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Discovering the Tower of London
For nine centuries the Tower has kept watch over the City of London and the River Thames. The fascinating history of this former palace, fortress and prison, and the story of the people who have lived within its walls, are told in this book.
54 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 27, 2016
Begun by William the Conqueror as a fortress and a palace, later kings made it larger and stronger and kept soldiers, armour, weapons, treasure and sometimes important prisoners there. In addition for 500 years coins of the realm were minted there, official documents were stored in some of the castle's buildings and there was a zoo there that began as the king's private collection of animals.
The original castle was simply a timber fort, which was erected in a corner of the stone walls that the Romans had built around their city 900 years previously. It was in 1078 that William the Conqueror ordered work to begin on a much grander castle, a great tower made of stone that would not only guard London but would show off his power and his wealth. The walls of his tower stood 90 feet (27.3m) high and were 15 feet (4.6m) thick at the base. And to make this great tower even more impressive, the walls were whitewashed and it therefore gained its name 'The White Tower'.
In the reign of Richard the Lionheart, a line of walls and towers were built around the White Tower and in 1275, in the reign of Edward I, a second line of defence was built and it was surrounded by a moat. It would have been almost impossible for an enemy to fight their way into the Tower as they could only cross the moat along a causeway that was guarded by three towers, each equipped with drawbridges, gates, portcullises and murder holes. The only other entrance to the Tower was even more difficult to negotiate for the enemy because it led directly from the River Thames, through the Watergate that later came to be called Traitors' Gate.
The last king to spend much time at the Tower was Henry VIII before he moved to more splendid palaces like Hampton Court and Whitehall and the palace buildings began to fall into decay and were eventually pulled down. Later when the Duke of Wellington was Constable of the Tower the vast Waterloo Barracks, housing 1,000 men, was built.
The zoo was established when Henry III was given three leopards by the German Emperor, a polar bear by the King of Norway and an elephant by the King of France. It survived until 1834 when it was closed and some of the animals were sent to the new London zoo in Regent's Park. As for the mint it moved into the Tower, for safety, in the reign of Edward I and remained there until 1811. And the prison within the Tower became famous, and feared, during the troubled times of the Tudors and Stuarts. The rack, which painfully squeezed out the prisoner's joints, the 'Scavenger's Daughter', which squeezed the prisoner tighter and tighter, and the manacles, iron bands from which the prisoner hung from the walls, were the main forms of torture used.
It was not until after 1850 that the Tower became, first and foremost, the tourist attraction that it remains to this day and, in another splendid production from Ladybird Books, Peter Hammond tells the full, fascinating tale of this iconic London landmark.
The original castle was simply a timber fort, which was erected in a corner of the stone walls that the Romans had built around their city 900 years previously. It was in 1078 that William the Conqueror ordered work to begin on a much grander castle, a great tower made of stone that would not only guard London but would show off his power and his wealth. The walls of his tower stood 90 feet (27.3m) high and were 15 feet (4.6m) thick at the base. And to make this great tower even more impressive, the walls were whitewashed and it therefore gained its name 'The White Tower'.
In the reign of Richard the Lionheart, a line of walls and towers were built around the White Tower and in 1275, in the reign of Edward I, a second line of defence was built and it was surrounded by a moat. It would have been almost impossible for an enemy to fight their way into the Tower as they could only cross the moat along a causeway that was guarded by three towers, each equipped with drawbridges, gates, portcullises and murder holes. The only other entrance to the Tower was even more difficult to negotiate for the enemy because it led directly from the River Thames, through the Watergate that later came to be called Traitors' Gate.
The last king to spend much time at the Tower was Henry VIII before he moved to more splendid palaces like Hampton Court and Whitehall and the palace buildings began to fall into decay and were eventually pulled down. Later when the Duke of Wellington was Constable of the Tower the vast Waterloo Barracks, housing 1,000 men, was built.
The zoo was established when Henry III was given three leopards by the German Emperor, a polar bear by the King of Norway and an elephant by the King of France. It survived until 1834 when it was closed and some of the animals were sent to the new London zoo in Regent's Park. As for the mint it moved into the Tower, for safety, in the reign of Edward I and remained there until 1811. And the prison within the Tower became famous, and feared, during the troubled times of the Tudors and Stuarts. The rack, which painfully squeezed out the prisoner's joints, the 'Scavenger's Daughter', which squeezed the prisoner tighter and tighter, and the manacles, iron bands from which the prisoner hung from the walls, were the main forms of torture used.
It was not until after 1850 that the Tower became, first and foremost, the tourist attraction that it remains to this day and, in another splendid production from Ladybird Books, Peter Hammond tells the full, fascinating tale of this iconic London landmark.
October 24, 2019
Another Ladybird children’s book, this time about The Tower of London. It’s a nice addition to my collection, and I even learned a few things. Pretty cool!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews