In the late 1070s as the Tower was being built, it was obvious that it was going to be one of historical importance. The Tower of London began with William the Conqueror after he realized that he needed to secure the city. Bishop Gundulph of Rochester, a skilled churchbuilder, began the Tower in 1078 with white Caen stone. The keep at London was completed relatively close to 20 years later. Its walls were approximately 15 feet thick with dimensions of 118 feet from east to west, 107 feet from north to south, and 90 feet high to the battlements. (Porter). Within these huge dimensions were two stories held above a basement. In The Age of Chivalry by Merle Severy, she addresses, “The top story was considered the royal floor and had a gallery around …show more content…
In the article “Step into 1,000 Years of History” from HRP, they claim, “In 1263, Henry III surrenders the Tower of London to Simon de Montfort.” Montfort then took over the Tower. In 1275-79 Edward I then built St. Thomas’ Tower and he also constructed the watergate now known as Traitors’ Gate. Approximately 300 years later in 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn is beheaded on Tower Green by a swordsman brought especially from France for the occasion. Roughly 20 years later, Lady Jane Grey, the ‘nine days queen’, is executed. Princess Elizabeth, later Elizabeth I, is imprisoned in the Tower to soon take on her reign. Later in 1671, Colonel Blood attempted to steal the Crown Jewels from the Martin Tower, where it was kept at the time (HRP). TRANSITION SENTENCE …show more content…
There is lots to be said about the jewels. The jewels include the crowns worn by the monarch at coronation and at the opening of Parliament (Jarus). After the restoration at the Tower of London, it became home to the new Crown Jewels to be viewed by the public (History). The Crown Jewels wasn’t the only memorable piece from the Tower though. There was lots of royal regalia that got destroyed in the mid 17th century due to England becoming a republic for a brief time. The oldest piece of the regalia (that survived) is the 12th century gold Anointing Spoon, that was used to anoint the Sovereign with holy oil. The Tower also contained a very impressive collection of armor, which is a treasure unto itself. It holds items such as a life-size wooden horse carved about 1690 and a set of armor, gilded with gold. It was created to fit Charles I around the year of 1612 (Jarus). Although the Tower had lots of memorable good things, there were also some dark times and dark parts to