Discover the Fortress story

The origins of the Tower
The Tower of London is named after its oldest building, the White Tower.

William the Conqueror built the White Tower in the late 1070s as a secure royal fortress.

He built the Tower within existing Roman city walls to help defend it from attack.

The castle dominated London and its people and showed the power of the new king.

Discover the Palace story

A royal palace
The Tower was also a royal palace. It had grand apartments where the king or queen could stay, entertain and conduct business.

Kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I, stayed at the Tower before they were crowned.

They began the coronation procession here, travelling through the City of London, before being crowned at Westminster Abbey.

Discover the Prison story

A place of execution
From the 1100s, the Tower became an infamous prison.

Between 1483 and 1941, 22 prisoners were executed inside the walls, including Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, in 1536.

Several hundred Tower prisoners were hanged or beheaded on Tower Hill. These events attracted vast crowds.

The last public execution on Tower Hill took place in 1780.

[Second set of panels]
Discover the Fortress story
The White Tower
The Tower of London is almost 1000 years old. It is named after its oldest building, the White Tower.

William the Conqueror built the White Tower after he invaded England from northern France in 1066.

Discover the Fortress story
Castle defences
Kings and queens added to this castle over many centuries. Today, visitors can explore the ancient walls and towers built to protect the White Tower.

This grass ditch was originally a water-filled moat to keep out attackers.

King Edward I built the outer wall, surrounded by the moat, to protect the castle in the 1270s.

Discover the Fortress story
Guarding the jewels
Today the Tower of London protects the Crown Jewels.

In the 1660s Charles II was the first king to display them to the public at the Tower.

A new king or queen uses the crowns and other ceremonial objects when they are crowned.

This fortress once protected weapons and documents: Silver coins were made here for more than 500 years.

6 plaques looking towards the Tower of London and briefly describing the history of the place. The plaques appear in two groups of three each.

Below the English text is a translation in the following languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Polish, Russian, Bengali, Chinese and Japanese

The Tower of London, as seen from the site of the sign, photographed on Click for a larger image Click for a larger image

From another angle Click for a larger image Click for a larger image

The second set of plates is shown in the following photograph taken on the same day Click for a larger image

The various panels, shown here in enlarged format (with selected images):
The origins of the Tower Click for a larger image
William the Conqueror (William I) Click for a larger image
A fragment of a Bayeux tapestry depicting the adventures of William the Conqueror Click for a larger image
The Tower of London circa 11th century Click for a larger image

The Royal Palace: with images of Elizabeth I, the coronation procession of Edward VI in 1547 (painted by Samuel Hieronymus Grimm), the Tudor Rose
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Imprisonment and Executions: with images of Anne Boleyn, the executed second wife of Henry VIII, the execution of Thomas Wentworth (1739) and other images
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The White Tower: images identical to those in the first panel (The origins of the Tower)
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Castle defences: with pictures of Edward I, the Tower of London during the imprisonment of Charles I, Duke of Orléans, a diagram of the Citadel during the reign of Edward I (1270)
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Guarding the jewels: pictures of King Charles II at his coronation, Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation, the Crown Jewels, the Royal Mint
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The Crown Jewels Click for a larger image
Workers casting coins at the Royal Mint, in a picture by Thomas Rowlandson (1809) Click for a larger image

The Tower of London is on the Jubilee Walkway Click for sign's details, as can be seen from the plaque on the ground Click for a larger image