Tower of London

Tower of London
Tower of London With White Tower in the Back
Photo by: londonmatt, Creative Commons

The Tower of London is located near the River Thames in Central London, England. The tower was built by William the conqueror (Emperor of England) in the year 1078. The complex contains some buildings with two circles of walls and a large water body. The tower was built as a palace, castle and prison (for high level people). In addition, the tower was also used as a Royal Mint, observatory, zoo and as a house of Crown Jewels in the year 1303.

The white tower is considered the main center of the tower and it was built in order to save the people of London from outsiders. The construction of the tower was done under the supervision of Gundulf, an architect. The tower’s windows and doors were built with yellow limestone and mortar. The white tower stands at a height of 90 feet and the surrounding walls were about 15 feet. The tower’s exterior has been whitewashed in the year 1240 by Henry III. With this whitewash to the tower, the name “White Tower” was given.

The tower has been converted into a majestic palace in the 13th century by Henry III. The ward inside the tower has been joined by a Coldharbour Gate, surrounded by a wall, which led to internal destruction of the ward. The tower served as a majestic palace till the end of Oliver Cromwell, who destroyed some of the towers structures. A huge wall was built around the inner ward in order to expand the city towards the east, but the wall was broken. In addition, the wall contains 13 more towers.

Sky View of Tower of London
View of the Tower and Bridge of London from the Swiss Re Tower
Photo by: wikipedia, Creative Commons
Corner of Tower of London
Corner View of the Tower of London
Photo by: rudolf_schuba, Creative Commons

The Wakefield Tower is a special attraction among the towers which has the biggest curtain wall. Also, this is the place where King Henry VI has been murdered while offering prayers. Edward I, Emperor of England has built a curtain wall outside by closing the wall inside, filling the space with a water body which resulted in space between the outer body and the wall. He later filled the space with a water body, known as outer ward.

The tower also has the collection of Queen Elizabeth II’s crown and jewelry. In addition, there are beautiful gardens within the entrance of the tower. The Tower of London is also one of the haunted houses in the world; several ghosts including Henry VI, Henry VIII and Queen Margaret Pole are seen in the Tower. In the present days, the Tower of London is considered as one of the best constructions all over the World in terms of architecture and style. The tower attracts many tourists due to its magnificent beauty.

Traveling to the Tower of London

There are numbers of flight services from all over the world to the London Heathrow Airport. Frequent train services are available from the Underground London Bridge Stations. In addition, a number of private bus services are available frequently.

London Famous Landmarks

2 responses to “Tower of London”

  1. Lola says:

    the tower of london is fab

  2. Annice says:

    So looking forward to visiting this Majestic Castle!

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