I finally made it to the Tower! I’ve been waiting for the perfect day to go with people, because it is so expensive to get into. I have my Historical Palaces pass, but tickets cost nearly £20 for everyone else. This Saturday it was sunny, gorgeous, and we got there early enough to make a full day out of it. I could not have been happier.
The Tower was amazing. Inside the outer wall the area is set up like a little city. The White Tower, built by William the Conqueror, stands central to the construction of other towers, guard houses, homes for the wardens, and the chapel. Having come so early, I was able to experience almost everything that the Tower had to offer, which, let me tell you, was an exorbitant amount!
We started off with a tour from a Yeoman Warder named Simon. He was hilarious, and took also all around the inside of what is considered “the Tower.” It served as the perfect introduction to how it was set up and where everything was, setting us up perfectly to explore at our leisure.
From there we went on a tour of the White Tower itself. This one was much drier, our tour guide being substantially less entertaining and enthusiastic than Simon. However, it did get us inside the White Tower and some insight into just how much information is housed within its walls. I did not even have enough time to go through more than one floor, the sheer number of artifacts displayed and information presented being so expansive. I will definitely be returning to the Tower again, at the very least to finish going through the White Tower.
Much of the wealth of the monarchy is held for safekeeping within the thick stone walls of the Tower. The most prized of these are, as one would expect, the Crown Jewels. To thin the crowds and keep people from idling in front of the jewels, you are put on a conveyer belt and moved past them. The nice thing about this is that you can do it as many times as you want! While only the most recent crowns, recent referring to the past couple of hundred years, are displayed, they are stunning enough. One of the rubies on the most recent crown was added during the reign of Edward the Confessor, and the diamond adorning the front of the imperial crown is one cut from the Cullinan diamond, the largest ever found. Also displayed is the gold banqueting ware. I particularly loved the punch bowl – fits 141 bottles of wine! Sounds like a party!
Unfortunately, I got confused on 24-hour time and therefore missed what I presume was historical storytelling in the Medieval Tower. Still, we were able to go in and explore the renovations and bedroom of Edward I. The room was decorated the same way that he would have had it during the Middle Ages. Seeing as I plan on living in castle one day, the decorating tips were definitely useful!
While no one knows exactly where the actual site of executions took place within the tower walls, the major ones are all condensed and commemorated at a selected scaffolding site. The new memorial, reminiscent of a strange glass coffee table, is not nearly as cool as a legitimate black. However, my girl Anne [Boleyn] was listed on the table, so that was alright. Any work paying respects to Anne Boleyn is cool in my book.
I more or less spent the rest of the day exploring the tower: walking the walls, climbing the stairs, making animal sounds in the beastiary. I love being able to interact with history, and I was completely in my element. I’m contemplating applying for a job as a Yeoman Warder. Who wouldn’t want to live in the Tower of London? Anyways, I was thrilled to be able to spend a beautiful day in London in such a manner, and I cannot wait to return.
