London Part 4- Tower of London Part 1

When I  was in London I visited the Tower of London, there were a lot of tourists around, and it was unfortunate because it was difficult to take clear pictures. The entry price was pricey and it was about 18 pounds  for students; BRING YOUR STUDENT ID everywhere with you! I am going to make this into 2 parts because it is such a huge location.

Anyways it is known that the Tower of London was a symbol of oppression and many people who spoke out against the royal family were imprisoned and some never made it back out. There are many stories that say that the castle is haunted. That's right, did you know it was a castle? A castle where the monarchs lived, like Buckingham and Windsor?!  As well as housing the monarchs and jailing the dissenters the tower had other functions within the walls. It was an armory, a menagerie, a treasury, a mint factory, held public records and the crown jewels.

The first king to commence building was William the Conqueror in 1078, and it had progressive expansions throughout the next few centuries.

This cobbled area is towards the main entrance of the castle but it known as Tower Hill, which is where over 100 people were executed in a 400 year period.

Throughout the castle they had animal statues which represented the fact it was also a menagerie.

The Bell Tower

King Edward I bedchamber in St. Thomas Tower

King's thrown, took me 4 shots to get this picture. It kept coming out blurry! Was it the ghost of the King? Who knows.

The Lost Palace- in front of the White Tower (which will be discussed more in detail in another post), this was the Inmost Ward. It was a set of buildings built to serve the residence but they are gone now.

Lanthorn Tower- construction began in 1220 and possibly used as the private residence of the queen. 

Candle Tower

They had these guys all over the castle.