London and Its Sightseeings

LondonLondon was not built as a city in the same way as Paris or New York. It began life as a Roman fortification at a place where it was possible to cross the River Thames. A wall was built around the town for defence, but during the long period of peace which followed the Norman Conquest, people built outside the walls. This building continued over the years, especially to the west of the city. In 1665 there was a terrible plague in London, so many people left the city and escaped to the villages in the surrounding countryside. In 1666 the Great Fire of London ended the plague, but it also destroyed much of the city. Although people returned to live in the rebuilt city after the plague and the Great Fire, there were never again so many Londoners living in the city centre.

These days not many people live in the city centre either, but London has spread further outwards into the country, including surrounding villages. Today the metropolis of Greater London covers some 1,580 sq. km and the suburbs of London continue even beyond this area. Some people even commute over 150 km every day to work in London, while living away from the city in the country or in other towns.

The gradual growth of the city helps explain the fact that London doesn't have just one centre, it has a number of centres, each with a distinct character: the financial and business centre called the City, the government centre in Westminster, the shopping and entertainment centre in the West End, the industrial centre in the East End.

THE CITY The City does not refer to the whole of central London but rather to a small area of the centre, which includes the site of the original Roman town. It is an area of 2,650 sq. km with a long and exciting history, and it is proud of its in­dependence and traditional role as a centre of trade and commerce. This tradition is focussed on the City's Lord Mayor, whose official residence is the Mansion House. Once a year, in November, the Lord Mayor's Show takes place. This is a colourful street parade in which the newly elected Lord Mayor travels in a golden coach, which is over 200 years old.

The City of London is one of the major banking centres of the world and you can find the banks of many nations in the famous Threadneedle Street and the surrounding area. Here, too, you will find the Bank of England and the Stock Exchange. A little further along in Leadenhall Street is Lloyds, the most famous insurance company in the world.

The centre of the country's judicial system is to be found in the western part of the City. The Old Bailey houses many courts. Many solicitors and barristers have their offices (called "chambers") nearby, particularly in the area known as the "Temple".

Fleet Street is famous as the home of the nation's newspapers but, in fact, only two of them — The Daily Express and The Daily Telegraph — are still in Fleet Street. However, people still say "Fleet Street" to mean "the press".

Although hundreds of thousands of people (over 800,000) work in its offices by day, the City is almost deserted at night. Only about eight thousand actually live within the square mile.

There are some historic buildings in the City. St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London are the most famous of them.

St. Paul'sCathedral is the work of the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren. It is said to be one of the finest pieces of architecture in Europe. Work on Wren's masterpiece began in 1675 after the Norman church, old St. Paul's was destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666. The building of St. Paul's Cathedral went on for 35 years, and Wren was an old man before it was finished. From far away you can see the huge dome with a golden ball and cross on the top. The interior of the Cathedral is very beautiful. It is full of monuments. The most important, perhaps, is the one dedicated to the Duke of Wellington. After looking around you can climb 263 steps to the Whispering Gallery, which runs round the dome. It is called so, because if someone whispers close to the wall on one side, a person with his ear close to the wall on the other side can hear what is said. But if you want to reach the foot of the ball, you have to climb 637 steps.

As for Christopher Wren, who is now known as "the architect of London", he found his fame only after his death. He was buried in the Cathedral. Buried here are Nelson, Wellington, and Sir Joshua Reynolds.

WESTMINSTER Every day when people in the UK and overseas switch on their radio to listen to BBC radio news, they can hear one of the most famous sounds in London. On the hour, the bells of Big Ben ring loud and clear. Many people think that Big Ben is the clock or the whole tower next to the Houses of Parliament. In fact, it is the largest of the five bells at the top of the tower. Parliament itself is in Westminster, a part of London that has long been connected with royalty and government. King Edward the Confessor first decided to build a palace beside the River Thames in the 11th century. His successors extended the palace and made it

their main residence. Gradually, Westminster became the centre of government and justice. At first, Parliament was organized by the monarch as a way of governing the country. He or she called different groups together: the Lords represented the Church and aristocracy whilst the Commons were used by the rich land-owners to put forward the views and intersts of their own town or village. Over the centuries power gradually passed from the monarch to Parliament but not without a few problems!

