Innocents Abroad: Chapter 79 - London

Just thinking about the Tower of London conjures up images of ghostly passages ill lit by smoky torches. Aristocratic prisoners were led to chambers where they waited to be executed. A few spent years or even the rest of their lives in this fortress. Conspiracies were hatched here, intrigue, murder, treason, betrayals, desperate pleas for freedom - every kind of human misery was heard in these shadowy corridors.

Yeah, I know I'm fanciful, but I've always thought of the Tower that way. It was such a thrill to get to visit it on a [freezing cold] spring evening and witness the famous Ceremony of the Keys. Kate was able to get us in quickly for a law enforcement personnel event so I felt very VIPish.

After taking the tube across London, then walking for what seemed forever, I felt excited just to see this sign!

Tower Bridge is an 800-foot-long combined bascule (drawbridge) and suspension bridge that opened in 1894. Today it is one of the well-known symbols of London.

Entering Tower Bridge

The Tower of London, located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, was built by William the Conqueror beginning in 1078 to overawe his new subjects after his Norman Conquest 12 years earlier.

The Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and moat.

It has served variously as a palace, torture chamber, execution site, armory, treasury, menagerie, [St. John's] Chapel, Royal Mint, public records office, soldiers' residence and home of the Crown Jewels. Its most famous purpose, however, has been that of a prison. Many historical notables have been held there, including the future Elizabeth I, the little Princes (who were supposedly murdered in 1483 on the orders of Richard III), Roger Mortimer (who conspired with Edward II's widowed queen to overthrow Edward III), Richard II, James I of Scotland, Henry VI, Sir Walter Raleigh, Lady Jane Grey, Catherine Howard and of course, the [in]famous Anne Boleyn. During World War II it was again used as a prison for German prisoners of war, including Hitler deputy Rudolph Hess.

The castle, enclosing an area of almost 12 acres, was built of Kentish ragstone (whatever that is), some local mudstone (again, whatever that is), later mostly replaced by Portland stone (again ... but then I repeat myself).

I can't tell you how excited I was to actually be there!

The Ceremony of the Keys has been conducted nightly for over 700 years. The Tower's heavy wooden gates are locked each evening by the Chief Yeoman Warder. The Ceremony begins promptly at 9:53 pm and is completed at 10:00 pm. It is not just for show; the crown jewels are stored at the Tower.

The Yeoman Warders are very proud that the Ceremony of the Keys continued without interruption even when German bombs fell on the Tower during World War II. After a direct hit in September, 1941, the ceremony was delayed by half an hour but went ahead after the dusk and smoke settled.

You can't photograph the Ceremony. First, we were guided to a spot near the Bloody Tower. We had to walk carefully on the uneven cobblestoned lanes in the darkness. The Chief Yeoman Warder, flanked by two warders, approaches down the lane with the Keys of the Tower in one hand and a brass lantern in the other. The guard calls out, "Halt! Who comes there?" (Note: not 'Who goes there' which would be grammatically incorrect). He replies, "The Keys." The guard asks, "Whose keys?" and the reply is "Queen Elizabeth's keys." Then the guard orders, "Advance, Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All's well." The ceremony concludes with a bugle call. It was quite impressive, especially since it has been occurring the same way for over seven centuries.

The gate we entered for the Ceremony of the Keys

Kate in the lane leading to the center of the Tower complex

Part of the medieval wall

The Bloody Tower, the original water gate

The famous Traitors' Gate. After extending the south side of the Tower onto previously submerged land, Edward I built St. Thomas's Tower between 1275 and 1279. It replaced Bloody Tower as the castle's water gate.

The building is unique in England, the closest parallel being the now demolished water gate at the Louvre in Paris. The dock was covered with arrow slits in case of an attack from the river, and there was a portcullis to control entrance.

When [Bloody]Mary I had Princess Elizabeth brought to the Tower, the 20-year-old future queen plopped down on the steps and refused to enter the Tower by Traitors' Gate. Imagine the courage that took!

The portcullis controls entrance to the Tower of London. Here is our group entering the complex.

Behind these walls was a torture chamber. Not all that many torture devices were used in England, primarily just the rack - which is still the best way to make someone taller. Of course there is the negative side, like agony without pain medication. But then no pain, no gain, right?

The Clock Tower

Barracks where some of the Yeoman Warders and their families live

Because I'm a lousy photographer, you can't see it - but just to the left out of camera range is the site where several royals were executed, including Lady Jane Grey (most executions took place on nearby Tower Hill).

The Tower is reputedly the most haunted building in England, and I'm not surprised. Many dark deeds were committed in this place. Supposedly, the ghosts of Anne Boleyn, Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole and the young Princes are among the spirits who walk here. If I'd been wrongly executed, I might haunt the place, too!

Part of the 11th century White Tower

Part of the old Roman city wall. The Tower of London was built in the southeast corner of the Roman town walls, using them as prefabricated defenses.

After the ceremony most people are escorted to the after-hours gate. This is where I again felt VIPish; the law enforcement group was invited to the Beefeaters Bar.

Our little group: a colleague of Kate's; Jessica, a friend of Colin's; the old lady; Kate; Jonathan, Jessica's husband; and Kate's friend, Colin.