The Tower of London is an icon of England's history. William the
Conqueror built the White Tower after his invasion and conquest in 1066
to dominate London, and it has become infamous as a place of torture,
execution and murder. The deaths of royals attracted most attention: the
murder of the Princes in the Tower, the beheading of Henry VIII's wives
Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey, Henry's
great-niece, and queen for just nine days. Few prisoners recorded their
experiences, but John Gerard, a Catholic priest imprisoned during
Elizabeth I's reign, wrote of being questioned in the torture room,
which contained 'every device and instrument of torture'. After being
hung from manacles, his wrists were swollen and he could barely walk.
Members of the aristocracy could not be tortured, and those incarcerated
for a long time used their time to write. Sir Walter Raleigh wrote his
vast History of the World in the Tower. Control of the Tower was vital
at times of crisis, during rebellions and civil wars. It has also been
the country's principal arsenal. It housed the Royal Mint, the national
archives, the Crown jewels and wealthy Londoners' riches, and in the
royal menagerie it contained one of the earliest zoos. Stephen Porter's
landmark history traces the evolution of the Tower and its changing
role, the many personalities who lived or were imprisoned there, and the
'voices' of contemporaries during the Tower's long history, spanning
more than 900 years.
