Whew! Today we were on our way at 9am. The roomies and I stopped to get coffee at Bloomsbury Coffee Co! It was delicious and the server was incredibly kind. I got called love. How cute! The big thing on our to do list today was the Tower of London. Upon first walking up, the moat had hundreds of poppies, daisies, and more wildflowers growing. I am a huge floral lover, so to see all the beautiful flowers made my heart happy.
The Beginning & Prisoners
At the Tower of London, I learned a lot about the interesting history of the tower itself. William the Conqueror had the White Tower built in 1078 as a means to cast away foreigners and keep the Londoners in line. This is the oldest tower. It took over 20 years to construct! As more of the towers were added, the space was also used as a prison and once was where royals would reside. One of the most interesting aspects of this space is the fact that it was not all built under one ruler. The space was expanded under King Henry III and King Edward I. The defensive walls were built during this time and even the moat was expanded.
There were many individuals that were kept as prisoners here, specifically in the Bloody Tower. Yes, I said what I said. Bloody Tower. Pretty on the nose, eh? There are quite a few famous prisoners. A stand out to me are the Kray twins. Ronald and Reginald Gray were gang members of a gang group called Firm. They were involved in murder, gambling, and robbery. After refusing to report for the National Service, they were arrested and turned over to the army, who then locked them in the Bloody Tower. They were the last prisoners held in the tower! Imagine if my twin and I did that? How exciting!
Ravens..?
When first entering the space, I immediately noticed an enclosed area that held ravens! There are SEVEN resident ravens and they are all named: Jubilee, Edgar (lol), Harris, Poppy, Georgie, Branwen, and Rex. An interesting tidbit of British culture (or superstition one might say) is that if the six ravens were to ever leave the Tower, the Tower would collapse. King Charles II was the first person to mention taking measures to keeping the ravens protected. One of their wings are clipped so they cannot leave… Hmm. Sounds as though they do not have the option to leave.
White Tower
My favorite exhibit today has been the entirety of White Tower. The group I traveled with today nearly missed getting to experience White Tower, but stayed a wee bit later to go through it in its entirety. I am so glad we did! We got to see all the armor and weapons one might have seen over the years at the Tower. To be able to see the different weapons specifically, from arrows to pistols, the history was incredibly rich! Bloody rich one might say…
If I had to pick an absolute favorite, it would have to be Keeper the Dragon. He is a massive dragon located in the White Tower. He is built out of various armor and metal pieces, with massive, glowing red eyes. If you pay attention, you will actually see a kings crown located in the stomach of Keeper. Considering most of the kings we know of, I am sure Keeper was totally in his right. Good riddance!
Tonight, we are off to see London Tide at the National Theatre in the Lyttelton! My next post will be about this show in particular, so we will meet again very soon. Onward!
Theatre in London U of A 