Q 01/05

What shielded the first Tower of London's eastern side?

A) Hillfort

B) Saxon palace

C) Roman wall

D) Viking fort

Answer · why

C) Roman wall

The Roman wall already covered the east and the Thames the south, so the builders only had to dig a ditch along the other two sides.

Q 02/05

Which king founded the Tower of London in 1066?

A) Harold Godwinson

B) William the Conqueror

C) Edward the Confessor

D) William Rufus

Answer · why

B) William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror, fresh from victory but nervous of rebellion, built it to overawe Londoners rather than shelter them: a fortress looming over th...

Q 03/05

Which 888,246 objects filled the Tower of London's moat in 2014 as a war memorial?

A) Wooden crosses

B) Ceramic poppies

C) White roses

D) Bronze helmets

Answer · why

B) Ceramic poppies

Ceramic poppies, one for each British military death of 1914-18; volunteers planted them by hand, and every one was then sold for £25, raising million...

Q 04/05

Which London borough contains the fortress?

A) City of London

B) Southwark

C) Hackney

D) Tower Hamlets

Answer · why

D) Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets, not the City next door: the fortress stands right on the City's border, sited both to shield London and to keep its citizens under cont...

Q 05/05

Gundulf, the monk who oversaw the White Tower's building, held which office?

A) Abbot of Westminster

B) Sheriff of Kent

C) Constable of the Tower

D) Bishop of Rochester

Answer · why

D) Bishop of Rochester

Bishop of Rochester; the king chose him for his skill with stone, and he went on to rebuild Rochester's cathedral and raise its first stone castle.