The Jewel House...Day 5j

Early in the day, we noticed the Jewel House, wherein lie the CROWN JEWELS! There was a line but we decided to go ahead and join the queue, correctly deducing that the line would only get longer as the hours went by.

 
 
 The Jewel House is guarded by the Tower Guard. Members of the Tower Guard also are charged with sentry duty throughout the Tower of London. The unit that provides guard duty for the Tower is also part of the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace during the same period of time. (the various "units" take turns being on duty at Buckingham Palace and the Tower) While at Buckingham Palace, earlier this week, Rachel and I saw a sign informing us of the various units and how to differentiate between them (usually by the color/design of their hats or the arrangement of buttons on their coats) (I am NOT making this up)

The guards usually come from one of the following regiments of foot guards:   Grenadier Guards---Coldstream Guards
Scots Guards---Irish Guards---Welsh Guards

(however, I am thinking this guard isn't Irish, Scottish or Welsh)

the differing uniforms of Yeoman Guard and Tower Guard

 Tower Guard and Yeoman Warder (photo bomb)  

The Tower Guard is different from the Yeomen Warder (Beefeater); different in uniform as well as in duties performed.The Yeoman Warders are tour guides and are well-versed in Tower history and crowd management as well as security procedures. They actually live on the grounds of the Tower of London whereas the soldiers of the Tower's Guard rotate on and off duty. There are currently about forty Yeoman Warders living and working at the Tower of London. The Tower Guards are responsible for protection of the Tower since it is still considered a royal residence and since the Crown jewels are on the property. One is stationed outside the Jewel House and another outside the Queen's House. Usually there are about fifteen Tower Guards around the Tower and, although many think they are just ceremonial, they are fully trained soldiers.

The Queen's Guards here in front of the Queen's House because, technically, it is still a royal residence although who knows how long it has been since a monarch has been in residence here.

Our time in line flew by as we enjoyed Heather's dry humor and threw a few snacks Sara's way because we knew security is very tight in the Jewel House and no way was a granola bar getting past those guards! Rachel and I were very low maintenance--we both had a camera and focused on getting some pictures.

The crown encrusted with gems is not the only "crown jewel" displayed but the robes and regalia worn by the sovereign at the coronation are also there. The Crown Jewels also refer to the swords, scepters, orbs, spurs and other objects that have to do with the coronation ceremony. And we saw it all. But what we were really interested was THE crown. And saw it we did. On a moving sidewalk we rode past the crown. I, as well as many others I am sure, would have liked to linger by the crown but that was not permitted, in order to insure that the thousands of people who wanted to see the crown, would get to see the crown. And of course, cameras (and granola bars) were not allowed.    So we will have to make do with this picture of the Imperial Crown.

Inside Beauchamp Tower...Day 5i

Imagine stepping through the doorway and this door, thudding closed with an eerie finality behind you and then the metallic clink as the door is locked.

 

Imagine yourself peering out one of the windows, 

onto the Tower Green just below, 

unable to tear yourself away from the horrifying spectacle that unfolds before your eyes.

Imagine, a fire burning merrily in its place, while you warm your hands in its glow,

and the rest of your body shivering, chilled, aching with cold...
and fear.

Imagine yourself, staring up at the ceiling, the wall, the arched doorway:
during the long days while you await your fate, following your wandering thoughts through other, happier days...

Imagine, life inside Beauchamp Tower...

The Inscriptions in Beauchamp Tower...Day 5h

                                                     The round tower is Beauchamp Tower

Through the years after Sir Thomas Beauchamp, many others were imprisoned here and many left their mark. Carved into the walls of this tower are a myriad of impressive designs and inscriptions. It was sobering to stand there and look at carvings, each one representing a real person who waited for their fate there. Also sobering to realize many met their doom just outside its doors.

     













The walls are literally covered with carvings of figures and inscriptions. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, England was experiencing a time of religious and political upheaval and Beauchamp Tower was in its heyday as a prison.

I chose some of my favorite inscriptions and "translated" them into today's English because I got weary of wading through all the "maketh"s and "doth"s and "hath"s as well as through all of the creatively spelled nouns, verbs and adjectives such as: rasyd, pointe, unhappie, fyndth thogh, fortun, vertue, trouth, chasyth, cawseth, pasyens, etc, etc. I thought you might appreciate my thoughtfulness as it was a virtual foreign language! As I plowed my way through the inscriptions as reproduced on the internet, sometimes I couldn't figure out exactly what the word was meant to be so I took my best stab at it.

 So with no further ado, here are the inscriptions as I read them.


