50 Fun Facts About Tower of London

On which river does the Tower of London stand?

It sits on the north bank, tucked into the south-east corner of the old Roman city walls.

Which king founded the Tower of London in 1066?

London yielded to him without a fight that December, and he built the castle to "overawe the Londoners".

Which building gives the whole castle its name?

Work on the keep began around 1078; it was whitewashed from 1240, which is how it got its colour and name.

Which London borough contains the fortress?

The open space of Tower Hill separates it from the eastern edge of the City's square mile.

Which bishop did William make responsible for building the White Tower?

It may not have been finished until after William's death in 1087, and was the earliest stone keep in England.

Who was the first recorded prisoner in the Tower, and also the first to escape?

In 1101 he got his captors drunk at a banquet and climbed down a rope smuggled in inside a butt of wine.

Which three kings oversaw the main phases of the Tower's expansion?

The general layout has not changed since Edward I finished his rebuild in 1285.

How many concentric rings of defensive walls surround the Tower?

The inner ward came under Richard I and the outer under Edward I, with a moat beyond.

What is the main building stone of the White Tower?

Caen stone from Normandy was imported for the facing, but was largely replaced with Portland stone in the 17th and 18th centuries.

How tall is the White Tower at its southern battlements?

It measures 36 by 32 metres at the base and was originally three storeys; the top floor was added in the 15th century.

Which place of worship occupies the south-east corner of the White Tower?

Archbishop Simon Sudbury sought sanctuary there during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, but was dragged out and beheaded.

The Beauchamp Tower marks Britain's first large-scale use of what since the Romans?

It replaced the old gatehouse in the west wall and later became famous for prisoners' carved inscriptions.

How many towers stud the inner ward's curtain wall?

Clockwise from the south-west they run Bell, Beauchamp, Devereux, Flint, Bowyer, Brick, Martin, Constable, Broad Arrow, Salt, Lanthorn, Wakefield and Bloody.

Which building got its grim name from the legend of the murdered princes?

It began life as a simple water-gate with a portcullis, giving access from the Thames.

St Thomas's Tower, built by Edward I as a river entrance, is better known as what?

Its only close parallel was the demolished water-gate at the Louvre in Paris.

The royal bow-maker's workshop gave its name to which building?

The bowyer made longbows, crossbows, catapults and other siege weapons; the Bell Tower housed the alarm belfry.

How many people were executed inside the Tower before the 20th century?

Executions were usually held on Tower Hill outside, where 112 took place over 400 years.

How many executions took place on Tower Hill over four centuries?

Tower Green inside was reserved for prisoners whose public execution was deemed too dangerous, such as Lady Jane Grey.

Which queen of Henry VIII was beheaded at the Tower in 1536?

Her ghost is said to walk the White Tower with her head under her arm, as a 1934 comic song recounts.

On what date was Lady Jane Grey executed at the Tower?

Days later Mary I locked up her sister Elizabeth, suspected of involvement in Wyatt's rebellion.

Which Gunpowder Plotter was tortured at the Tower before confessing in November 1605?

Torture needed Privy Council sanction; only 48 cases were recorded between 1540 and 1640.

The rack was nicknamed the "daughter" of which Constable who introduced it in 1447?

The Scavenger's daughter and manacles were the other two common instruments.

Which Elizabethan courtier's Tower rooms were altered so his family could live with him?

His son was born in the Tower in 1605; high-status prisoners could buy better food and even tapestries.

Who became the first woman imprisoned in the Tower, in 1321?

Baroness Badlesmere had refused Queen Isabella entry to Leeds Castle and had her archers fire on the royal party.

Which baron escaped the Tower in 1323 through a hole hacked in his cell wall?

He fled to France, began an affair with Edward II's queen and returned to overthrow the king.

Who was the last monarch to process from the Tower to Westminster Abbey for a coronation?

That was 1661; the lodgings were so decayed he did not even sleep there the night before.

In the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, who was dragged from sanctuary in the Tower and beheaded?

The mob broke in unopposed while Richard II was out meeting Wat Tyler, and looted the Jewel House.

Which king was imprisoned in the Tower and probably murdered there in 1471?

Richard II had also been held in the White Tower, in 1399, before abdicating to Henry Bolingbroke.

Bones thought to be the Princes in the Tower were found in which year?

They turned up when a 12th-century forebuilding at the White Tower entrance was demolished.

How old was Edward V when he was confined to the Tower in 1483?

He and his brother Richard were last seen in public that June; their uncle became Richard III.

Who tried to steal the Crown Jewels from Martin Tower in 1671?

He had grabbed the Imperial State Crown, Sceptre and Orb when the keeper's son turned up and raised the alarm.

What happened to the original Crown Jewels in 1649?

Only a 12th-century spoon and three swords survived; replacements were made for Charles II's 1661 coronation.

Which piece of royal regalia survived the Commonwealth and is about 800 years old?

Gems had to be rented for Charles II's coronation because the treasury could not afford to replace them.

Since 1994 the Crown Jewels have been displayed in which building?

The former barracks, begun in 1845 with the Duke of Wellington laying the first stone, could house 1,000 men.

How many gemstones are in the Crown Jewels display?

Highlights include St Edward's Crown, placed on the monarch's head at the moment of crowning, and the Imperial State Crown.

Which animal, a gift from Norway in 1252, went fishing in the river on a chain?

The sheriffs paid fourpence a day for its upkeep; Henry III later got an elephant from Louis IX of France.

Henry III's elephant, a gift from Louis IX, died in 1258 possibly from being given what?

A wooden house 12 metres long was built for it; England's cold climate is the other suspect.

In the 18th century, what could you bring instead of paying to see the menagerie?

Admission was otherwise three half-pence, rising to nine pence by the century's end.

Where were most of the Tower's animals sent when the menagerie closed in 1831?

The Duke of Wellington ordered the closure after a biting incident; the last animals left in 1835.

At least how many ravens must be kept at the Tower, by tradition?

Legend says the kingdom falls if they leave; a Yeoman Warder called the Ravenmaster cares for them.

The Yeoman Warders have served as Royal Bodyguard since at least which year?

By the 16th and 17th centuries their main job had become guarding prisoners; today they give the tours.

Who was the last state prisoner held at the Tower, for four days in 1941?

Hitler's deputy had flown to Scotland; the last execution, of spy Josef Jakobs, came that August.

Who was the last person executed at the Tower, shot on 15 August 1941?

Wartime spies were shot in a prefabricated miniature rifle range in the outer ward, demolished in 1969.

Which diarist climbed the Tower to watch the Great Fire of London in 1666?

The garrison later blew up nearby houses to make firebreaks and save the gunpowder stores.

Which Constable ordered the silted moat cleared in 1830 and then drained in the 1840s?

An 1841 outbreak of disease blamed on the festering ditch prompted the filling-in, finished around 1845.

Which charity has cared for the Tower since 1990?

It receives no money from the government or the Crown; the site became a World Heritage Site in 1988.

In which year was the Tower added to the UNESCO World Heritage list?

Nearby skyscrapers have since pushed it towards the Heritage in Danger list.

How many rounds are fired from the Tower in a gun salute for royal occasions?

The Honourable Artillery Company fires 41 on other occasions.

Which Roman ruler was long credited in legend with building the Tower?

The myth survives in Shakespeare's Richard II and Richard III; the castle does sit in the corner of the Roman walls.

Which army unit, formed in 1968, keeps its headquarters and museum at the Tower of London?

Its predecessor, the Royal Fusiliers, also features in the museum; the Waterloo Block was built as their barracks.