The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace and
Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north
bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London
Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separated from the eastern edge of
the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower
Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman
Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle
its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a
resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling
elite. The castle was also used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf
Flambard) until 1952 (Kray twins), although that was not its primary
purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal
residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set
within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were
several phases of expansion, mainly under kings Richard I, Henry III,
and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout
established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on
the site.The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace
and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north
bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London
Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separated from the eastern edge of
the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower
Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman
Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle
its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a
resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling
elite. The castle was also used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf
Flambard) until 1952 (Kray twins), although that was not its primary
purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal
residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set
within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were
several phases of expansion, mainly under kings Richard I, Henry III,
and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout
established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on
the site.The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English
history. It was besieged several times, and controlling it has been
important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously
as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a
public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England.
From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, a
procession would be led from the Tower to Westminster Abbey on the
coronation of a monarch. In the absence of the monarch, the Constable
of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and
trusted position in the medieval period. In the late 15th century, the
castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors,
the Tower became used less as a royal residence, and despite attempts
to refortify and repair the castle, its defensive systems lagged
behind developments to deal with artillery.The peak period of the
castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many
figures who had fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she
became queen, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Elizabeth Throckmorton, were
held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "sent to the
Tower". Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and
death, popularised by 16th-century religious propagandists and
19th-century writers, only seven people were executed within the Tower
before the World Wars of the 20th century. Executions were more
commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle,
with 112 occurring there over a 400-year period. In the latter half of
the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the
castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony
Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to
what was felt to be its medieval appearance, clearing out many of the
vacant post-medieval structures. Tower of London Top Movies & Young Movies