bastions, on the night of St. George's Day, April 23rd, 1240, probably
from inattention to the foundations. The King, on hearing of it, ordered
the fallen structure to be more securely rebuilt. A year later the same
thing happened again, which the chronicler states was due to the
supernatural interference of St. Thomas a Becket, and that the citizens
of London were nothing sorry, for they had been told that a great number
of separate cells had been constructed in the fallen towers, to the end
that many might be confined in divers prisons, and yet have no
communication one with another.[35]
After more than 12,000 marks had been thus fruitlessly expended, the
King, in order to propitiate the saint, after ordering the tower to be
rebuilt for the third time, and called by his name, also ordered a small
oratory to be constructed in its south-east turret. Whether the saint
allowed himself to be thus propitiated, or that greater care had been
bestowed upon its foundations, this tower, which at first served as the
water gate of the fortress, and was known as that of St. Thomas, "I,"
was in Tudor times used as a landing-place for state prisoners, and
thence derived its dismal but better known appellation of "Traitors'
Gate."
This tower, though "restored" in 1866, still stands as solidly as when
first erected. Its wide interior arch of sixty-one feet span, with
joggled arch stones, is a most remarkable piece of work.
The legend may be considered as evidence that about 1239-1241 the King
was engaged in constructing all the great works upon the south or river
front of the Tower. The Middle Tower gate, "E," the Byward Tower gate,
"F," the dam or bridge between them, the before-mentioned water gate,
"I," the Lanthorn tower, "k," its new turret, "J," the south
postern or Cradle tower, "K," the Well tower, "L," the tower leading
to the east postern, "M,"[36] the dam, with its bridge and sluices for
the retention of the water in the ditch, and the east postern, "N,"
were each and all of them works of sufficient importance to be
replaced, no matter what the cost, when destroyed by the subsidence of
foundations probably insufficient when placed upon a footing of wet and
treacherous London clay so near the shifting foreshore of the river. The
great quay, or wharf, "Kaia Regis," "O," is first mentioned in 1228.
The distinction of having been (albeit unconsciously) the founder of the
present Zoological Society might well be claimed for Henry III., as,
although Henry I. had a collection of wild beasts at Woodstock
Palace,[37] yet in this reign the menagerie at the Tower is first
mentioned.
In 1252 a white bear from Norway is recorded as kept at the Tower, and
the sheriffs of London are directed to pay 4d. a day for his sustenance
and that of his keeper, with a muzzle, and a strong chain to hold him
when out of the water, also "unam longam, et fortem cordam ad tenendum
eundem ursum piscantem in aquae Thamesis," or, in other words, a long
strong cord to hold the said bear when fishing in the water of
Thames![38]
Already in 1235 the Emperor Frederick had sent the King three leopards,
in allusion to the royal armorial bearings of England.
In 1255 Louis of France presented Henry with an _elephant_, which was
landed at Sandwich, and brought to the Tower,[39] where a house or shed
forty feet by twenty feet was built to contain him, again at the expense
of the sheriffs of London, on whose Corporation the King seems to have
had a playful habit of throwing the expense of these and all other such
little matters as he could thus avoid paying for himself.
During the reigns of the three Edwards the collection of wild beasts
was largely increased from time to time, and lions were kept in the
great Barbican, "C," long known as the Lions' tower, which probably
gave rise to the expression, "Seeing the Lions at the Tower."
The menagerie remained there until, in 1834, the various houses were
found to impede the restoration of the entrance towers and gates, so
they were removed to their present quarters in the Regent's Park; but,
most unfortunately, the necessity for the conservation of the Barbican
as an important feature of the mediaeval fortress was but imperfectly
understood, and it was entirely demolished, its ditch filled up, the
present unsightly ticket office and engine house being erected on its
site.[40]
Besides the towers already named, the outer ward was additionally
secured against any attempts at surprise by several cross-walls, "G,"
with gates, which subdivided it into several independent sections; so
that, were any one gate forced, the assailants would only obtain
possession of a small courtyard, in which they could be attacked in
flank and front, and be overwhelmed by missiles from the curtain walls
and towers. All these have long been removed, but their sites will be
found marked upon the plan. The two posterns in the north wall of the
inner ward against the Devilin and Martin towers, "c" and "g," were
not made till 1681.