During the reign of James I, for example, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament.

James's son, Charles I, thought that he could rule the country without the help of Parliament, but these dreams led to his death. He tried to make parliament do what he wanted, but after years of quarrelling he finally lost his patience. One

day he burst into the House of Commons with several hundred men and tried to arrest its leaders. They had already escaped. But the struggle between king and parliament was not finished and the country was thrown into a civil war, which only stopped when Charles was finally beheaded in 1649.

The Queen still opens the new session of Parliament each autumn by reading "the Queen's Speech", which describes the main policies of the Government. However, this takes place in the House of Lords and she is not allowed to enter the House of Commons. This tradition goes back to the time of Charles I, more than three hundred years ago, and reminds everybody that the monarch must not try to govern the country.

The Houses of Parliament were rebuilt in 1835 after being completely destroyed by fire. In addition, the House of Commons needed more repairs after being bombed during the Second World War. Parliament is in session every afternoon and evening except Friday and the weekend, and if you are lucky you might be able to watch a debate from the public gallery.

THE WEST END The West End is the name given to the area of central London north from the Mall to Oxford Street. It includes Trafalgar Square, the main shopping areas of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, and the entertainment centres of Soho, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Shaftesbury Avenue. Its name is associated with glamour and bright lights.

Most of London's big department stores are in Oxford Street and Regent Street. They are always crowded, but at sale times, in January and July, there are so many people that it is difficult to move and it is usually safer to go in the direction of the majority! These days it is often difficult to distinguish the goods in one large store from those in another.

THE EAST END The East End grew with the spread of industries to the east of the City, and the growth of the port of London. It covers a wide area. There are kilometres and kilometres of docks, and the great industrial areas that depend on shipping. Down by the river, there are many wharfs and warehouses. The East End is unattractive in appearance, but very important to the country's commerce.

It is also one of those areas of London where people from abroad have come to find work. For centuries foreigners have made London their home. Some have had to leave their country for religious or political reasons. Others have wanted to find a better life. Some brought new skills and started new industries. The East End is especially famous as the centre of the clothing industry (or "rag-trade") in London.

The East End markets are famous throughout the world. Petticoat Lane market takes place every Sunday morning and has become one of the sights of is a historic castle and scheduled monument in central London,

England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It is the oldest building used by the British government.

The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and moat.

The Tower served as a fortress, a royal palace and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning imprisoned). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

Today the Tower of London is cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.

The Tower lies in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, at the eastern boundary of the City of London financial district adiacent to the River Thames and Tower Bride Between the river.

The Tower lies in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, at the eastern boundary of the City of London financial district, advancement to the River Thames and Tower Bridge. Between the river and the Tower is Tower Wharf, a freely accessible walkway with views of the river, tower and bridge.

At the centre of the Tower of London stands the Norman White Tower built in 1078 by William the Conqueror (reigned 1066-87) inside the southeast angle of the city walls, adjacent to the Thames. This was as much to protect the Normans from the people of the City of London as to protect London from outside invaders. William appointed Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, as the architect. Fine Caen stone, imported from France, was used for the corners of the building and as door and window dressings, though Kentish ragstone was used for the bulk of the edifice. According to legend the mortar used in its construction was tempered by the blood of beasts. Another legend ascribed the Tower not to William but to the Romans. William Shakespeare in his play Richard III stated that it was built by Julius Caesar.

The White Tower is 90 feet (27 m) high and the walls vary from 15 feet (4.5 m) thick at the base to almost 11 feet (3.3 m) in the upper parts. Above the battlements rise four turrets: three of them are square, but the one on the northeast is circular, in order to accommodate a spiral staircase. This turret was briefly used as the first royal observatory in the reign of Charles II. Completing the defences to the south of the Tower was the bailey.

