Authorised Guide to the Tower of London | Page 4

on and the inner ward was enclosed. A great
storm in 1091 damaged the outworks. Ralf Flambard, Bishop of
Durham, being imprisoned in the Tower by Henry I, contrived to
escape, 1101. During the wars between Stephen and Matilda, the Earl
of Essex was Constable of the Tower, and obtained a grant even of the
City of London from the Empress. When he fell into Stephen's hands
the Tower formed his ransom, and the citizens regained their ancient
liberty. When Richard I was absent on the Crusade, his regent,
Longchamp, resided in the Tower, of which he greatly enlarged the
precincts by trespasses on the land of the city and of St. Katharine's
Hospital. He surrendered the Tower to the citizens, led by John, in
1191. The church of St. Peter was in existence before 1210, and the
whole Tower was held in pledge for the completion of Magna Charta in
1215 and 1216. In 1240 Henry III had the chapel of St. John decorated
with painting and stained glass, and the royal apartments in the Keep
were whitewashed, as well as the whole exterior. In the reign of
Edward III it begins to assume its modern name, as "La Blanche Tour."
During the wars with France many illustrious prisoners were lodged
here, as David, King of Scots; John, King of France; Charles of Blois,
and John de Vienne, governor of Calais, and his twelve brave burgesses.
In the Tower Richard II signed his abdication, 1399. The Duke of
Orleans, taken at Agincourt, was lodged by Henry V in the White
Tower. From that time the Beauchamp Tower was more used as a
prison, but it is probable that some of the Kentish rebels, taken with
Wyatt in 1554, slept in the recesses of the crypt of the Chapel, long
known as Queen Elizabeth's Armoury. In 1663, and later years down to
1709, structural repairs were carried out under the superintendence of
Sir Christopher Wren, who replaced the Norman window openings
with others of a classical character. Remains of four old windows are
visible on the river side. A few years ago some disfiguring annexes and
sheds were removed, as well as an external staircase of wood, which
led up from the old Horse Armoury and entered the crypt by a window.
The White Tower is somewhat irregular in plan, for though it looks so

square from the river its four sides are all of different lengths, and three
of its corners are not right angles. The side towards which we approach
is 107 feet from north to south. The south side measures 118 feet. It has
four turrets at the corners, three of them square, the fourth, that on the
north-east, being circular. From floor to battlements it is 90 feet in
height. The original entrance was probably on the south side, and high
above the ground, being reached as usual in Norman castles by an
external stair which could be easily removed in time of danger. Another
or the same entrance led from an upper storey of the palace. The
interior is of the plainest and sternest character. Every consideration is
postponed to that of obtaining the greatest strength and security. The
outer walls vary in thickness from 15 feet in the lower to 11 in the
upper storey. The whole building is crossed by one wall, which rises
from base to summit and divides it into a large western and a smaller
eastern portion. The eastern part is further subdivided by a wall which
cuts off St. John's Chapel, its crypt, and its subcrypt, each roof of which
is massively vaulted. There is no vaulting but a wooden floor between
the storeys of the other part. There are several comparatively modern
entrances.
A short external stair leads to a staircase in the thickness of the wall on
the south side, by which we approach the Chapel. A brass plate on the
right refers to some children's bones found in the reign of Charles II.
They were identified, somewhat conjecturally, with the remains of
Edward V and his brother who disappeared so mysteriously at the
accession of Richard III, and were removed to Westminster Abbey in
1678. Ascending the stair we come to the passage which led from the
palace to
_The Chapel of St. John_ (Pl. VIII).
The chapel is the largest and most complete now remaining in any
Norman castle, and must have seen the devotions of William the
Conqueror and his family. It is 55 feet 6 inches long by 31 feet wide,
and 32 feet high, and is vaulted with a plain arch. There are four
massive columns on either side and four in the apse. The south aisle, as
we have seen, communicated with the palace, and an upper aisle, or

gallery, similarly opened into