Lanthorn is an old medieval word meaning "lantern" and thus it follows that the tower was named for it's use as a "lighthouse" to guide ships by the lantern that shone nightly in the highest turret of the tower. It is the second largest tower in the Tower of London and was built by King Henry III in the mid 1200's. Generally it was used as lodging for royalty, especially during various political uprisings. During this period of construction was also when the White Tower was whitewashed and the Royal Zoo was established.
The Cradle Tower was built about a century later to serve as another entrance (water gate) from the Thames River into the Tower of London. Not a gate by which prisoners would arrive, it was designed by Edward III to be a private royal entrance to his castle. A drawbridge and two portcullises were included to protect the entrance. The Cradle Tower was the scene of a bold escape by Father John Gerard, imprisoned for being a Catholic in Elizabethan England. He had been tortured repeatedly being suspended by his hands which were mangled from the ordeal yet he was able to climb along a rope suspended over the moat and safely down on the other side. He also arranged for the escape of his jailer (gaoler if you prefer ye Olde English spelling) as well because that man would be held responsible for Father Gerard's breakout. 
Alrighty then...the tower in front of Heather is Martin Tower, originally built to house prisoners and then the crown jewels. For almost two centuries it was known as the Jewel House and within it's walls were the British Crown Jewels. All went well, until that unfortunate incident with Colonel Thomas Blood in 1671.He was a bit of a trouble maker from the get-go. He switched sides during the first English Civil war, he was involved in an insurrection attempt in Ireland as well as an uprising in Scotland, he was involved in a kidnapping and attempted assassination and then , as if all of this was not enough, he conspired to steal the crown jewels.
Colonel Blood managed to ingratiate himself with the elderly custodian of the jewels. One evening, during a dinner party at the Tower with his new friend, he and his co-conspirators knocked out the guard, and dashed downstairs to where the jewels were kept. Blood was able to flatten St. Edwards crown with the mallet that he had used to knock out his friend, the guard (with friends like this...oh, you know) and he stuck it under his coat. One of his accomplices was able to cut the Scepter into two pieces because it was too big to fit into his bag and a third stuffed the Sovereigns Orb down his trousers. But the intrepid, although elderly, yeoman guard, refused to remain incapacitated and what ensued was almost like an episode of the Keystone cops, British style. In their flight, the bag with the scepter in it was dropped. Then a yeoman guard caught sight of the fugitives and, shaking with fear, was unable to shoot his musket. The fugitives ran down the wharf, crying out that the jewels had been stolen which added more confusion to the scene and the guards began to wonder if they were chasing the right people. Blood shot at the guards, which happened that although he missed, now the guards were certain of their prey. Then the crown fell out of his cloak as he ran and was recovered by one of the yeomen. Blood and his men resisted arrest but were eventually subdued and the globe, orb, crown and scepter were all recovered, albeit with a few jewels lost in the melee.
The
Cradle Tower was built between 1348–55 for Edward III as his private
watergate into the castle. He used it when he arrived by boat. It is
richly decorated with ribbed vaults supported by carvings of crowns and
animals.
The gate was defended by a drawbridge and two portcullises – the groove for one still survives above the main doorway. This was one of two porters’ lodges which flanked the entrance. There is a hearth in it to keep the guard warm. A staircase in the opposite room led upstairs. The upper part of the tower was entirely rebuilt in the 19th century.
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/CradleTower#sthash.oFB64Uly.dpuf
The gate was defended by a drawbridge and two portcullises – the groove for one still survives above the main doorway. This was one of two porters’ lodges which flanked the entrance. There is a hearth in it to keep the guard warm. A staircase in the opposite room led upstairs. The upper part of the tower was entirely rebuilt in the 19th century.
Prisoners at this tower
The tower contains displays about John Gerard, a Jesuit priest, who was imprisoned in 1597 but then who escaped and also Anne Askew, the Protestant prisoner imprisoned in 1546, who later became a martyr.
The
Cradle Tower was built between 1348–55 for Edward III as his private
watergate into the castle. He used it when he arrived by boat. It is
richly decorated with ribbed vaults supported by carvings of crowns and
animals.
The gate was defended by a drawbridge and two portcullises – the groove for one still survives above the main doorway. This was one of two porters’ lodges which flanked the entrance. There is a hearth in it to keep the guard warm. A staircase in the opposite room led upstairs. The upper part of the tower was entirely rebuilt in the 19th century.
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/CradleTower#sthash.oFB64Uly.dpuf
The gate was defended by a drawbridge and two portcullises – the groove for one still survives above the main doorway. This was one of two porters’ lodges which flanked the entrance. There is a hearth in it to keep the guard warm. A staircase in the opposite room led upstairs. The upper part of the tower was entirely rebuilt in the 19th century.
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