In spite of all these multiplied means of defence, the Tower was once
surprised by a mob in 1381, on which occasion Simon of Sudbury,
Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir Robert Hales, the Treasurer, whom they
found in the chapel, were dragged to instant execution by these lawless
miscreants, but it is possible that the way was paved by some treachery
on the part of those in charge of the gates.
Though subjected to various sieges, the Tower was only once surrendered,
after the one in 1460.
In 1263 two posterns were made for the service of the palace. One of
these was undoubtedly the Cradle tower, "K"; the other may have been
that of the Byward tower, "H," subsequently rebuilt about the time of
Richard II.
In 1267 the Papal Legate, Cardinal Ottobon, took refuge in the tower,
which was promptly besieged by the Earl of Gloucester. According to the
_Chronicle_ of T. Wykes, "the King threw reinforcements into the
fortress, and brought out the Legate by the south postern," which can
only have been one of the two posterns before mentioned, or that of the
Iron Gate tower, "N," which then gave upon the open country without
the city walls.
To return to the records. In 1240 the King directed the keepers of the
works at the Tower to repair all the _glass_ windows of St. John's
Chapel, also those of the great chamber towards the Thames, "J," and
to make a great round turret in one corner of the said chamber, so that
the drain from it may descend to the Thames, and to make a new cowl on
the top of the kitchen of the great tower (the keep?).[41]
In the following year, "the leaden gutters of the keep are to be carried
down to the ground, that its newly _whitewashed_ external walls may not
be defaced by the dropping of the rain-water; and at the top, on the
south side, deep alures of good timber, entirely and well covered with
lead, are to be made, through which people may look even unto the foot
of the tower, and ascend to better defend it if need be (this evidently
refers to a wooden hoarding projecting beyond the stone battlements,
and supported on beams and brackets). Three new painted glass windows
are to be made for St. John's Chapel, with images of the Virgin and
Child, the Trinity, and St. John the Apostle; the cross and beam
(rood-beam) beyond the altar are to be painted well, and with good
colours, and _whitewash_ all the old wall round our aforesaid
tower."[42]
In 1244, Griffin, the eldest son of Llewellyn, Prince of North Wales,
was a prisoner in the keep, and was allowed half a mark (6s. 8d.) for
his daily sustenance. "Impatient of his tedious imprisonment, he
attempted to escape, and having made a cord out of his sheets,
tapestries, and tablecloths, endeavoured to lower himself by it; but,
less fortunate than Flambard, when he had descended but a little, the
rope snapped from the weight of his body (for he was a big man, and very
corpulent), he fell, and was instantly killed, his corpse being found
next morning at the base of the keep, with his head and neck driven in
between his shoulders from the violence of the impact, a horrible and
lamentable spectacle," as the chronicler feelingly expresses it.[43]
In 1237 there is a curious reference to a small cell or hermitage,
apparently situated upon the north side of St. Peter's Chapel, near the
place marked "q." It was inhabited by an "inclusus," or immured
anchorite, who daily received one penny by the charity of the King. A
robe also appears to have been occasionally presented to the inmate. It
was in the King's gift, and seems, from subsequent references in the
records, to have been bestowed upon either sex indifferently, unless
there were two cells, for the record mentions it in one place as the
"reclusory" or "ankerhold" of St. Peter, and in another as that of St.
Eustace.[44]
The _Liber Albus_ also mentions, in the time of Edward III., a grant of
the "Hermitage near the garden of our Lord the King upon Tower
Hill."[45] This last was probably near the orchard of "perie," or pear
trees, first planted by Henry III. on Great Tower Hill, doubtless in
what were known as the "Nine gardens in the Tower Liberty," adjoining
the postern in the city wall.
In 1250, the King directs his chamber in the Lanthorn tower, "k," to
be adorned with a painting of the story of Antioch[46] and the combat of
King Richard.
