Introduction
The London tower was founded in 1066 by William the conqueror. It is regarded as one of the most famous fortresses in the world. In Britain, it is a frequently visited historical and heritage site. The main reason for building the London tower was to control and protect the London city. The white Tower, which is the most outstanding feature of the London tower, was built in 1078 by William the conqueror (David 2007). The white tower has not changed much and its appearance today is the same as that of Norman period. The London tower has served different functions over a period of time close to one thousand centuries. Some of these uses are; as a treasury, as a zoo, as a residence for the royals, as a record keeping office, as an armory and as a jewel house. The tower was administered by a constable who was chosen by the courtiers and leading nobilities. The constable also served as the Archbishop of the Canterbury. Some of the other administrative duties that they served are; collection of tolls from ships around river Thames, overseeing the operations of jetsam and flotsam in the surrounding rivers and carrying out all legal issues in the Tower of London. All these jobs came with a huge paycheck. Since the tower had prisoners, they would pay the administrative fees to the constable for their maintenance.
Significance of the Tower of London; the tower was used as a symbol of excellence in the Norman castle towards the end of the late eleventh century. The tower also served as a unique reference of the medieval military architecture history (Chris 2006). The tower is a symbolic monument of royal power from the time of William the conqueror and it has served as a model throughout this kingdom until 11th century. Most of it was built by stone.
Elements of Tower of London; The following are the most distinctive elements of the Tower of London: the White Tower, The innermost ward, the inner ward and the outer ward. All these components were built at different times and served different functions. Modifications have however been done with time due to change in generations. This is because of change in culture and consequently change in demand for the appearance of the design in order to preserve value and taste of the tower (Collcutt 2009). It’s worth noting that the architectural designs of the above components differ significantly because of the function it serves. Below is detailed description of qualities of the above parts of the Tower of London
The white tower is also referred as a keep. It was regarded as the strongest structural building in the medieval architectural period. The tower was composed of royals sleeping lodgings. The white tower was later given the title “the donjon par excellence”. This is because of three main qualities that it possessed, these are, its strength, its majesties and its lordly accommodation.
The Tower of London
The tower has projecting tower corners rising slightly above other building features. It measures thirty six by thirty two meters at its base and rises to a height of about 28 meters in southern battlements area. The structure in general has three stories, basement floor, entrance level and upper floor. The entrance was built on the southern case and was raised above the ground. It was accessed through wooden staircases. These staircases were not fixed and could be removed in case of enemy attack. The lower floor had three chambers. The smallest chamber was situated in the north eastern part, the largest located at the west while the chapel occupied the entrance and the upper floors. Square towers were constructed at western corners of white tower. A round tower was erected at the north east region of the white tower for the sole purpose of housing the spiral staircases.
Context under which London Tower was created
In regard to the above discussion, it can be noted that the tower of London was created to serve quite a number of functions. Some of these are; to offer accommodation to the royals, to offer protection, as a prison and a symbol of military medieval architecture. The tower was built such that it had all the administrative units.
Besides it was built with an idea of making an independent unit which operated on its own. Since the tower was intended to offer accommodation to the royals and majesties, the white tower was constructed with toilets in the walls for sanitation purposes (John 2011). Ten fire places were put in place as well to ensure that the house was always warm. The ground was elevated slightly above the ground in order to give it a beautiful residential look.
A chapel was also built in the white tower for worshipping. The constable was responsible for offering church services and other administrative duties. To provide serenity, peace and calm during worship periods, the chapel was made of stained glass windows. The windows were also painted with gold crosses in order to depict Holy Trinity and Virgin Mary
For protection purposes; single spiral staircases were elected in the western part of the White Tower to ensure that enemies had no other access routes. All other entrances were closed. The design of the white tower, innermost ward and inner ward is a manifestation of its function as a protection house. Terraces were made on the outside part of the white tower below the ground level. This ensured that nobody could access the tower without permission. A recess wall was constructed on the upper third floor. It had no windows, had limited access and was regarded as a strong room. This is because it was used for safe keeping the majesty and royal treasures such as jewels. It was also used for safeguarding administrative documents. Only the constable and the royals had access to this room.
The southern part of the tower was enclosed by innermost ward. The wall was made of timber and provided sleeping facilities. It was also used for protection against the enemy. The inner ward part was built of mud and was situated west of innermost ward. The dimensions of the inner ward remained intact and can be found today.
On the right is the white tower, on the left is interior of innermost ward.
Discussion of the tower of London in Today’s context
Over the centuries the use of the Tower of London has changed significantly. This has consequently led to change in the design of some components of the Tower. For instance, the tower is no longer used as a prison or a protection site. The administration of the tower has also changed because it is no longer a fight of empires.
The defensive function of the tower is demonstrated by draining of moat resulting from the orders of wellington of the duke. Today, the tower of London serves as one of the most tourist destination sites in the world. Among the attraction elements are the zoo and jewels. It has been used as preservation site for jewels that were used by the various empires and thrown who occupied it. World renowned economists such as China and India top the list of people who visit the Tower of London yearly (Hein 2011). Today the London Tower is regarded as one of the pageantry world Heritage sites. People from all spheres of the world gather there to enjoy and relinquish the present pageantry
In order to acquire today’s status, the tower of London had undergone numerous transformations. These transformations are mainly through renovation and reconstructions of various facilities within it. For instance the timber that was used to construct the inner wall have been removed and masonry blocks used for reconstruction. The lodgings have been renovated and given state of art design. The queen’s chapel has been decorated with flowers. The innermost ward was surrounded by a protective ditch. This ditch has been removed and all buildings in front it cleared in order to provide an open ground for the tourists. The spirals staircases have been removed as well and replaced by an elevator top facilitate quick access to the high floors. All these modification have transformed the use of the Tower of London from Medieval age to fit into today’s generation
Conclusions
The Tower of London has for a long time remained as fascinating feature for tourists from all corners of the world. This is due to its rich and dynamic culture heritage. The tower has served many functions and these were facilitated greatly by its unique architectural design. Due to generational changes, some uses of the tower have changed while others have gained ground. Consequently modifications and reconstructions have been made in order to the tower to remain relevant. The Tower of London was also inscribed as a world Heritage site in 1988.
References
David. L. 2007, Tower of London World Heritage Site. Historic Royal Palaces: Hampton Court Palace
Chris. B. 2006. The Tower within the moat .Conservation plan
Collcutt, R. 2009. Setting of Cultural Heritage Features. Journal of Planning Law,
John. M. 2011. Features of the Tower of London, London: HMSO
Hein, G. 2011. Learning in the Museum. London: Routledge