In the 1190s, King Richard the Lionheart (reigned 1189-99) enclosed the White Tower with a curtain wall, and had a moat dug around it filled with water from the Thames. Richard utilised the pre-existing Roman city wall, to the east, as part of the circuit. Part of the wall he built was incorporated into the later circuit wall of Henry III and is still extant, running between the Bloody Tower and the Bell Tower, the latter of which also dates to his reign. In 1240 Henry III had the exterior of the building whitewashed, which is how it got its name.

Due to the changes in function and design the tower's interior has undergone since its construction little is left of the original interior, save the chapel. St John's Chapel, on east side of the first level, is perhaps the "most complete surviving examples of early Anglo-Norman ecclesiastical architecture". Archeological evidence shows that the space was considered in the original design of the tower plan. This is seen in the foundations of the building which include an apsidal projection, which deviates from the basic rectangular box layout of the tower's main part. Described as resembling a choir of a Romanesque church of apse and ambulatory design, this space is marked by a simple layout.

In keeping with the characteristics of Romanesque design the design includes the ever common rounded arches, as seen in the arcade, and the vaulted nave and aisles, where respectively barrel and groin vaulting was employed. The nave is flanked by two aisles, which are separated by columns that form an arcade which creates the ambulatory. The columns of the arcade are opposite the pilasters along the outer walls of the aisles. Above is a gallery arcade which lets in more light into the space, but is not a clerestory in the sense that it is above the roof.

The defining element of this space is the design of the columns' capitals. While at first glance the design is uniform, further examination shows that the capitals are quite varied. Some are block-shaped, some have volutes, and others are cushion capitals. Yet, what these capitals, save three, have in common is the "rare embellishment of Tau crosses, or T-shaped projections". These crosses are reminiscent of designs common to Anglo-Norman architecture of this period.

The Inner Ward The Battlements from Tower Bridge approach with the Flint Tower in the middle.

The White Tower and Inmost Ward are situated in the Inner Ward, defended by a massive curtain wall, built by Henry III from 1238 onwards. In order to extend the circuit the city wall to the east was broken down, despite the protests of the citizens of London and even supernatural warnings, according to chronicler Matthew Paris. The wall has thirteen towers:

· Wakefield Tower — the largest of the towers in the curtain wall. According to tradition this was where the imprisoned King Henry VI was murdered as he knelt at prayer.

· Lanthorn Tower

· Salt Tower

· Broad Arrow Tower

· Constable Tower

· Martin Tower. The Crown Jewels were kept here from 1669 until 1842. This was the scene of the attempted theft of the jewels by Colonel Blood in 1671.

· Brick Tower

· Bowyer Tower

· Flint Tower

· Devereux Tower

· Beauchamp Tower (pronounced 'Beecham')

· Bell Tower — the oldest tower in the circuit, built in the 1190s as part of the fortification of Richard I and later incorporated into that of Henry III. Named after the curfew bell which has been rung from this tower for over 500 years.

· Bloody Tower (or the Garden Tower), so named after a legend that the Princes in the Tower were murdered there.

The Outer WardBetween 1275 and 1285 Edward I (reigned 1272-1307) built an outer curtain wall, completely enclosing the inner wall and thus creating a concentric double defence. He filled in the moat and built a new moat around the new outer wall. The space between the walls is called the Outer Ward. The wall has five towers facing the river:

· Byward Tower

· St Thomas's Tower, built between 1275-1279 by Edward I to provide additional royal accommodation for the King.

· Cradle Tower

· Well Tower

· Develin Tower

On the north face of the outer wall are three semicircular bastions, the Brass Mount, the North Bastion and Legge's Mount.

The water entrance to the Tower is often referred to as Traitor's Gate because prisoners accused of treason such as Queen Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More are said to have passed through it. Traitor's Gate cuts through St Thomas's Tower and replaced Henry Ill's Watergate in the Bloody Tower behind it. Behind Traitors Gate in the pool was an engine used to raise water to a cistern located on the roof of the White Tower. The engine was originally powered by the force of the tide or by horsepower and eventually by steampower; this was adapted around 1724 to drive machinery for boring gun barrels. It was removed in the 1860s. The Tudor Timber Framing seen above the great arch of Traitor's Gate dates from 1532 and was restored in the 19th century.

