The History of the Tower

After William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of England, he needed a way of reminding people that he was the new power in England. What better way to do so than by building a massive fortress where everyone could see it? A royal palace, the Tower was designed to maximize psychological impact. Built on the fringes of the City of London, on the River Thames, the Tower’s main purpose was to awe the Anglo-Saxon populace. It also served as a base for royal power in the City, and as a refuge for the Royal family in times of civil unrest.

In 1238, Henry III, seeking refuge from rebellious barons, took refuge in the Tower, and in doing so, realized its weaknesses. When trouble had subsided, he embarked on a massive reinforcement project that doubled the area enclosed by the Tower walls, flooded a moat, and constructed nine new towers. Henry’s son Edward I resolved to improve on the work of his father, spending the equivalent of Ł7,600,000 on making the largest concentric castle in England. Edward I also established the Royal Mint at the Tower, and moved the Crown Jewels to the Tower. Edward II benefited from his father’s works, as he was a regular caller at the Tower during his turbulent reign. It was in the Tower that Richard III abdicated, and that the boy-king Edward V and his younger brother are rumored to have been murdered.

When Henry VIII divorced England from Roman Catholicism in the 1530’s, many prominent opponents of Henry as the head of the English Church could be found in the Tower, including Sir Thomas More. Eventually, many of Henry’s wives were held in the Tower, including Anne Boleyn, who had practically started the whole mess. Queen Mary I and Elizabeth I imprisoned their respective Protestant and Catholic opponents in the Tower, many of them high ranking. Barons, earls, bishops, knights, and dukes were all to be found captive in the early years of an independent Church of England. A political rather than military defeat took the Tower from Charles I during the Civil War, and the Parliamentarians gained a huge advantage having taken it. Charles II reinforced the garrison, used by James II against the opponents that eventually forced him into exile.

In the 1800’s, the Tower assumed less and less of its traditional role. The Mint, the king’s collection of animals, and the Record Office all were moved to different locations. Prince Albert took charge of a restoration movement. From the 1850’s onward, more and more people visited the Tower. Closed to the public during the Second World War, several buildings of the Tower were damaged or destroyed. Today, more than 2,000,000 people visit the Tower each year, coming to see over 900 years of history.

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