We spent today at the Tower of London. William the Conqueror began building the tower in the 1080's and successive kings added on to the tower. Henry VIII added on the royal residences for Anne Boleyn, however she didn't have the chance to enjoy them... Henry VIII used the tower as a prison to house religious and political prisoners as well as Anne Boleyn and Jane Grey.
Here are some photos.
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| Traitor's Gate |
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| Waterloo Block, home of the Crown Jewels |
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| One of the Ravens. I named him Bill. |
The ravens are a big part of Tower legend. The legend is that Charles II was told that if the ravens left the Tower, the kingdom would fall. Our Yeoman Warder tour guide told us that the flight feathers have been clipped on the ravens. He also added that if you think it's animal cruelty you should know that the ravens at the tower live from 5 to 30 years compared to about 5 years in the wild. Also, they get a hard boiled egg every other day in addition to high quality meats.
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| Prisoner carving by Sir Phillip Howard, Earl of Arundel |
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| Some prisoners hired stone masons to carve. |
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| View from the entrance. Our Yeoman guide told us they drained the moat so they could mow the grass today... |
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| Tower Bridge |
Tomorrow we are heading to Canterbury for the day, the headquarters of the Anglican Church.
Poor Anne Boleyn. Aunt Linda wants you to visit Princess Diana's grave and take pictures :)
ReplyDeleteAll this stuff is seriously old, do they even have any new stuff there?
ReplyDeleteyah where's the Olive Garden?
ReplyDelete