The western entrance and moat A ditch or moat, now dry, encircles the whole, crossed at the southwestern angle by a stone bridge, leading to the Byward Tower from the Middle Tower — a gateway which had formerly an outwork, called the Lion Tower.

The Tower today is principally a tourist attraction. Beside the buildings themselves, the British Crown Jewels, an armour collection from the Royal Armouries, and a remnant of the wall of the Roman fortress are on display.

The tower is manned by the Yeomen Warders (known as Beefeaters), who act as tour guides, provide security, and are a tourist attraction in their own right. Every evening, the warders participate in the Ceremony of the Keys as the Tower is secured for the night. All warders have residence within the Tower, and must also own a residence outside of the Tower, so, that upon their retirement, they may return to a home outside of the Tower.

Royal ArmouriesThe Royal Armouries can be traced back the middle ages when armour was manufactured at the Tower for the Kings of England. In 1545, it is recorded that a visiting foreign dignitary paid to view the collection at the Armoury. By the time of Charles II, there was a permanent public display there, making it the first museum in Britain. From 1414, the Tower was home to the Master of the Ordnance and the Ordnance Office (later the Board of Ordnance) who were responsible for providing weapons to both the Army and Navy. The Tower was engaged in the development, manufacture and storage of a wide variety of weaponry until the Board was abolished in 1855, however the historic collection remained. Only a small part of this could be displayed and in 1995, much of the artillery collection was moved to Fort Nelson in Hampshire and the following year a new Royal Armouries Museum was opened in Leeds. The Tower still holds an important range of arms and armour dating from the middle ages onwards, notably that belonging to the Tudor and Stuart kings.

MenagerieA Royal Menagerie was established at the tower in the 13th century, possibly as early as 1204 during the reign of King John, and probably stocked with animals from an earlier menagerie started in 1125 by Henry I at his palace in Woodstock, near Oxford; William of Malmesbury reported that Henry had lions, leopards, lynxes and camels among other animals there. Its year of origin is often stated as 1235, when Henry III received a wedding gift of three leopards (so recorded, although they may have been lions) from Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Tower of London housed a polar bear in 1252, which was a gift from the King of Norway. In 1264, they were moved to the Bulwark, which was duly renamed the Lion Tower, near the main western entrance. It was opened as an occasional public spectacle in the reign of Elizabeth I. A lion skull was radiocarbon dated to between 1280 and 1385, making it the earliest medieval big cat known in Britain.

The menagerie was open to the public by the 18th century; admission was a sum of three half­pence or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions. This was where William Blake saw the tiger which may have inspired his poem The Tyger. The menagerie's last director, Alfred Cops, who took over in 1822, found the collection in a dismal state but restocked it and issued an illustrated scientific catalogue. Partly for commercial reasons and partly for animal welfare, the animals were moved to the Zoological Society of London's London Zoo when it opened. The last of the animals left in 1835, and most of the Lion Tower was demolished soon after, although Lion Gate remains.

Ravens; Two of the RavensAt least six Ravens are kept at the Tower, at all times, in accordance with the belief that if they be absent the kingdom will fall. To be on the safe side ten ravens (6 on duty and 4 young spares) are actually housed at the Tower of London at the expense of the British government. A Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater, has the specific role of Ravenmaster at the Tower and takes care of their feeding and well being. The Ravenmaster builds this relationship with the ravens as he takes the fledglings into his home and hand rears them over a period of about six weeks. Ravens live up to an average of 25 years, but have been known to reach the age of 45 years. To prevent the birds from flying away one of their wings is clipped by the Ravenmaster. This does not hurt or harm the raven in any way. Clipping their wing unbalances their flight ensuring that they don't stray too far from the Tower. Ravens are members of the crow family, Corvus, and are eaters of carrion and live mainly on dead flesh. The Raven's lodgings are located next to the Wakefield Tower.

It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer. However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the monarchy, and the entire kingdom would fall (the London Stone has a similar legend). Charles, following the time of the English Civil War, superstition or not, was not prepared to take the chance, and instead had the observatory moved to Greenwich.

