Since then, the Tower of London has been undergoing construction. As the years passed, successive kings and queens expanded on the structure established in the 1078. Tower of London, which has always been an old royal castle fortress that was constantly altered over the years, is today the Oldest Royal Jail and Palace Fortress of all of Europe. Visit Tower of London Tour before reading this.
In the UK today, Treason still constitutes a Capital Crime and is punished by the death penalty (in Tower grounds).
The Norman King William The Conqueror (Year: 1066) invaded England and defeated Anglo Saxon king Harold. He was then crowned King in England on CHRISTMAS DAY, 1066.
This was due to the fact that the Thames River Bank is far enough downriver to allow a Medieval Stone Bridge to be built that would not fail during Flood Season.
The King needed to have an impregnable Fort to be based in to hold the Medieval English Feudal leaders under control. This would prevent the English from gaining the throne by revolting.
William’s invasion was not popular with Londoners. He could not easily command their loyalty, since he had been deemed a foreigner.
To keep the throne, all Kings at that time needed to have a well-trained sitting army.
You might say, “nothing has really changed since the 1000s,” but the most recent global conflicts have shown otherwise!
Most interestingly, William’s army chose to base itself in the same area that Claudius the Roman had selected as his English base many centuries ago. Today you can still find evidence of Roman engineering skills in Bath and the rest of England.
Tower of London now houses a London Museum after it has accumulated a bespeckled thousand year history!
Initial construction was simple, consisting of wood and stone with a trench and palisades on the exterior.
The White Tower has replaced the “Great Tower”, which is the original name of this basic structure.
Henry III of the time moved into the Tower in 1240 as his Royal Palace.
So he made his house prettier by painting the Great Tower white. Also, he expanded it to allow him to build a chapel in which he can pray.
You can’t forget, all medieval Kings declared that they had divine rights to rule. What say you about that?
In the 13th Century, the Norman Kings, descendants of William who still ruled England, (and spoke French!) were also erected a Great Hall, along with other buildings. The Tower of London, also called ‘La Tour Blanche in English’ is the name given to it by Norman Kings who were direct descendants of William and still ruling England (and speaking French of course!) during the 13th Century.