From the time of John, the Tower seems to have been used as an arsenal,
suits of armour, siege engines, and iron fetters being kept there; and
in 1213 we find John drawing from the stores in the fortress thirty
"dolia" or casks of wine, and also giving orders that "bacones nostros
qui sunt apud turrim" should be killed and salted, so that pig-styes and
wine cellars then formed part of its domestic buildings.
In 1225 the manufacture of crossbows was carried on. The "Balistarius,"
or master bowyer (who perhaps gave his name to the Bowyer tower, "e,"
in the basement of which he had his workshop), had twelve pence a day,
with a suit of clothes and three servants (probably assistant workmen).
Other officials were appointed to provide and keep in store armour,
arrows, and projectile engines.[47]
With the accession of Edward I., the long list of works at the Tower
practically comes to an end.
In 1274 there is a payment of two hundred marks for the completion of
the great barbican, with its ditch, commenced by Henry III., afterwards
known as the Lions' tower, "C," which probably included the outer gate
at "B," called the Lions' Gate.
The chapel of St. Peter was rebuilt about 1305, St. Thomas' tower,
"I," was finished, and connected by a flying bridge with the upper
story of the Hall tower, "l." This, though subsequently destroyed, was
restored by Mr. Salvin in 1867, at which time, the new Record Office in
Fetter Lane being completed, the State papers formerly kept in the Hall
tower, and elsewhere in the Tower, were removed thither. The basement of
the Hall tower was vaulted, and its upper story fitted up for the
reception of the regalia. The Crown jewels were removed from the Martin
or Jewel tower, "g," where they were formerly kept, which was the
scene of the notorious Colonel Blood's attempt to steal the crown in
1673. The keeper of the regalia now resides in the upper part of St.
Thomas' tower, above Traitors' Gate, and has thus ready access at all
times to his important charge.
In 1289 the great ditch was again enlarged, and in 1291 occurs the entry
already mentioned of the annual payment of five marks as compensation to
the "Master, Brethren, and Sisters of St. Katherine's Hospital, near our
Tower, for the damage they have sustained by the enlargement of the
ditch that we caused to be made round the aforesaid Tower."[48]
It is probable that towards the close of this reign vaultings of stone
replaced wooden floors in several of the towers, and other improvements
were made in them. The clay from the ditch was sold by the Constable to
the tile-makers of East Smithfield. In the first year it only yielded
20s., but during the twelve years the work was in progress it
contributed L7 on the average every year to the exchequer, a large sum
when the relative value of money is considered, and equal to more than
L100 a year of the present currency![49]
In 1278 no less than 600 Jews were imprisoned in the Tower on a charge
of clipping and debasing the coin. Many of them are said to have been
confined in that gloomy vault now called "Little Ease," where, from the
entire absence of sanitary accommodation and proper ventilation, their
numbers were rapidly thinned by death.[50]
[Illustration: THE TOWER OF LONDON.]
The mural arcade of the inner curtain wall between the Bell tower,
"a," the Beauchamp tower, "b," and the Devereux tower, "c," is
probably of this period. In spite of much patching and alterations to
adapt it for the use of firearms, it bears a close resemblance in its
design to those of Caernarvon Castle and Castle Coch, near Cardiff. The
great quay, "O," does not appear to have been walled through; it had
its own gates, "P," at either end. Two small towers (now removed)
protected the drawbridges of the two posterns, "H" and "K." The
outer curtain wall, "R," commanded the ditch and wharf, and was in its
turn commanded by the more lofty inner curtain, "8," and its towers,
and these again by the keep, while the narrow limits of the outer ward
effectually prevented any attempts to escalade them by setting up
movable towers, or by breaching them with battering rams. Any besiegers
who succeeded in entering the outer ward would be overwhelmed by the
archery from these wall arcades at such point-blank range that even
plate armour would be no protection, while, should they succeed in
carrying the inner ward, the remnant of the defenders might retreat to
the keep, and, relying upon its passive strength, hold out to the last
within its massive walls in hope of external succour, before famine or
a breach compelled a surrender.
