Growing up in Oklahoma, my concept of “old” was the flour mill on Main Street that was built in 1893. Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Anything that predated that to me was downright prehistoric.
“Old” has a different meaning in the UK, of course. The Tower of London, or at least the White Tower, was built in 1078 by William the Conqueror. The castle was expanded greatly in the 13th century. The Tower of London is old.
I’ll tell you up front that Susan and I appreciated visiting the Tower of London for completely different reasons. Susan loves the English royalty. She loves every single thing about it, from the pageantry and all their ceremonies. She knows who’s in line to replace whom and watches every royal ceremony live, even if it means staying up through the wee hours of the morning.
I, on the other hand, am not particularly interested in any of that. That being said, I found the Tower of London itself — like, the physical place — to be an extraordinary piece of construction. As a life long fan of Dungeons and Dragons, it was mind-blowing to imagine such a place being build by hand, stone by stone and brick by brick. I loved seeing all the parts of the castle, from the old moat to the portcullis (which was a recent Jeopardy clue I surprised Susan by knowing) and the archer slits in the higher walls that were used a thousand years ago. I guess you could say Susan loved all the things inside the Tower of London, while my favorite part was the Tower of London itself.
On display inside the Jewel House vault are the British Crown Jewels. There are crowns, and scepters, and capes, and really important chairs. Everything is behind glass with guards standing watch and unfortunately, no photography is allowed. Susan loved seeing every single thing on display.
When we got outside I ran across this area, which quickly became my favorite part of the entire tour.
This is where Anne Boleyn was beheaded on May 19, 1536. Specifically, that spot in the middle is apparently where her head landed.
On our way out of the Tower we passed by the ravens. According to legend, ravens guard the Tower and if they were to leave, the Crown (and Britain) will fall. I think the ravens are usually in cages but this one was just hanging out, perched next to the guard gate. As we passed by we bid it and the Tower of London a fond farewell as we headed off to our next destination!
