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The Tower of London is one of the places nearly everyone who visits London wants to see. It is a very old building, built on the side of the river Thames. Looking up from the river it looks strong and massive, and it must have scared people who were being taken there to be locked up by order of the king. Many of them never came out again. |
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If you were a traitor (who had done something against your country) in the olden days, you were often sentenced to death. Ordinary people were hanged from the neck, cut down while they were still alive, disemboweled (cut open and their organs pulled out), and then the body cut into pieces. If you were of noble birth (born to a rich important family) you were lucky. All they did was chop off your head, which was much quicker and less painful. Two of King Henry the Eighth's wives were beheaded in this courtyard. He had them killed because he wanted to marry someone else. |
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To the left is a picture of what the executioner (the man who cut off heads) looked like. He always wore a mask so that the prisoner could not see his face. The Tower has some large cannons there. Look carefully, and you will see a big black bird sitting on the top of the cannon. This is one of the Tower ravens. Ravens are very large (magpie sized), and it is traditional that they live around the tower. |
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The Tower of London is guarded by the Scots Guards. Some of the guarding is purely for ceremony and tradition. But some very valuable things are kept in the tower. The Tower of London is where the crown jewels of the British Royal Family are kept. There is a lot of security to make sure no-one can steal the Queen's crown, and other important and valuable jewellery that belongs to the country.  |
