Established by William Conqueror in 1066 to keep hostile Londoners at bay the Tower of London is separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill, the location of many executions. The White Tower in the centre of the complex gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952 (Kray twins), although that was not its primary purpose; a grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.
The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history; it was besieged several times and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, a procession would be led from the Tower to Westminster Abbey on the coronation of a monarch.
In the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle; the Duke of Wellington (of victory over Napoleon at Waterloo fame) once held this position. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence, and despite attempts to refortify and repair the castle its defences lagged behind developments to deal with artillery.
There are always 8 ravens "in residence" at the Tower - legend has it that if the ravens depart the Tower, the White Tower will fall to dust, a great calamity will befall England, and the Royal Family's reign will cease; six ravens are required, so they keep eight in case any "fall off their perch."
While guarded by serving military personnel (today it was members of the Grenadier Guards), the Tower is also home to the Yeomen of the Guard, or Beefeaters (quite literally their home, as many live in the houses in the residences on the grounds); the reason for the nickname Beefeaters is not known - only that in 1510 it was decreed that they would be known as such. Yeomen come from ex-military personnel (a tradition started by the Duke of Wellington), must have served at least 22 years, have been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for 18 years of unblemished service, and have retired with the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major, or Warrant Officer.
We did a one-hour tour with a Beefeater, George, which was exceptional - George was entertaining, warm, and informative. Free, and departing from the main entrance every half hour and lasting an hour, I thoroughly recommend taking the time to join one of the tours.
After the tour we visited the Crown Jewels of the UK, which are very well presented - as well as being very beautiful; needless to say, they are also very well protected!
In the second half of the 19th century, increased commercial development in the East End of London led to a requirement for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge. A traditional fixed bridge could not be built because it would cut off access by tall-masted ships to the port facilities in the Pool of London, between London Bridge and the Tower of London.
A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was formed in 1877, chaired by Sir Albert Joseph Altman, to find a solution to the river crossing problem. It opened the design of the crossing to public competition. Over 50 designs were submitted. The evaluation of the designs was surrounded by controversy, and it was not until 1884 that a design submitted by Sir Horace Jones, the City Architect (who was also one of the judges), was approved.
Jones' engineer, Sir John Wolfe Barry, devised the idea of a bascule bridge with two towers built on piers. The central span was split into two equal bascules or leaves, which could be raised to allow river traffic to pass. The two side-spans were suspension bridges, with the suspension rods anchored both at the abutments and through rods contained within the bridge's upper walkways.
Construction started in 1886 and took eight years with five major contractors and employed 432 construction workers; there were 10 deaths during construction. The bridge was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), and his wife, The Princess of Wales (Alexandra of Denmark).
Thanks to the iron-work necessarily adorning the structure, and the Perspex along the walkway (keeping the weather at bay) it was difficult to get decent photos; however, they do provide a couple of small opening windows in the Perspex, so I was able to get these:
The top of the Monument is reached by a narrow winding staircase of 311 steps. A mesh cage was added in the mid-19th century at the top of the Monument to prevent people jumping off, after six people had committed suicide from the structure between 1788 and 1842. Unfortunately, the cage messes with photos, but I still managed to get a few by poking the lens between the mesh.
With plenty of light, we wandered for a while and found ourselves in London's West End at Piccadilly Circus, named not for the circus that is the traffic "system" here, but for the fact that it is round-ish like a circle.
Built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly (it's like visiting the Monopoly board of my childhood), the Circus is particularly known for its video display and neon signs mounted on the corner building on the northern side, as well as the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and statue of Eros.
Having filled the day, we headed back to the apartment.