The Tower of London is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world, and for good reason! It’s home to some of the most interesting history in England. But did you know that it’s also home to a beautiful Superbloom? If you’re looking for an amazing floral experience, be sure to check out …
The Ceremony of the Keys is the traditional locking up of the Tower of London by night. It is one of the oldest and most colorful ceremonies of its kind, having taken place for the last 700 years in much the same form as it is seen today. Every night at exactly seven minutes to …
Built by Henry III this tower is famous as the scene of Colonel Thomas Bloods fruitless attempt to steal the Crown Jewels. After the Restoration, the newly-made regalia was kept in the Martin Tower (known at the time as the Jewel Tower) in sole custody of the Deputy Keeper of the Jewels, a man named …
This tower, yet another built by Henry III, about 1235 was used in later days as a prison for Jesuits. It contains a number of interesting inscriptions, the most notable being a complicated diagram cut in stone for casting horoscopes. The inscription records that “Hew Draper of Brystow made this sphere the 30 daye of …
The Crown Jewels are what most visitors to the Tower of London come to see. This incomparable collection of crowns, orbs, swords, sceptres and other regalia, and gold and silver plate was refashioned in 1661 after parliament had ordered the original gold and precious metals to be melted down for coinage in 1649. The Imperial …
The Queens House was built about 1530, probably for Queen Anne Boleyn, but she lived there only as a prisoner for 18 days awaiting her execution. The second queen of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I, she was beheaded on Tower Green by a French executioner for alleged infidelity; it is said she felt the …
The historic Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula (St. Peter in Chains) is the oldest chapel royal in England. In this little chapel most of those who died on Tower Hill and six of the seven executed on Tower Green, were laid to rest under flagstones without ceremony. Site of Block Between the Chapel …
Henry III and his son, Edward I, are to be attributed to the creation of the Beauchamp Tower. Henry III is responsible for many of the towers and structures in the Tower of London, with eight wall towers built during the latter part of his reign. It was during Edward’s reconstruction of the western section that …
In the adjoining Sixteenth-century Room, fine arms and armour date from that century, but exclude English products. Most conspicuous is the massive suit of German armour made around 1540 for a man nearly seven feet tall. From the middle of the century is the splendid Lion Armour embossed with lions masks and damascened in gold. …
The White Tower and the New Armouries contain the national collection of arms and armour. As the most important fortress in the kingdom, the Tower must have held armour and arms from the time it was first built, but in their present form the Armouries date from the time of Henry VIII. The collection — …
