered the Tower to be built of Caen stone, which he had specially imported from France, and appointed Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester as the architect. The tower was finished around 1087 by his sons and successors, William Rufus and Henry I.
In the 12th century, King Richard the Lionheart enclosed the White Tower with a curtain wall and had a moat dug around it filled with water from the River Thames. The moat was not successful until Henry III, in the 13th century, employed a Dutch moat-building technique. Henry refurnished the Chapel and had the exterior of the building whitewashed in 1240, which is how the tower got its name.
The White Tower is a massive construction, 90 feet (27.4m) high and 118 feet (35.9m) by 107 feet (32.6m) across, the walls varying from 15 feet thickness at the base to almost 11 feet in the upper parts. Above the battlements rise four turrets; three of them are square, but the one on the north-east is circular. This turret once contained the first Royal observatory. The four weather vanes on the turrets of the tower date from 1669. At the southeast corner is a semicircular protrusion which houses the Chapel of St. John.
Its walls are now home to displays from the Royal Armouries, including original armours worn by Henry VIII and Charles I plus a reconstructed display of the massive collection of weapons once housed in the Grand Storehouse. The 'Spanish Armoury' contains the Tower's historic instruments of torture, including the infamous block and axe.
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