"London - Capital of England" London by joanj

London Travel Guide: 23,065 reviews and 47,272 photos

Beefeaters - Yeoman of the Guard

It is a long time since I visited the Tower of London,but thought I would copy an extract from the guide book I have kept.

The story of the Tower of London begins with William the Conquerer. Some twelve years after the Battle of Hastings, William decided to build a fortress on the fortified camp on what is now Tower Hill.

There are many towers some of which I list below:-

The Wakefield Tower - where the Crown Jewels are kept.

The Bloody Tower - This was originally known as the Garden Tower, but the name was changed in 1597 , presumably because the Little Princes - Edward V and his brother the Duke of York were murdered there in 1483.

The Beauchamp Tower - this is a semi-circular tower on the inner wall and is entered from Tower Green. It dates from Henry III's time and owes it's name to Thomas, fourth Earl of Warwick a member of the Beauchamp family, who was confined in the tower by Richard II in 1397.

The Lanthorn Tower - down Water Lane is not open to the public, but by it's entrance in the bailey is the cage where the ravens are kept at night. There have always been ravens at the Tower, and superstition dating from Charles II's time, says that if none are in residence, both the White Tower and the British Empire will collapse. There are usually five or six of these raucous birds, traditionally associated with ill-omen, their wings are clipped and they are officially "on the strength" and receive a ration allowance. The birds are cared for by the Yeoman Quartermaster.

This is an interesting fact -
The Ceremony of the Keys
Every night for nearly 700 years or so, even during the height of the London blitz in World War II, the traditional Ceremony of the Keys has taken place at the Tower at precicely 9.53p.m. the Chief Warder carrying a lantern lit by a single candle marches to The Bloody Tower. There the escort waits, the party moves off, the Chief Warder carrying the keys. The West Gate is locked by the Chief Warder while the escort presents arms. The Middle and Byward Towers are next locked by similar procedure. The party returns to the Bloody Tower archway where it is halted. The sentry commands : "Halt - Who goes there?" the Chief Warder replies : The Keys To this the sentry demands "whose Keys?" The Chief Warder :- "QUEEN ELIZABETH'S KEYS". the sentry finally says advance QUEEN ELIZABETH'S KEYS, ALL'S WELL

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I have just been back to London as a "tourist"again, and when I have the time I will be updating the pages.
The exciting thing for me was the surprise present from one of my son's with tickets for the LONDON EYE so will be posting pics. from that trip in the near future. Stay tuned folks, there is more to come!

Pros and Cons

Pros:so much history

Intro Updated Oct 9, 2004
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uglyscot Dec 11, 2009 at 1:29 AM

Went on a walking tour that took us the Roman Bath. i too was amazed to find it as had never heard of it.
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scottishvisitor Jun 13, 2005 at 2:17 PM

Loved Covent Garden & the markets Good page
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MalenaN Oct 17, 2004 at 9:05 AM

Great tips Joan! I have not been to London after the opening of London Eye, Tate modern or Globe Theatre. I really have to go again soon!
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Elena_007 Oct 5, 2004 at 8:47 AM

Very informative pages on London! Well done! :-) I can see you are still working on it. I will check back for updates. ~Elaine~