As I close out my third day in London, perhaps my favorite thing, of which there are many, is the history behind every ounce of the city. So, as one might assume, the tower of London was one of my favorite things we’ve had the pleasure of seeing so far. A location that works as a sort of architectural amalgam of the city’s history, with pieces on display ranging from gifted samurai armor, dragons and a number of live ravens which traverse the ground waiting to interact with patrons lucky enough to come across them.
One of the most intresting parts of the tower though isn’t the architecture or pieces on display, it’s the sheer number of people who have at one point or another been imprisoned there. The one I’d like to talk about, or ones in this case, are the twin Kray brothers who stayed in the tower in 1952. As some of the last two people to be imprisoned there the Krays’ stay was because of their failure to show up for National service when they were younger. An interestingly tame crime considering they’re mainly remembered for their later involvements in murder, racketeering, armed robbery, arson, etc.
As we visited every exhibit, walked many flights of stairs, and passed through generations of London’s history one couldn’t help but get excited about the culture. Upon our exit, I think I’d have been hard-pressed to find a favorite thing I saw. Perhaps the crown jewels or a collection of terrifying torture devices, at the end of the day though I think my favorite thing was simply seeing a singular, somewhat funny, item. Coming all the way from a nobleman’s castle in Bavaria the tower displayed an ax pistol. The reason I love this so much is it’s a piece of history where the inception of it in theory makes sense but in practicality, it seems almost impossible to use and becomes perhaps the silliest item on display. A picture has been attached for reference. Overall, the Tower of London was a great experience with exciting things to view, it just makes me excited for the wealth of other museums and such in the area!
Theatre in London U of A 