The earliest known reference to a tower raven is a picture in the newspaper The Pictorial World in 1885. This and scattered subsequent references to the tower ravens, both literary and visual, which appear in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century place them near the monument commemorating those beheaded at the tower, popularly known as the "scaffold." This strongly suggests that the ravens, which are notorious for gathering at gallows, were originally used to dramatize tales of imprisonment and execution at the tower told by the Yeomen Warders to tourists There is evidence that the original ravens were donated to the tower by the Earls of Dunraven, perhaps because of their association with the Celtic raven-god Bran. However wild ravens, which were once abundant in London and often seen around meat markets (such as nearby Eastcheap) feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the tower in earlier times.

During the Second World War most of the Tower's ravens perished through shock during bombing raids, leaving a sole survivor named 'Grip'. There is evidence that the ravens were used as unofficial spotters for enemy planes and bombs during the Blitz. Before the tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure that a new set of ravens was in place.

The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow, which died at the age of 44.

In 2006, during the H5N1 avian influenza scare, the ravens were moved indoors for some months.

PrisonersThe 15th century Tower in a manuscript of poems by Charles, Duke of Orleans (1391-1465) commemorating his imprisonment there (British Library).

The first prisoner was Ranulf Flambard in 1100 who, as Bishop of Durham, was found guilty of extortion. He had been responsible for various improvements to the design of the tower after the first architect Gundulf moved back to Rochester. He escaped from the White Tower by climbing down a rope, which had been smuggled into his cell in a wine casket.

Other prisoners include:

· Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr (c. 1200 - 1 March 1244) a Welsh prince, the eldest but illegitimate son of Llywelyn the Great ("Llywelyn Fawr"). He fell to his death whilst trying to escape from a cell in the Tower.

· John of Scotland (John de Balliol) - after being forced to abdicate the crown of Scotland by Edward I he was imprisoned in the Tower from 1296 to 1299.

· David II of Scotland

· John II of France

· Henry Laurens, the third President of the Continental Congress of Colonial America.

· Domhnáill Ballaugh Ó Catháin, the last chieftain of Clan Ó Catháin died in the Tower in 1626.

· Charles, Duke of Orleans was one of the many French noblemen wounded in the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415. Captured and taken to England as a hostage, he remained in captivity for twenty-five years, at various places including Wallingford Castle. Charles is remembered as an accomplished poet owing to the more than five hundred extant poems he produced, most written while a prisoner.

· Henry VI of England was imprisoned in the Tower, where he was murdered on 21 May 1471. Each year on the anniversary of Henry VI's death, the Provosts of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, lay roses and lilies on the altar that stands where he died.

· Margaret of Anjou, consort of Henry VI.

· George Plantagenet, 1 st Duke of Clarence, brother of King Edward IV of England.

· Edward V of England and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury, also known as the Princes in the Tower, popular legend states that their uncle, Richard Duke of Glouchester locked them in the tower for their own protection, then, later, ordered their deaths.

· Sir William de la Pole. A distant relative of King Henry VIII, he was incarcerated at the Tower for 37 years (1502-1539) for allegedly plotting against Henry VII, thus becoming the longest-held prisoner.

· Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and his steward Sir John Thynne.

· Thomas More was imprisoned on 17 April 1535. He was executed on 6 July 1535 and his body was buried at the Tower of London.

· Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, imprisoned on 2 May 1536 on charges of adultery, treason, witchcraft, and incest.

· Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned in the tower from 1553 until 12th February 1554, when she was beheaded by order of Queen Mary I.

· The future Queen Elizabeth I, imprisoned for two months in 1554 for her alleged involvement in Wyatt's Rebellion.

· John Gerard, an English Jesuit priest operating undercover during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when Catholics were being persecuted. He was captured and tortured and incarcerated in the Salt Tower before making a daring escape by rope across the moat.

· Sir Walter Raleigh spent thirteen years (1603-1616) imprisoned at the Tower but was able to live in relative comfort in the Bloody Tower with his wife and two children. For some of the time he even grew tobacco on Tower Green, just outside his apartment. While imprisoned, he wrote The History of the World.

