Beautiful Sunset
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Who would have thought that social distancing and self-isolation were a medieval invention.
The Tower of London (18): Spoils of War
Posted: January 15, 2021 in History, London, Post medieval history, UKTags: Tower of London
In the cellar of the White Tower are some examples of items brought back from various military campaigns and presented to the Royal Armouries. Many of these are weapons but there are a few curiosities.
A golden winged lion statue captured by British forces beseiging the French in Corfu in 1809.
A bronze bell taken from the Russian fort at Bomersund during the Crimean war. Most metal objects captured were melted down for casting as artillery, but this fine example survived.
A decorated strongbox captured from the Spanish at Havana Cuba in 1762, It has an interesting security system – the lock on the front is a dummy and the real lock is concealed on the top of the box.
A Burmese bell presented to Sir William Gomm, whilst he was Commander British forces in India 1850-55. He was later Constable of the Tower which probably explains how it came to be in the Royal Armoury collection.
The Tower of London (17): Treasury and Records office
Posted: January 11, 2021 in History, Medieval History, Post medieval historyTags: Tower of London
There is evidence of the storage of royal treasures at the Tower since the 11th century. It is likely that these were the items that were not for everyday use, these being kept in the Palace of Westminster (a Jewel Tower was constructed within the Palace in 1369) or wherever the royal court was situated.
Wakefield Tower
Initially, the Treasury was housed in the White Tower but in the 16th century, it was transferred to a purpose-built Jewel House. On the execution of Charles I, the keeper of the Jewels, Carew Mildmay, was imprisoned because he refused to turn over the keys of the Jewel House to the republican government. It only delayed the inevitable and they broke down the doors and either sold off or melted down all they found within. Following the restoration of Charles II, the new crown jewels were housed in the Martin Tower and then the Wakefield Tower (from 1869) before being housed in the new jewel house located within the Waterloo Block in 1967.
Waterloo Block
Door to Jewel House in Waterloo block
As with Treasury, the White Tower was also used to store the records of the chancery. These related mainly to details of property ownership and taxation. The records office moved to the Wakefield Tower in the late 14th century where it remained until 1858 when with the formation of the Public Records Office they were moved to a purpose-built building in Chancery Lane near Holborn.
The Tower of London (16): Wardrobe Tower
Posted: January 8, 2021 in History, London, Medieval History, UKTags: Tower of London, Wardrobe Tower
The Remains of the Wardrobe tower with the white Tower beyond
The Wardrobe Tower stands adjacent to the White Tower. It was begun around 1190 and its name comes from the fact that it was used to store the Kings Wardrobe – his clothes jewels and personal articles. It is built on the remians of a Roman bastion in the old city wall.
Only a fragment of the building remains today.
Tower of London (15): The White Tower
Posted: January 4, 2021 in History, London, Medieval History, UKTags: Tower of London, White Tower
The White Tower was the original castle keep started by William I in 1070, just 4 years after he won the battle of Hastings. It was located to protect the river approaches to the city but soon became favoured as a royal residence.
The first reference to it by the name of ‘White Tower’ is in 1240 when the brickwork was painted.
After it fell out of fashion as a royal residence, the tower continued to functions a the headquarters for royal and governmental administration.
Wishing you all a peaceful and healthy New Year
Tower of London (14): The Royal Mint
Posted: December 30, 2020 in History, London, UKTags: Royal Mint, Tower of London
Coins minted at Tower mint
In 1279, William de Turemine was appointed Master Moneyer and the mint was moved from the city to more secure premises within the Tower of London. The minting of coins continued at the Tower until 1804 when a decision was taken to build a new purpose-built mint on Tower Hill, just outside the walls of the Tower. This was completed and opened in 1810 and production was moved from the mint buildings inside the Tower to the new site.
A Coin press
The history of the mint in the Tower is fairly unremarkable. But there was one attempt at robbery which nearly succeeded. On 20th December 1798, James Turnball, an ex-soldier working in the mint, locked a supervisor in a cupboard and made off with 2,000 newly minted guinea coins (a guinea was 1/4 oz of gold). He was able to make his escape from the Tower and went into hiding. No news of his whereabouts was known until on 5th January 1799 he was recognised, from a wanted poster, trying to purchase a berth on a boat from Dover to France. He was arrested, tried and was executed on 15th May 1799.
Wishing you all a joyous and peaceful Christmas
Tower of London (13): The Line of Kings
Posted: December 22, 2020 in History, London, Medieval History, UKTags: Tower of London
From 1692 one of the public attractions at the Tower was the Line of Kings, a display in chronological order of the armour of the Kings of England.
Artists impression of Line of Kings
A modern version is currently on display in the White Tower featuring some of the armour used in the original display.
Armour of Henry VIII
Originally displayed from 1690 as armour of Edward VI, son of Henry VIII. Now believed to be Prince Henry, son of James I
Armour of young Charles I
