Cruising the Thames to the
Tower of London
A bright beautiful morning……..perfect for a cruise on the Thames!
Fortunately our trusty London Pass also included three stops on a Thames River cruise. We didn’t have time for all three, so we maximized our cruising benefit by catching the boat at Westminster and disembarking at the Tower of London. There is no better way to approach Traitors Gate! It is impossible not to think of the sad royals like Anne Boleyn who floated slowly under the stone arches and under the sharp points of the ironwork gate.
To get there, we motored Twenty-first century style past many famous London sites. The view from the boat provided a unique perspective as we sailed by the towering London Eye, four of Her Majesty’s ships docked along the banks and had glimpses of St. Paul’s Cathedral from under the Millennium Bridge. We had a perfect view of the rebuilt Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Tower Bridge loomed tall in front of us as we approached the Tower of London.
Once again, the benefit of being in London in the winter is the lack of crowds. We had much of the courtyard inside the ancient palace to ourselves with only a sprinkling of other tourists sharing the Tower Green.
The complex that we call the Tower of London is actually a fortress built by William the Conqueror around the original White Tower which was the “Keep”. The White Tower was built in 1078 and first used as a royal residence in 1140 and got its name after Henry III ordered it to be whitewashed in the 13th century. It wasn’t until the 16th century, that the “Bloody Tower” began its use as a prison.
The original medieval palace which is actually over traitor’s gate, was created by Henry III in 1220 and you can see live history reenactments as you tour the rooms. My favorite scene was in the large hall where veiled ladies and young pages busily performing their daily tasks in front of the massive decorative hearth.
You absolutely cannot miss seeing the crown jewels in the Jewel House. They are lined up in a sparkling display of majesty. The golden scepters and crowns are adorned with symbols of ancient lineage designed in the deep colors of gemstone and delicate filigree. It’s amazing to know that some of these priceless ceremonial baubles of the British Monarchy are actually still used from time to time today.
Of course we had to visit the solemn places where royal prisoners met their tortuous and finally painful deaths. The Beauchamp Tower presented us with the many inscriptions etched by the doomed captives trapped inside. There are many names and dates etched in a variety of hands and styles which really brought home to me that these were actual people who suffered in the tiny tower room and were leaving the only evidence of their time in the tower. The space was cramped and I imagined the filth and stink that must have pervaded the tower since the inmates in that particular space would not have been provided the best of care and accommodation.
Out on the Tower Green, there was a glass monument marking the square where the aristocracy would have been beheaded. It’s was a little creepy to stand there and look around the tiny courtyard with its stark trees with limbs bare against the sky and I swear, at that moment the sun hid behind the clouds, the light grew grey and gloomy and the resident ravens lurking on the grass and benches seemed to be giving us the eye.
One of my goals for this visit was to look inside the tiny Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where two of King Henry the VIII’s doomed wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, are buried. After Anne Boleyn was beheaded, her ladies wrapped her head and body in white cloth and took her to the chapel where she was buried in an empty old elm arrow box and buried in an unmarked grave under the chapel floor. It wasn’t until the reign of Queen Victoria that the remains were found during renovation. She was re-interred into a crypt below the chapel chancel area along with Catherine Howard and poor unlucky Lady Jane Grey who reigned for only 100 days. The remains of 1500 executed people were found during renovation, but only 33 were identified.
You cannot go into the chapel unless you are with one of the groups headed by a Yeoman Warders, so I slipped into the group gathering on the green while Jim took off to the café. It was definitely worth joining the group because the yeoman was full of information. As it turned out, the chapel was the last stop on this yeoman’s tour, so I was able to exit the group without feeling guilty at all!
Our last stop was the museum in the White Tower. You can’t miss this museum. You really feel as if you are peering into the private possessions of these historic royal figures. The armor is fascinating since you can see the evolution of war and defensive wear over hundreds of years. There is even a grisly ax and woodblock used for beheading. Sobering display…. Those people didn’t mess around.
We felt compelled to check out the Tower Bridge before heading back to Kensington since it is right beside the Tower of London, so we took the elevator up and walked across. For me, it wasn’t the most interesting site since I’m not keen on engineering or bridge construction, but who can come to London and not walk the iconic Tower Bridge?
