At first glance, the Tower of London is beautiful. There is not just one tower; in fact, many towers make up the Tower of London. It has such amazing architecture that I wonder how parts of it managed to be constructed as early as 1070! William the Conqueror, after coronation (becoming king), ordered that the Tower be built to prepare for his trumphant entance into the city. He even had special stones imported from his native Normandy to be used in the contruction of the Tower. The White Tower, which was the first building constructed in the whole Tower of London site, was intended to be the fortress and stronghold of all the site.
The Tower of London's history is really interesting. It has served as a prison, royal residence, armory, treasury, public records office, home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, and so much more! As a prison, the Tower has housed some surprising people such as John Balliol (a Scottish king), two young princes, a queen, and Sir Walter Raleigh for, of all things, plotting against King James! I find it so interesting that royalty and very significant people were imprisoned in the tower. Even more, royalty has been murdered and executed at the Tower of London! Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, was beheaded within the Tower walls for adultery. The two young princes that were imprisoned, Prince Edward and Prince Richard, are thought to have been murdered in Bloody Tower, since they were never seen again soon after being sent to the Tower.
Pride in Place
The Tower of London shows how loyal and prideful the English are to their country. Built to be an ultimate fortress for England, it was often besieged and put under attack by foreign countries with the hopes of taking over. The Tower has been important to controlling England because of the many functions it has been used for, so the English take pride and protect this site while protecting themselves and their country in the process. The people remain loyal to their country by remaining loyal to their important landmarks. Even today, the English look at the Tower of London in awe and with respect to those that have contributed to its history and the history of their country.
Traditions
The Tower of London has been a site full of many English traditions. The coins of England had been made in The Royal Mint within the Tower for over 500 years. The first English gold coin (all in the past were silver) was even made at the Mint! Other traditions at the Tower have an extremely large amount of English history tied to them. One, for example, is the fact that the Crown Jewels are displayed at the Tower. The Crown Jewels are the most powerful symbols of the British Monarchy and hold cultural significance to England. The collection of Crown Jewels includes the Sovereign's Scepter with Cross, The Imperial State Crown, The Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and St. Edward's Crown. St. Edward's Crown is worn at the moment that the monarch is crowned in Westminster Abbey. Even Queen Elizabeth participated in this tradition, dating back to 1066, during her coronation in 1953!
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| Tower of London with a small view of Tower Bridge behind |
Reflection
I really enjoyed the Tower of London and spent a lot more time there than I had expected! It was really interesting to see all of the old towers and see that they are still standing (although they have gone through some reconstruction). To me, the most interesting and amazing part of the Tower was the exhibit "The Princes of the Tower", which told about the history of why the young princes were imprisoned, who is thought to be their murderers, and the "evidence" to why this is believed. It is even more interesting that although it is believed they were murdered because they were never seen again, there is no solid proof to this and nobody was even tried for their murders! I believe this greatly contrasts to how criminal justice works today. Here, I found a way to connect my criminal justice studies with the history of England and I feel like this was an amazing experience.
The Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen MotherSt Edward's Crown. St.
are the
most powerful symbols of the British Monarchy and hold deep religious
and cultural significance in our nation’s history. - See more at:
http://www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/stories/crownjewels#sthash.PKfccyuk.dpuf
are the
most powerful symbols of the British Monarchy and hold deep religious
and cultural significance in our nation’s history. - See more at:
http://www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/stories/crownjewels#sthash.PKfccyuk.dpuf
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