Where The Ravens Reside

On day three of our trip, our group had the privilege of visiting the Tower of London. During our visit, we learned many interesting things about British culture and the history of the old and beautiful tower. When we first entered the beautiful arch way that led into the castle’s grounds, off to the left was an exhibit of caged ravens. The reason that they keep ravens here is because ravens used to freely roam and dwell in the grounds and it was said that if all of them ever left, it meant that the monarchy had collapsed. Of course, they wouldn’t want that and so they just locked the ravens away so that there was no chance of that ever happening.

The first thing we did after observing the ravens was wait in line to see the Crown of Jewels. The line was so long and winding, but the wait was definitely worth it because I think that this was my favorite exhibit. The first thing I saw was a glass casing of regalia from the investiture. During the investiture, the monarch is given all the clothing and objects that symbolize their royal authority, known as regalia. Inside the case, was a beautiful golden and flowery stole worn by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. I made my way in line with the others to see all of the ornamental crowns. I was startled all of a sudden by the conveyor belt that quickly led us along to see the crowns. The first crown was the King’s crown. This crown is the one that a king or queen wears when they are coronated. I was so amazed at the fact that I was finally getting to see it in person. It was hard to believe that I was staring at an object that had been on Queen Elizabeth’s head and had only just recently been worn by King Charles. As the conveyor belt took us through, I got to see many different designs and sizes of crowns worn by people in the monarchy. Crowns were not the only thing to be seen in this exhibit. I also had the chance to see all of the gold and ornate objects that the monarchy would use for certain ceremonies such as gold basins for baptisms. My favorite object was probably a giant gold punch bowl that I saw which was larger than my bathtub at home. All of the decorative  objects had detailed images of people and scenes engraved into the gold.

The next exhibit that we decided to visit was The White Tower. This tower is the central tower of the grounds and is the oldest of them all dating back to the year 1097.The White Tower is a masterpiece. It was built to resist any attack and was constructed by skilled stoneworkers called masons. The Master Mason was the most senior person on site and was in charge of all workers. One of the first rooms that we entered was a room that educates tourists on how the tower used to keep and abuse exotic animals. The tower would allow visitors to approach the animals quite closely which resulted in some dangerous, even fatal accidents. Once, a woman approached a lion to pet its paw and it reached for her arm and tore it off. Surgeons were able to amputate her arm, but unfortunately she died only a year later. After viewing that room, we made our way to the artillery rooms where weapons and knight armor were displayed. I got to see canons and staff weapons. The staff weapons would have been issued from Henry VIII’s arsenal at the Tower. Staff Weapons were one of the oldest and simplest forms of weapon. I really enjoyed viewing the many different historical lessons and objects that we learned about inside the White Tower. You can truly feel the history seeping from its stone walls as you climb the endless revolving stairs to the top.

One of the most interesting things that I learned about the Tower of London was that many historically famous people were executed there. One of my favorite paintings is known as The Execution of Lady Jane Grey painted by Paul Delaroche in 1833. Lady Jane was charged with high treason. Lady Jane reluctantly became Queen when unscrupulous politicians placed her on the throne. She only ruled for nine days at the young age of fifteen. The execution of Lady Jane Grey took place in Tower Green of the Tower of London. I have always been emotionally moved by the painting of her execution because of the innocence and youth of Lady Jane Grey. Rather than giving the throne to who was next in line which would have been King Edward’s half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, the throne was given to Lady Jane Grey because she and her male heirs were designated successors. Mary was so angry by this that the Queen was charged with the crime of high treason along with her husband. She was imprisoned in the Tower of London before her execution and then they both were killed in the Tower Green. I really found the discovery of how she had been executed at the Tower of London to be very emotionally moving because I really love the painting of her execution.

Overall, our day trip to visit the Tower of London was very successful. I learned so much historical facts about famous figures that I just thought I was familiar with. As I scanned my surroundings during our visit, I tried to conjure up images of people from the medieval times roaming the same very cobblestone I walked upon. I must confess that I wore the wrong shoes for the occasion for with every step, I felt every cobblestone beneath my feet.