Tower of London

During my visit to the Tower of London I entered into the Broad Arrow Tower. A unique name for an interesting place. Inside laid an adventure of what had taken place and what was used in case of an attack. I was guided through with instructions on the wall.

“In case of attack, assemble on wooden fighting platform.” This was a quote from one of the signs not shown here.

This wooden platform had enough space for two people to walk side by side and the back side was blocked off by a several pieces of wood stacked on one another. 

On the tables were weapons that the men who would have been stationed here to take. On this table there is a crossbow and a pocket of arrows prepared for an attack. 

As I walked across the platform I could hear the sounds of clinging swords as if men had begun to fight. The snarls of their armor and the frustration of their voice rang in my ears. It reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean. The voices of rough sounding me with an accent so deep I could hardly make out the words as I crossed to the soldier pointing his crossbow off the side of the castle. 

The soldier was aiming for the enemies climbing the walls. His posture steady so he wouldn’t fall over and can easily kill his enemies who dare to cross into the King’s home. 

However, in this case this is castle had only been attacked once. It wasn’t by rivals or anyone who believed to come take goods or overthrow the King. It was the peasants.  

It was June 1381, Peasants ha camped outside the Tower angered by the new poll tax everyone must pay. The people decided to march on London to complain to the young king, Richard II for his government wasn’t addressing the country’s social problems. 

By early morning, the King leaves to meet the main body rebels only to have peasants that had been outside the Tower break in. This is the first and only time the Tower is breached by attackers. By 11 am Friday 14 in June the Archbishop of Canterbury was killed. This revolt however failed.

        This was my favorite photo and a very interesting part of the Tower for me. I was amazed to learn the Tower was attacked only once. I did venture to the Zoo, the Bloody Tower, the Crown Jewels and a few other areas of the palace. It was a very educational visit and it was fun to learn about the history as well as see it first hand where it all took place. 

-Keisha Williams