Today’s visit to the Tower of London was fascinating! I had so much fun exploring all the different exhibits, and the views from within and outside the tower walls were breathtaking! Upon exiting the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge stopped me in my tracks. I of course got a photo (see below), and I would love to see it again before the trip is over. It was so much larger up close than I imagined it would be, and the architecture was stunning.
Within the tower, I would have to say that the “Imprisonment at the Tower” exhibit in Beauchamp Tower was my favorite. (Sorry. It’s hard to write about today without saying “tower” every five words.) It was fascinating to learn about all the different people who had, at one time, been held there, and there is even a room that has carvings in the walls made by various prisoners. Seeing how many carvings there were in that one room was harrowing, but each one paints a vivid picture. Each of the people who made a carving wanted to ensure something of themselves or their beliefs was left behind, and it was incredible to see what they carved while facing imprisonment and/or death. You can see examples of some of these carvings in my photos at the end of this post.
One of the most interesting prisoner profiles I found while touring was that of Anne Askew. She was a Protestant preacher, and the first woman in England to ask for a divorce. She is also one of the very few people to ever be tortured at the tower. I feel like The Tower of London has forever been a place associated with torture and gruesome murder, so I was surprised to learn how little it actually took place when considering the number of prisoners that were at one time held there. Anne was tortured in the hopes that she would give up the names of Protestants in Queen Katherine Parr’s inner circle, but she never did. Anne withstood immense torture and pain to protect those individuals, and in the end, she was burned at the stake for it. Reading stories like her’s really gives one some perspective on how brutal life could be for people who got on the wrong side of royalty.
Some other things I enjoyed seeing and learning about while at the Tower included the Crown Jewels, the architecture, and the flowers. I never realized how extensive the collection of the Crown Jewels is. I’ve always thought of it as just a few crowns that the royals wore, but it also included regalia worn by royalty and those closely associated with them during ceremonies, serving platters (including a HUGE wine bowl that can hold 240 BOTTLES of wine), and other significant items used by royalty for ceremonies, dinners, and more. The architecture was also fascinating because the Tower was expanded over years and years. As a result, you can find Tudor, Medieval, and other styles all present within the same complex. The architecture paints a sort of timeline of The Tower of London, and it makes for a great photo op, as you will see below. Lastly, I just loved seeing all the beautiful flowers throughout the complex. It was a rare sunny day in London, and that combined with the flowers made it a beautiful time to explore.
Theatre in London U of A 