· Nicholas Woodcock spent sixteen months in the "gatehouse and tower" for piloting the first Spanish whaleship to Spitsbergen in 1612.

· Niall Garve O'Donnell, an Irish nobleman, a one-time ally of the English against his cousin, Red Hugh O'Donnell.

· Guy Fawkes, famous for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, was brought to the Tower to be interrogated by a council of the King's Ministers. However, he was not executed at the tower. When he confessed, he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered in the Old Palace Yard at Westminster; however, he escaped his fate by jumping off the scaffold at the gallows which in turn broke his neck and killed him.

· Johan Anders Jagerhorn, a Swedish officer from Finland, Lord Edward FitzGerald's friend, participating in the Irish independence movement. He spent two years in the Tower (1799-1801), but was released because of Russian interests.

· Lord George Gordon, instigator of the Gordon Riots in 1780, spent 6 months in the Tower while awaiting trial on the charge of high treason.

· Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of the Nazi Party, the last state prisoner to be held in the tower, in May 1941

· The Kray twins, were among the last prisoners to be held, for a few days in 1952, for failing to report for national service.

Torture Inside the torture chambers of the tower various implements of torture were used such as the Scavenger's daughter, a kind of compression device, and the Rack, also known as the Duke of Exeter's Daughter.

Anne Askew is the only woman on record to have been tortured in the tower, after being taken there in 1546 on a charge of heresy. Sir Anthony Kingston, the Constable of the Tower of London, was ordered to torture Anne in an attempt to force her to name other Protestants. Anne was put on the Rack. Kingston was so impressed with the way Anne behaved that he refused to carry on torturing her, and Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor had to take over.

ExecutionsLower-class criminals were usually executed by hanging at one of the public execution sites outside the Tower. High-profile convicts, such as Sir Thomas More, were publicly beheaded on Tower Hill. Seven nobles (five of them ladies) were beheaded privately on Tower Green, inside the complex, and then buried in the "Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula (Latin for "in chains," making him an appropriate patron saint for prisoners) next to the Green. Some of the nobles who were executed outside the Tower are also buried in that chapel. (External link to Chapel webpage) The names of the seven beheaded on Tower Green for treason alone are:

· William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1483)

· Anne Boleyn (1536)

· Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541)

· Catherine Howard (1542)

· Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (1542)

· Lady Jane Grey (1554)

· Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1601)

George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was executed for treason in the Tower in February 1478, but not by beheading (and probably not by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, despite what Shakespeare wrote).

When Edward IV died, he left two young sons behind: the Princes in the Tower. His brother Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, was made Regent until the older of his two sons, Edward V, should come of age. According to Thomas More's History of Richard III, Richard hired men to kill them, and, one night, the two Princes were smothered with their pillows. Many years later, bones were found buried at the foot of a stairway in the Tower, which are thought to be those of the princes. Richard was crowned King Richard III of England.

The last execution at the Tower was that of German spy Josef Jakobs on 14 August 1941 by firing squad formed from the Scots Guards.

Recent history

The military use of the Tower as a fortification, like that of other such castles, became obsolete with the introduction of artillery, and the moat was drained in 1830. However the Tower did serve as the headquarters of the Board of Ordnance until 1855, and the Tower was still occasionally used as a prison, even through both World Wars. In 1780, the Tower held its only American prisoner, former President of the Continental Congress, Henry Laurens. In World War I, eleven German spies were shot in the Tower. Irish rebel Roger Casement was imprisoned in the Tower during his trial on treason charges in 1916.

In 1942, Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, was imprisoned in the tower for four days. During this time, RAF Wing Commander George Salaman was placed in the same cell undercover, impersonating a Luftwaffe officer, to spy on Hess. Although acting covertly and not held as a true inmate, Salaman remains the last Englishman to be locked in the Tower of London. The tower was used as a prison for German prisoners of war throughout the conflict.

Waterloo Barracks, the location of the Crown Jewels, remained in use as a base for the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) into the 1950s; during 1952, the Kray twins were briefly held there for failing to report for national service, making them among the last prisoners of the Tower; the last British citizen held for any length of time was the traitorous Army officer Norman Baillie-Stewart from 1933 to 1937. The tower is now home to the regimental museum of the Royal Fusiliers.

