A Day at the Tower

Walk in the footsteps of kings, queens, and infamous prisoners at the Tower of London

In collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces

Fortress, Palace, Prison

Where are you being taken?

Pick a function of the Tower to explore

Or Admire Rubens' Ceiling

Explore the Banqueting House, the last surviving building from Whitehall Palace

Guard the fortress

Help the Yeoman Warders protect the fortress

Any enemies in sight?

The Tower of London helped protect London from any vessels sailing up the Thames

The Tower on canvas

A view of the Tower of London from the south, over the River Thames, showing distant figures on the Tower wharf, and a large British naval frigate with other boats on the river.

A London icon

By this time, the interior of the fortress and the eastern end of the wharf, had been progressively filled by industrial, storage, administrative and barracks buildings, and had become the home of various institutions including the Royal Mint, Royal Armouries, Board of Ordnance, Jewel House, Royal Observatory and Tower Record Office.

A lively area

The main riverside buildings of the Tower at this date can be identified (from west to east): the Byward Tower, Queen's Stairs, Queen's House, St Thomas's Tower and Traitors' Gate, and the Lanthorn, Cradle, Well and Develin Towers.

The Tower viewed from the Thames

Unknown artist

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Don't forget to look after the ravens

Legend has it that if the ravens leave the Tower the kingdom will fall.

Visit the palace

Discover a Medieval masterpiece hidden in the Byward Tower

John the Baptist

The first figure on the left is Saint John the Baptist, who is pointing at the tiny Lamb. St John was a patron saint of Richard II and had a special significance for the King

The Virgin Mary

In the centre is the Virgin Mary which would have flanked a lost depiction of the Christ on the Cross.

John the Evangelist

Here is Saint John the Evangelist, also a part of this 'Crucifixion' scene.

The Byward Angel

St Michael the Archangel holds a giant set of gold scales to weigh the souls of the dead. Christians believe this will take place at the Last Judgement to determine who will go to heaven or hell.

The Tudor Rose

A wall painting with a Tudor rose, half of which still survives, is painted on the chimney breast.

Explore the Byward Angel

This 14th century wall painting is one of London's rarest artworks

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Which Archangel is the 'Byward Angel'?
Clue: A very famous sculptor ____angelo has the same name
Michael
Surviving part of The Crucifixion, known as 'The Byward Angel'

You're under arrest

Explore the Gunpowder Plot monument that remembers Guy Fawkes, found guilty of treason

The Gunpowder Plot

This monument in the Council Chamber of the King’s House at the Tower of London is a unique reminder of one of the most notorious events in British history; the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

A unique work

Made of pink and black marbles and alabaster, this monument appears, at first glance, to be a fireplace overmantel or a funerary monument. It is, of course, neither but the unnamed stonemason who made it had no other precedent to follow for designing such a unique monument.

Praising the King

In the oval panels Latin texts praise the King and his family, extoll the virtues of the Privy Councillors who foiled the Plot, and condemn the wickedness of the plotters, whose names are listed.

Protestant opposition

A passage in Hebrew in the lower left oval quotes the Old Testament; 'He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death' (Job xii.22). The choice to use Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, for this particularly apt text is a reflection of Protestant opposition to the Latin translations used in the Roman Catholic church.

A thwarted plot

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Meet your new cellmates

Several important figures were imprisoned and even killed at the Tower

Can you solve the mystery?

King Edward V and Prince Richard were imprisoned at the Tower. Their disappearance remains a mystery to this day.

Or spend the years learning to garden

One of the Tower's most famous prisoners was the Elizabethan explorer Sir Walter Raleigh

What will your legacy be?

Some of the famous prisoners are remembered in the stonework

Well done for escaping Prison, where to next?

Keep exploring the Tower of London

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