The White Tower

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THE WHITE TOWER.

This is the tower, whence the fortress takes name. It rises to a height of 90 feet at the battlements and measures 118 feet by 107 feet (the plan is irregular and all four angles differ), whilst the walls vary in thickness from 15 feet in the lower part to 11 feet in the upper.

The interior is divided into four floors, including the basement or vaults. On the third floor, in the rounded south-east "angle," is St. John's Chapel, which is the oldest place of worship in London and the most perfect example of an Early Norman chapel in England.

On the floor above is the former Council Chamber, now the Horse Armoury. Among other historic scenes enacted here was the abdication of Richard II in favour of his cousin Bolingbroke (Henry IV) in 1399.

The White Tower has been put to many purposes, having been used, among other things, as a powder store and a repository for State archives - at one and the same time The round turret at the north-east angle was used as an observatory by Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal when staying with his scientific friend, Sir Jonas Moore, the Surveyor-General of the Ordnance.

Another celebrated scientist, the great Newton, was associated with the Tower of London for many years as Master of the Mint.

The White Tower now contains the national collection of arms and armour, supplemented by naval and military relics, and by the block and axe and instruments of punishment. All the exhibits are fully explained by inscriptions.

Next page: Tower Green

• Tower of London - Introduction
• 1 - Synopsis
• 2 - The Castle of London
• 3 - Officers and Garrison
• 4 - The Fortified Walls
• 5 - The White Tower
• 6 - Tower Green
• 7 - Other Towers