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London Tower |
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London Tower is a World Heritage Site accredited by UNESCO in 1988. This UN body selects and upkeeps places of international importance and helps in protection of cultural and natural heritage of the world. Till this time UNESCO has selected six hundred ninety-one sites throughout the world for this purpose. These sites include `The Great Wall of China’, `The Pyramids’, `The Taj Mahal’ etc. There are about nineteen such sites in the UK only. Among these `City of Bath’, `Iron bridge Gorge’, `Maritime Greenwich’ and so on are noteworthy. London Tower has been celebrated as the most striking and well preserved medieval citadel in Europe. It has been a national symbol for more than a millennium. The reasons behind London Tower being included in the world heritage list are that it shows exchange of human values over a considerable period of time plus exceptional illustration of major stages of human history. It has been the oldest palace and prison in Europe. Precisely speaking, it is a site which houses several constructions rather than one single structure. This thousand year old composite structure was once an arsenal, a prison, a place of execution, a jewel house, a mint, a menagerie, and a royal palace. William, the duke of Normandy, was the greatest soldier and ruler of medieval period. Though a cousin of King Edward, he could not restrain himself to attack his successor Harold because Edward had promised him the throne of England but later on betrayed. Harold was a brother-in-law of King Edward. The betrayal infuriated William who in turn assaulted and subjugated England in 1066 and that very year on the occasion of Christmas, he declared himself King of England. After becoming the Emperor of England he built several forts throughout his empire to dictate over local business community. He built a fort in London which was incidentally near the remnants of a Roman wall supposed to be built a millennium before by Claudius, a Roman king. It was on the banks of the river Thames. William, the conqueror, built the nucleus of `London Tower’ or `The White Tower’ in 1078. Limestone from Caen in Normandy was used in its construction and it took almost twenty years to complete. Later on `The White Tower’ was kept in the nub and other structures were erected. It was gradually adjoined with a number of constructions like a moat, a bell tower and a palace in the 12th century, a mint and a menagerie in the 13th century and river dock in the 14th century. The castle was, however, expanded for the last time in the fifteenth century and it did not get any significant construction after that. The tower was opened for public in the 16th century. At certain occasions, William’s tower was as high as hundred feet and as thick as fifteen feet. He built inside it an apartment, a chapel, crypts and guard’s room. Tower was cosseted by a moat, a new stone wall, the old Roman Wall and the river Thames. Initially the tower was completed in twenty years but it took several centuries to come to its present day splendor. The main tower is encircled by two rows of walls which have quite a lot of towers. Currently the inner wall of London Tower surrounds the White Tower with thirteen other towers whereas the outer wall has eight towers (six towers face river side and one each on the north eastern and north western side.) The most famous of these are `The Bloody Tower’, The Beauchamp Tower’, `The Wakefield Tower’, `The Martin Tower’, `The Bell Tower’, `The Salt Tower’ etc. The outer wall is surrounded by a ditch which was once fed by the river Thames. However, the ditch was drained in 1843 and now it is grassland and is about ten feet above its actual position. London Tower is stretched over eighteen acres of square land. The Tower was a bastion of the British Empire for several centuries. It witnessed a number of political maneuvers. It also worked as a storehouse of crown jewels, menageries of wild animals, and a shelter for ravens. Ravens are given special treatment even today because there is a strong conviction that if the ravens leave the tower the whole British Empire will fall to pieces. This conviction had begun during the reign of Charles II and continues up to this time. The wings of the Ravens are however clipped. The tower had been a place of execution during the Middle Ages, king’s abode till the 17th century and Royal Menagerie till early half of the nineteenth century. For Royal execution Tower Green was used whereas for the execution of commoners Tower Hill was used. The most noteworthy people who got capital punishment in the tower were humanist Sir Thomas More. He was executed in 1535. Not only that it also witnessed the assassination of Ann Boleyn, a wife of Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I in 1536. Edward V and his brother were also exterminated in 1483. They were minor at the time of their execution. Important prisoners of the tower prison included Princess Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh. London Tower still maintains its glory and follows the age old tradition to give a real picture of the past to the visitors. It is administrated by a resident governor who commands Yeoman Warders popularly known as `beefeaters’. He lives in the Queen’s house on `Tower Green’. Beefeaters also stay inside the tower and protect it. They also guide millions of visitors every year. Beefeaters were in the beginning guards of Henry VII. They still maintain the age old tradition of ringing the bell at the closing hours and wearing Tudor uniforms. In the evening when the visiting time gets over the beefeaters lock the tower and give the key to the Resident Governor. London Tower is quite an interesting place and deserves special importance in the history of human civilization. Related
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