Although it is no longer a royal residence, the Tower officially remains a royal palace and maintains a permanent guard: this is found by the unit forming the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. Two sentries are maintained during the hours that the Tower is open, with one stationed outside the Jewel House and one outside the Queen's House.

In 1974, there was a bomb explosion in the Mortar Room in the White Tower, leaving one person dead and 35 injured. No one claimed responsibility for the blast, however the police were investigating suspicions that the IRA was behind it.

In 2007, Moira Cameron became the first female Beefeater in history to go on duty at the Tower of London. Cameron beat five men to the job as a Yeomen Warder.

The Tower was featured in the BBC documentary series Tales from the Palaces.

On July 18, 2009, USS Halyburton became the first non-British ship to take part in the Tower's Constable's Dues ritual. Dating back to the 14th century, it involved the crew being challenged for entry into the capital, mirroring an ancient custom in which a ship had to unload some of its cargo for the sovereign to enter the city. Commander Michael P Huck led the crew to the

Tower's West Gate, where after being challenged for entry by the Yeoman Gaoler armed with his axe, they were marched to Tower Green accompanied by Beefeaters, where they delivered a keg of Castillo Silver Rum, representing the dues, to the Tower's Constable, Sir Roger Wheeler.

Administration

Yeomen Warders

The tower is fully staffed with 35 Yeomen Warders (also known as Beefeaters),at all times, the most senior is titled the Chief Yeoman Warder, and his second-in-command is titled the Yeoman Gaoler, they answer to the Constable of the Tower. Yeomen Warders have served as defenders of the Crown Jewels, prison guards, and, since the time of Queen Victoria, tour guides to visitors, and they have become a tourist attraction in their own right, something the warders themselves acknowledge. The current role of the Yeoman Warder is that of tour guides, and, should the need arise, prison guards. A small group of Yeoman Warders currently live at the Tower of London.

Crown Jewels

The Crown Jewels have been kept at the Tower of London since 1303, after they were stolen from Westminster Abbey. It is thought that most, if not all, were recovered shortly afterwards. After the coronation of Charles II, they were locked away and shown for a viewing fee paid to a custodian. However, this arrangement ended when Colonel Thomas Blood stole the Crown Jewels after having bound and gagged the custodian. Thereafter, the Crown Jewels were kept in a part of the Tower known as Jewel House, where armed guards defended them. They were temporarily taken out of the Tower during World War II and reportedly were secretly kept in the basement vaults of the Sun Life Insurance company in Montreal Canada, along with the gold bullion of the Bank of England.

Ghosts

The Tower of London is reputedly the most haunted building in England. The ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536 for treason against King Henry VIII has allegedly been seen haunting the chapel of St Peter-ad-Vincula, where she is buried, and walking around the White Tower carrying her head under her arm. Other ghosts include Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole, and the Princes in the Tower. In January 1816a sentry on guard outside the Jewel House witnessed an inexplicable apparition of a bear advancing towards him. The sentry reportedly died of fright a few days later. In October of 1817 an even more inexplicable, tubular, glowing apparition was seen in the Jewel House by the Keeper of the Crown Jewels, Edmund Lenthal Swifte. The apparition hovered over the shoulder of his wife, leading her to exclaim: "Oh, Christ! it has seized me!" Other nameless and formless terrors have been reported, more recently, by night staff at the Tower.

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London.

The bridge consists of two towers which are tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways which are designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical component of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. Its present colour dates from 1977 when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Originally it was painted a chocolate brown colour.

Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream. - A popular urban legend is that in 1968, Robert McCulloch, the purchaser of the old London Bridge that was later shipped to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, believed that he was

in fact buying Tower Bridge. This was denied by McCulloch himself and has been debunked by Ivan Luckin, the seller of the bridge.