A passage perilous makes a port pleasant.
  Arthur Poole    1568

Unhappy is that man whose acts procure the misery of this house in prison to endure.
  Probably Thomas Clarke   1579

The more affliction we endure for Christ in this world, the more glory we shall get with Christ in the world to come.
  Philip Howard

As virtue makes life, so sin causes death.
  Thomas Bawdewin  1585

No hope is hard or vain that we can attain.
  unsure, possibly Arthur Poole or his brother Edmund   1568

It is the point of a wise man to try and then trust; for happy is he who finds one that is just.
  probably Thomas Clarke   1578

By torture strange my truth was tried yet of my liberty denied. Therefore reason has persuaded me that patience must be raised though hard fortune chases me, yet patience shall prevail.
 Thomas Miagh

Close prisoner 32 weeks, 224 days, 5376 hours.
  T. Salmon   1622

Better it is to be in the house of mourning than in the house of banqueting. The heart of the wise is in the mourning house. It is much better to have some chastening than to have overmuch liberty. There is a time for all things, a time to be born and a time to die, and the day of death is better than the day of birth. There is an end to all things and the end of a thing is better than the beginning. Be wise and patient in trouble for wisdom defends as well as money. Use well the time of prosperity and remember the time of misfortune.
  William Rame    1559. 

You that these beasts do well to see, may note with ease that they were made here. Within the borders there may be found four brothers names.
  carved by John Dudley     referring to his brothers  Robert, Ambrose, Guildford and Henry

And probably the most honest and poignant inscription which is a bit of an understatement as well, this one that remains anonymous:
                                                          O unhappy man that I think myself to be.

hamp Tower was built during the reign of Edward I, who was one of the most innovative castle builders of the medieval period. It is of exceptional significance as a royal residential tower. Built mostly of brick, but faced externally with stone, the Beauchamp was one of the first large-scale uses of brick in England after the Roman period.
The tower, adapted for important prisoners over the centuries, was named after its first prisoner Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/buildingconservation/Profilebeauchamptower#sthash.KhzA4nrA.dpuf

The Beauchamp Tower was built during the reign of Edward I, who was one of the most innovative castle builders of the medieval period. It is of exceptional significance as a royal residential tower. Built mostly of brick, but faced externally with stone, the Beauchamp was one of the first large-scale uses of brick in England after the Roman period.
The tower, adapted for important prisoners over the centuries, was named after its first prisoner Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick.
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/buildingconservation/Profilebeauchamptower#sthash.KhzA4nrA.dpuf

The Beauchamp Tower was built during the reign of Edward I, who was one of the most innovative castle builders of the medieval period. It is of exceptional significance as a royal residential tower. Built mostly of brick, but faced externally with stone, the Beauchamp was one of the first large-scale uses of brick in England after the Roman period.
The tower, adapted for important prisoners over the centuries, was named after its first prisoner Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick.
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/buildingconservation/Profilebeauchamptower#sthash.KhzA4nrA.dpuf

Beauchamp Tower...Day 5g

Beauchamp Tower was beautiful, albeit sobering. A very medieval tower, it was built in 1281 during the reign of Edward I to serve as a royal residence but a century later it became a place to lodge high-ranking prisoners. Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick in 1397. was charged with high treason under King Richard II and, throwing himself on the mercy of his king, was stripped of his lands and titles and sentenced to life in prison (that whole "throwing himself on the king's mercy" didn't seem to work out so well for him.) Briefly incarcerated on the Isle of Man, he was soon returned to London to become the first prisoner in the tower that bears his name.

What did he do to rate a life sentence? I am glad you asked.  (and even if you didn't ask...because I care, I will share. Caring is sharing)  Sir Thomas was among a group of men who sought to limit the power of King Richard II by first limiting the power of the king's advisers and favorites at court by legal means which is why they were called the Lords Appellant (an appellant is one who appeals through the courts or legal systems). There were five Lords, one of whom was Henry Bolingbroke,the future King Henry IV (the importance of this will soon become clear) They initially achieved some success but ultimately King Richard reasserted his power and most of the Lords Appellant were either imprisoned, executed or exiled. Henry wasn't exiled or imprisoned, for whatever reason, maybe because he was related to Richard. This turned out to be a bad move on Richard's part because after a time Henry was able to gather enough support and armies to overthrow Richard and have him imprisoned where he was later to die under slightly suspicious circumstances. Henry was  declared king, bypassing Richard's son, who was only seven years old.
                

