Off with Their Heads!

Originally posted Jul 10, 2009

Yup, you guessed it …. Friday took us to the most timeless of London landmarks – the Tower of London.

One of the requirements of touring the sites in London was that Ken wanted “…to see something very old and with cool architecture.” You can’t really get much older than the Tower of London within the City itself!

Central keep in the Tower of London complex
dating back to 1078 and William the Conqerer.

I haven’t been there since I went on a school trip when I was about 10 years old so I was excited to see the site again after so many years, especially now that I would actually be interested in looking at all the cool architectural details.

I think Ken was a little bit more in awe than he thought he would be and had under estimated just what it means for a historic site to have 1000 years of active history. Yes, these days its more of a tourist location than anything else but it does have a VERY long and bloody history.

Wikipedia Writes

The tower’s primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase “sent to the Tower” (meaning “imprisoned”). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

We wandered in through the very old main gate to be greeted by Yeoman Warders gathering up tourists to take them on narrated guides and costumed actors down in the moat discussing various aspects of medieval life. Not keen on prolonged crowds we opted to meander through the complex ourselves and entered under one of the portcullis’ and onto an old cobbled street. We headed straight up to the outer battlements to peer over the edge and stroll along the outside wall, which actually took us through some off the outer towers. One of the things that had the biggest impact on us was the immensity in strength of some of the wooden doors through which we entered, I have no idea how old some of them are but they look VERY solid and worn.

The highlight of the day though had to be the exhibition within the White Tower itself. Currently on display is three floors devoted to showing the armor and weapons custom made for Henry VIII and how they evolved with his ever increasing girth. The detail in some of these amour creations is truly amazing and they were created back in a time when people really could be called “craftsman.’ Remember as well that Henry VIII was a dedicated sportsman and by all accounts a fairly successful one, so not only was he needing to be encased but also his horses! The time it must have taken to produce these pieces boggles the mind and for anyone that is interested in such things really should go see this exhibition if they are able too, there are accompanying books which would also be money well spent. The only sad thing is that no one is allowed to take photographs of the exhibition and so all I have is my memories.

We should really have made the effort to see the Crown Jewels but the line was unforgiving n the amount of people queue to get in.

After spending the day at The Tower it was only fitting that we meander along the River Thames into London proper. The River Thames is the reason there is a city here at all, the Romans knew it’s importance and its still that way today. The beauty of the River is that other the years “the Thames Pathway” has been developed which gives pedestrians the chance to wander. So starting at the magnificence Tower Bridge we walked, and walked, and walked….

 Me and Ken with Tower Bridge as a backdrop

We wandered past The Clink, a prison dating back to the 13th century and past the magnificent Gothic Southwark Cathedral that sits on a site by London Bridge which has been used as a place of worship since the time of the Doomsday Book. And still we wandered…

I walked Ken past where I used to work at the newspaper. I walked him over Blackfriars Bridge describing my favourite night-time view of the River. I walked him along Fleet Street and past the Royal Courts of Justice that are forever a backdrop for the news channels. I walked him through the theatre district and up through Covent Garden to browse the little boutiques and watch the street performers. Then I showed him the insanity that is Leicester Square on a Friday evening from the comfort of an outdoor dining area!!!

To finish up our awesome day we wandered down through the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, past the Prime Ministers house at 10 Downing Street and ended our walk outside the Houses of Parliament.

Man, were we pooped!