The bridge was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII). and his wife, The Princess of Wales (Alexandra of Denmark)

The high-level walkways between the towers gained an unpleasant reputation as a haunt for prostitutes and pickpockets and were closed in 1910. In 1982 they were reopened as part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, an exhibition now housed in the bridge's twin towers, the high-level walkways and the Victorian engine rooms. The walkways boast stunning views of the River Thames and many famous London sites, serving as viewing galleries for over 380,000 tourists^[who visit each year. The exhibition also uses films, photos and interactives to explain why and how Tower Bridge was built. Visitors can access the original steam engines that once powered the bridge bascules, housed in a building close to the south end of the bridge.

2008-2012 facelift

The bridge as seen from City Hall during its 'facelift' (note sheeting on right of picture)

In April 2008 it was announced that the bridge will undergo a 'facelift' costing Ј4m, and taking four years to complete. The work entails stripping off the existing paint and repainting in blue and white. Each section will be enshrouded in scaffolding to prevent the old paint from falling into the Thames and causing pollution. Starting in mid-2008, contractors will work on a quarter of the bridge at a time to minimise disruption, but some road closures are inevitable. The bridge

will remain open until the end of 2010, but is then expected to be closed for several months. It is hoped that the completed work will stand for 25 years.

Buckingham Palaceis the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis.

Originally known as Buckingham House,the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte, and known as "The Queen's House". During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, forming three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East front which contains the well-known balcony on which the Royal Family traditionally congregate to greet crowds outside. However, the palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb in World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.

The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which still survive, included widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle époque cream and gold colour scheme. Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The Buckingham Palace Garden is the largest private garden in London.

The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, as part of the Palace's Summer Opening.

History

Buckingham House, c.1710, was designed by William Winde for the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby. This facade evolved into today's Grand Entrance on the west (inner) side of the quadrangle, with the Green Drawing Room above.

The site

In the Middle Ages, Buckingham Palace's site formed part of the Manor of Ebury (also called Eia). The marshy ground was watered by the river Tyburn, which still flows below the courtyard and south wing of the palace. Where the river was fordable (at Cow Ford), the village of Eye Cross grew. Ownership of the site changed hands many times; owners included Edward the Confessor and his queen consort Edith of Wessex in late Saxon times, and, after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror. William gave the site to Geoffrey de Mandeville, who bequeathed it to the monks of Westminster Abbey.

In 1531, Henry VIII acquired the Hospital of St James (later St. James's Palace) from Eton College, and in 1536 he took the Manor of Ebury from Westminster Abbey. These transfers brought the site of Buckingham Palace back into royal hands for the first time since William the Conqueror had given it away almost 500 years earlier.

Various owners leased it from royal landlords and the freehold was the subject of frenzied speculation during the 17th century. By then, the old village of Eye Cross had long since fallen into decay, and the area was mostly wasteland. Needing money, James I sold off part of the Crown freehold but retained part of the site on which he established a 4-acre (16,000 m²) mulberry garden for the production of silk.

Possibly the first house erected within the site was that of a Sir William Blake, around 1624. The next owner was Lord Goring, who from 1633 extended Blake's house and developed much of today's garden, then known as Goring Great Garden. He did not, however, manage to obtain freehold interest in the mulberry garden. Unbeknown to Goring, in 1640 the document "failed to pass the Great Seal before King Charles I fled London, which it needed to do for legal execution". (It was this critical omission that helped the British royal family regain the freehold under King George III.

Arlington House

The improvident Goring defaulted on his rents; Henry Bennet 1st Earl of Arlington obtained the mansion and was occupying it, now known as Goring House, when it burned down in 1674. Arlington House rose on the site—the southern wing of today's palace—the next year, and its freehold was bought in 1702.

Buckingham House

The house which forms the architectural core of the present palace was built for the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703 to the design of William Winde. The style chosen was of a large, three-floored central block with two smaller flanking service wings. Buckingham House was eventually sold by Buckingham's descendant, Sir Charles Sheffield, in 1761 to George III for Ј21,000 (Ј3,000,000 as of 2010).

Like his grandfather, George II, George III refused to sell the mulberry garden interest, so that Sheffield had been unable to purchase the full freehold of the site. When Sheffield sold Buckingham House it came into the hands of the Royal Family.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 932