Meanwhile, Sir Thomas was still sitting around the tower, carving his name in the wall and biting his fingernails. Well, that might not be exactly correct. I don't think his name was carved on the wall and he probably had very nice fingernails. For a thirteenth century man, that is. Anyway, several years after his imprisonment, Sir Thomas regained his liberty and his former high rank when Henry Bolingbroke ascended to the throne to become King Henry IV. (this is the part where it becomes important to know that this particular Henry was one of Thomas' fellow Lords Appellant) One of the titles restored to Sir Thomas was Knight of the Garter which sounds rather sketchy but is actually quite a prestigious honor. My favorite story of how the order came to be so named:  a certain countess was dancing at a court ball when her garter slipped down and completely off her leg. As the garter lay in the middle of the dance floor, some of the lords and ladies began to laugh at the sight. The king gallantly retrieved the garter and restored it to its owner, with the comment, "Shamed be the person who thinks evil of it" and that phrase became the motto of the Order of the Garter.

 

                                Coat of Arms of Sir Thomas de Beauchamp, the Earl of Warwick

          "Sir Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, KG" by Rs-nourse Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons                        http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_Thomas_de_Beauchamp,_12th_Earl_of_Warwick,_KG.png#mediaviewer       /File:Sir_Thomas_de_Beauchamp,_12th_Earl_of_Warwick,_KG.png

An interesting side note to this story is that the Tudors trace their lineage through Thomas Beauchamp. I would explain just exactly how but I fear I have shared quite enough English history in this post.

The Treasures of the White Tower...Day 5f

Just a few of treasures to be found in the White Tower...sadly I don't remember any of the details about any of these treasures so I guess they will just be mysteries until such a time as I go back to London. (except the American Indian headdress and arrows. They are pretty straightforward. Although I don't know why they were displayed here. So I guess that is what is mysterious about them.)

 

 

 

The White Tower: Part 2...Day 5e

                                                                          There are, in fact, 21 towers and 18 acres in the Tower of London complex.. I am not sure we actually covered all eighteen of the acres or visited all the towers...



(but I am fairly certain we hit all the gift shops-they were very conveniently located)







The architecture of the various towers and buildings is said to represent almost all the various styles that have flourished in England throughout the years.

The White Tower is the oldest one and I think the largest one as well. When you enter the White Tower, you must climb up dozens and dozens of wooden stairs because the entrance is well above ground level, just as it was in the days of yore, to protect against enemy attack. If the enemy threat was imminent (because the moat had been crossed and the walls breached) as a last resort they would burn or knock down the wooden stairs. We trudged up those stairs, just as people had done centuries before. Probably not many commoners like us, however.

                           I may or may not have grumbled a bit on the way up. It was a very long climb.
                           I am pretty sure Rachel, Sara and Heather weren't grumbling, though.
                                               They had had their morning cuppa.

The White Tower-not as white as it used to be

Old Roman walls

The Keep-the strongest and most secure tower of the castle

Since the White Tower was the "keep" which was built to be the strongest and last defense, it is only logical that weapons and armoury would be on display here.

I just didn't expect there would be so much of it.


 

 
  I had never seen this many suits of armor and swords before in one place. In fact, I don't think I had ever seen one suit of armour in my whole life. But here, in the halls of the White Tower, even the horses had armour...and little kids...and a dragon.
 

                                                            The horse and his armour...

 
                     more armour...

 Behind the glare, you can see a child's suit of armour. I think that was the armour of the child who was to become King Henry VIII.

More armour... but not even a fraction of what was on display.

                                    I don't actually know what the deal was with this dragon...

                                 But he was a dragon made of armour...an armoured dragon...

 

These last three photographs are from Rachel's camera. I find it very interesting that her baby CHARLES HENRY was born less than a year after these pictures were taken. Coincidental? I think not...

t the heart of the Tower of London is the White Tower. It is the oldest part of the Tower, built to strike fear and submission into the unruly citizens of London. - See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/WhiteTower#sthash.OePOU3Fr.dpuf

At the heart of the Tower of London is the White Tower. It is the oldest part of the Tower, built to strike fear and submission into the unruly citizens of London.
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/WhiteTower#sthash.OePOU3Fr.dpuf

At the heart of the Tower of London is the White Tower. It is the oldest part of the Tower, built to strike fear and submission into the unruly citizens of London.
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/WhiteTower#sthash.OePOU3Fr.dpuf

At the heart of the Tower of London is the White Tower. It is the oldest part of the Tower, built to strike fear and submission into the unruly citizens of London.
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/WhiteTower#sthash.OePOU3Fr.dpuf

At the heart of the Tower of London is the White Tower. It is the oldest part of the Tower, built to strike fear and submission into the unruly citizens of London.
- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/WhiteTower#sthash.OePOU3Fr.dpuf

Warning! Definition ahead! The teacher in me cannot resist providing a definition and a sketch.


The "keep" is the stronghold of a medieval castle, usually in the form of a massive tower. Sometimes the word refers to the entire castle that would be a fortified residence; other times it is just the tower that is the refuge of last resort.

Just in case you didn't know this. You are welcome.