Check out the Photo Montage Below!
Fortunately our trusty London Pass also included three stops on a Thames River cruise. We didn’t have time for all three, so we maximized our cruising benefit by catching the boat at Westminster and disembarking at the Tower of London. There is no better way to approach Traitors Gate! It is impossible not to think of the sad royals like Anne Boleyn who floated slowly under the stone arches and under the sharp points of the ironwork gate.
To get there, we motored Twenty-first century style past many famous London sites. The view from the boat provided a unique perspective as we sailed by the towering London Eye, four of Her Majesty’s ships docked along the banks and had glimpses of St. Paul’s Cathedral from under the Millennium Bridge. We had a perfect view of the rebuilt Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Tower Bridge loomed tall in front of us as we approached the Tower of London.
Once again, the benefit of being in London in the winter is the lack of crowds. We had much of the courtyard inside the ancient palace to ourselves with only a sprinkling of other tourists sharing the Tower Green.
The complex that we call the Tower of London is actually a fortress built by William the Conqueror around the original White Tower which was the “Keep”. The White Tower was built in 1078 and first used as a royal residence in 1140 and got its name after Henry III ordered it to be whitewashed in the 13th century. It wasn’t until the 16th century, that the “Bloody Tower” began its use as a prison.
The original medieval palace which is actually over traitor’s gate, was created by Henry III in 1220 and you can see live history reenactments as you tour the rooms. My favorite scene was in the large hall where veiled ladies and young pages busily performing their daily tasks in front of the massive decorative hearth.
You absolutely cannot miss seeing the crown jewels in the Jewel House. They are lined up in a sparkling display of majesty. The golden scepters and crowns are adorned with symbols of ancient lineage designed in the deep colors of gemstone and delicate filigree. It’s amazing to know that some of these priceless ceremonial baubles of the British Monarchy are actually still used from time to time today.
Of course we had to visit the solemn places where royal prisoners met their tortuous and finally painful deaths. The Beauchamp Tower presented us with the many inscriptions etched by the doomed captives trapped inside. There are many names and dates etched in a variety of hands and styles which really brought home to me that these were actual people who suffered in the tiny tower room and were leaving the only evidence of their time in the tower. The space was cramped and I imagined the filth and stink that must have pervaded the tower since the inmates in that particular space would not have been provided the best of care and accommodation.
Out on the Tower Green, there was a glass monument marking the square where the aristocracy would have been beheaded. It’s was a little creepy to stand there and look around the tiny courtyard with its stark trees with limbs bare against the sky and I swear, at that moment the sun hid behind the clouds, the light grew grey and gloomy and the resident ravens lurking on the grass and benches seemed to be giving us the eye.
One of my goals for this visit was to look inside the tiny Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where two of King Henry the VIII’s doomed wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, are buried. After Anne Boleyn was beheaded, her ladies wrapped her head and body in white cloth and took her to the chapel where she was buried in an empty old elm arrow box and buried in an unmarked grave under the chapel floor. It wasn’t until the reign of Queen Victoria that the remains were found during renovation. She was re-interred into a crypt below the chapel chancel area along with Catherine Howard and poor unlucky Lady Jane Grey who reigned for only 100 days. The remains of 1500 executed people were found during renovation, but only 33 were identified.
You cannot go into the chapel unless you are with one of the groups headed by a Yeoman Warders, so I slipped into the group gathering on the green while Jim took off to the café. It was definitely worth joining the group because the yeoman was full of information. As it turned out, the chapel was the last stop on this yeoman’s tour, so I was able to exit the group without feeling guilty at all!
Our last stop was the museum in the White Tower. You can’t miss this museum. You really feel as if you are peering into the private possessions of these historic royal figures. The armor is fascinating since you can see the evolution of war and defensive wear over hundreds of years. There is even a grisly ax and woodblock used for beheading. Sobering display…. Those people didn’t mess around.
We felt compelled to check out the Tower Bridge before heading back to Kensington since it is right beside the Tower of London, so we took the elevator up and walked across. For me, it wasn’t the most interesting site since I’m not keen on engineering or bridge construction, but who can come to London and not walk the iconic Tower Bridge?
Check out the Photo Montage Below!