D#1 and BT (Brother Tom) were to arrive on Sunday morning, check in to the hotel, and meet D#2 and me at the
Tower of London.
Though I had visited the Tower on my 2002 trip to London, I find it
absolutely fascinating and highly "re-visitable". There is so much
history here!
I am a native Pennsylvanian, now living
near Philadelphia. I enjoy easy access to a range of places that date
back to colonial days, back to the late 1600's when William Penn was
given (as payment for a debt to his father) the area now known as
Pennsylvania by Charles II of England. But what seems so long ago at
home seems so "just yesterday" when you are looking at the White Tower,
whose construction was begun by William, the Conqueror, in the 11th
century -- six hundred years earlier!
A visit to the Tower in 2012 was, in a number of way, different from a
decade ago. A section of the wall, not reachable at that time, has
been opened to visitors. In this section, the visitor walks through
rooms that were part of the
Medieval Palace that was the Tower in the 13th century.
Several rooms are outfitted as they might have been at the time, and,
in the royal bed-chamber, there were even costumed "interpreters"
portraying Edward II and his wife, Isabella.
Just off the bed-chamber was this small chapel.
Another chapel area was cordoned off behind wooden walls. On its floor is this plaque:
By Tradition
Henry III died here
May 21, 1471
The White Tower, as it appeared for the few minutes of sunshine we had that day!
We
lucked into the opportunity to watch the changing of the guard in front
of the Waterloo Barracks, which is the building that houses the crown
jewels.
One
of the most famous parts of the Tower complex is Tower Green, the site
where Anne Boleyn and five others were executed. Ten years ago, there
was nothing there, other than a marker giving the names and dates, all
within a chained square. In 2006, a memorial was erected on the site.
(not my photos)
The
memorial has a poem inscribed around the lower circle, with the names
of those executed written on the edge of the upper disc. In the center
is a glass pillow.
I did not like the memorial. The Tower
website
says the goal was to provide "a focal point for contemplation,
reflection, and remembrance" In my opinion, the stark, unadorned
marker, reading simply "This is the site where ... were executed" was
more affecting. The poem, the translucent blue-green glass, and the
lovely shape of the pillow "prettify" the site inappropriately. I also
find the pillow both too literal and too distracting. If not for the
metal rail, I could envision cheeky youngsters (maybe "older-sters" too)
having their pictures taken while bending over the pillow!
We
caught up with the last of the tours led by the Yeoman Warders, the
only way to gain entrance to the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, which I
believe to be another highlight of the Tower. (Look carefully and
you'll see the cages that house the ravens that, by tradition, must
always live at the Tower, or the country of England will fall.)
(also not my photo; you're not allowed to take pictures inside the Chapel)
The Royal Chapel was the burial place for the headless bodies of Anne
Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and Catherine Howard (three Queens of England)
and Sir Thomas More. They lay here in unmarked graves, from the
mid-1500s until the mid-20th century when, with the sponsorship of the
Queen Mother, the Chapel was refurbished. During that project, the
bodies were re-interred with appropriate markers in the chancel area of
the Chapel. In this place, the sacredness is palpable, along with
desolation and sadness.
The
Wikipedia entry for the Chapel quotes Thomas Babington Macaulay's 1848
History of England:
"In truth there is no sadder spot on the earth than that little
cemetery. Death is there associated, not, as in Westminster Abbey and
Saint Paul's, with genius and virtue, with public veneration and with
imperishable renown; not, as in our humblest churches and churchyards,
with everything that is most endearing in social and domestic charities;
but with whatever is darkest in human nature and in human destiny, with
the savage triumph of implacable enemies, with the inconstancy, the
ingratitude, the cowardice of friends, with all the miseries of fallen
greatness and of blighted fame. Thither have been carried, through
successive ages, by the rude hands of gaolers, without one mourner
following, the bleeding relics of men who had been the captains of
armies, the leaders of parties, the oracles of senates, and the
ornaments of courts."
These
half-timbered buildings are the official residences of various Tower
officials. The skyscraper in the background is called "The Shard" --
for obvious reasons.
A view of Tower Bridge as the sun was going down -- quite early in late December.
The
Tower by night from the walk to Tower Bridge.
We took the Tube to the
Mile End stop, showed D#1 and BT around Queen Mary. (Did I mention that
Olympic Stadium was visible from D#2's room!?). We met D#2's friend Stephen (FS) and all then off to Brick
Lane where we dined on delicious Indian food! Another Tube ride back to the hotel, where everyone was glad to crash after a busy day!
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