The Scotch wars of Edward I. filled the Tower with many distinguished
prisoners, among whom were the Earls of Ross, Athol, and Menteith, and
the famous Sir William Wallace. They seem to have experienced a varying
degree of severity: some were ordered to be kept in a "strait prison in
iron fetters," as were the Bishops of Glasgow and St. Andrew's (though
they were imprisoned elsewhere); others are to be kept "body for body,"
that is to say, safely, but not in irons, with permission to hear mass;
while a few are to be treated with leniency, and have chambers, with a
privy chamber or latrine attached.[51]
In 1303 the King (then at Linlithgow) sent the Abbot of Westminster and
forty-eight of his monks to the Tower on a charge of having stolen
L100,000 of the royal treasure placed in the abbey treasury for
safe-keeping! After a long trial, the sub-prior and the sacrist were
convicted and executed, when their bodies were flayed and the skins
nailed to the doors of the re-vestry and treasury of the abbey as a
solemn warning to other such evildoers,[52] the abbot and the rest of
the monks being acquitted.
No works of any importance can be assigned to the reign of Edward II.,
the only occurrences of importance being the downfall of the Knights
Templars and the imprisonment of many of them at the Tower, where the
Grand Prior, William de la More, expired in solitary confinement a few
months after the close of the proceedings that marked the suppression of
the order; and the escape of Roger Mortimer from the keep (which reads
almost like a repetition of Flambard's), the consequences to the
constable being his disgrace and imprisonment.[53]
The Tower was the principal arsenal of Edward III., who in 1347 had a
manufactory of _gunpowder_ there, when various entries in the Records
mention purchases of sulphur and saltpetre "pro gunnis Regis."[54]
A survey of the Tower was ordered in 1336, and the Return to it is
printed _in extenso_ by Bayley.[55] Some of the towers are called by
names (as for example, "Corande's" and "la Moneye" towers, the latter
perhaps an early reference to the Mint) which no longer distinguish
them. The Return shows that these--the Iron gate tower, "N," the two
posterns of the wharf, and Petty Wales, "_P.P._," the wharf itself, and
divers other buildings--were all in need of repair, the total amount for
the requisite masonry, timber, tile work, lead, glass, and iron work
being L2,154 17s. 8d.!
In 1354 the city ditch is ordered to be cleansed and prevented from
flowing into the Tower ditch, and, according to the _Liber Albus_, the
penalty of death was promulgated against anyone bathing in the Tower
ditch, or even in the Thames adjacent to the Tower!
In 1347 the Tower received, in the person of David, King of Scotland,
the first of a long line of royal prisoners, and in 1358 the large sum
of L2 12s. 9d. was paid for his medicine. John, King of France, Richard
II., Henry VI., Edward V., Queens Jane Dudley, Anne Boleyn, Catherine
Howard, and Princess Elizabeth complete the list.
The Great Wardrobe, "z," adjoining the Wardrobe tower, "s," the
Beauchamp tower, "b," the upper story of the Bowyer tower, "e," and
perhaps the Constable and Broad Arrow towers, "h" and "i," are
probably of this period.
Mr. Clark attributes the Bloody Tower gate, "m," to this reign, but an
entrance existed there long before. Most probably it was remodelled, and
the vaulting and portcullis were inserted about this time, or early in
the reign of Richard II., to whom he also attributes the rebuilding of
the Byward tower postern, "H."
There is but little to record in the way of new works after this. Edward
IV., in 1472, built an advanced work, called the Bulwark Gate, "A,"
and nothing further transpires till the reign of Henry VIII., who
ordered a survey of the dilapidations to be made in 1532. The repairs of
this period, being mostly in brickwork and rough cast, with flint chips
inserted in the joints of the masonry, are easily recognised, as are
those of Wren by his use of Portland stone.
The buildings of the old palace being much out of repair, the quaint old
timber-framed dwelling, "n," adjoining the Bell tower, "a," was
built about this time. It is now called the "Lieutenant's Lodgings," but
was first known as the "King's House." It contains a curious monument
commemorating the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, of which it gives an account,
and enumerates the names of the conspirators, and of the Commissioners
by whom they were tried.
The quaint storehouses of the Tudor period were replaced in the reign of
William III. by an unsightly building, destroyed by fire in 1841, the
site of which is now occupied by the Wellington barracks.
The old palace buildings have long since vanished entirely. Towers have
been rebuilt or restored, and in 1899 a new guard house has been built
between Wakefield tower, "l," and the south-west angle of the keep.
The hideously ugly effect of its staring new red brick in contrast with
the old and time-worn stone of the ancient fortress must be seen to be
realized, its sole redeeming feature being the impossibility of future
generations mistaking it for a building of any earlier period. During
the clearance of the site for its erection, two discoveries were
made--one of a Norman well, "w," which was found to have its top
completely hidden by modern brickwork; the other, a remarkable
subterranean passage, "9," of which the presence was only detected by
its being accidentally broken into. This, when cleared out, was found to
terminate in a horrible subterranean prison pit under the south-west
angle of the keep (with which, however, it has no means of
communication), that doubtless served as the _oubliette_ of the Tower.
The pit was empty, but the passage was found to contain bones, fragments
of glass and pottery, broken weapons, and many cannon balls of iron,
lead, and stone, relics probably of Wyatt's unsuccessful attack in 1554.
Leaving the pit, the passage dips rapidly, and, tunnelling under both
wards and their walls, emerges a little to the east of Traitors' Gate
(see plan), where its arched head may now be seen from the wharf, though
formerly several feet below the level of the water in the moat. As it
traverses the site of the Hall, there is some reason to suppose that the
lower end served as a sewer, for there was a similar one, dating from
1259, at the old Palace of Westminster, so that this may likewise be
attributed to Henry III.[56]
It will be seen that the blood-curdling description of the horrors of
the rat-pit in Harrison Ainsworth's immortal romance is by no means
devoid of some foundation of fact, though when he wrote its existence
was unknown. Rats from the river would be attracted to the sewer mouth
by the garbage from the palace kitchens, and if any wretched prisoner
had been placed in this dreadful dungeon he would speedily have been
devoured _alive_![57]
The presence of a single subterranean passage at the Tower ought not to
have aroused so much surprise, for such "_souterrains_" were a not
infrequent feature of the mediaeval fortress. They may be found at
Arques, Chateau Gaillard, Dover, Winchester, and Windsor (three), while
Nottingham has its historic "Mortimer's Hole." Sometimes they led to
carefully masked posterns in the ditches, but they were generally
carried along and at the base of the interior faces of the curtain
walls, with the object of preventing attempts at undermining, at once
betrayed to listeners by the dull reverberations of pickaxes in the
rocky ground. There were doubtless others at the Tower, now blocked up
and forgotten; indeed, Bayley mentions something of the kind as existing
between the Devereux and Flint towers.[58]
There is an allusion to them in the narrative by Father Gerard, S.J., of
his arrest, torture in, and escape from the Tower in 1597;[59] but the
history of the many illustrious captives who have suffered within these
walls would in itself suffice for a large volume, while so much, and
from so many pens, has already been written thereon, that I have
contented myself with few allusions thereto, and those necessarily of
the briefest.
It is much to be regretted that military exigencies have rendered it
needful to remove from the walls of the various prison cells many
interesting inscriptions with which their inmates strove to beguile the
monotony of captivity, and as far as possible to concentrate them in the
upper room within the Beauchamp tower, with which many of them have no
historic association whatever; but as the public would otherwise have
been debarred from any sight of them, this is far from being the
unmixed evil it might otherwise appear, while they have been fully
illustrated and carefully described by Bayley.
About the time of Edward I. a Mint was first established in the western
and northern portions of the outer bailey, where it remained until, in
1811, it was removed to the New Mint in East Smithfield, and the name
"Mint Street," given to that portion of the bailey, now commemorates
this circumstance.
When, about 1882, the extension of the "Inner Circle" Railway was in
progress, the site of the permanent scaffold on Great Tower Hill, upon
which so many sanguinary executions took place, was discovered in
Trinity Square, remains of its stout oak posts being found imbedded in
the ground. A blank space, with a small tablet in the grass of the
Square garden, now marks the spot.