Tower of London

The discovery Channel over the last weekend was turned over completely to the Tower of London. A series of hour long programs looking at the Tower, it's history and it's people.

It is the most visited historic site in the country and has something for everyone.
It was fascinating to learn that the Yeoman of the Guard have a intense training period before they can be let loose on the general public. The Red uniforms they wear as seen on the home page of our web site,date back to Henry VII and they cost over £7,000 each with all that gold braid.

The challenge to the Queens Keys is the longest running military ceremony in the world. At 10pm precisely every night the shout goes out from a young sentry " Halt- who comes there?" only once in the last few hundred years has it been delayed. During the WWII Blitz a bomb landed within the Tower and blew the escort and Yeoman off their feet. The governor to the Tower wrote an appolgy to the King who replied that under the circumstances the officer should not face any punishment.

The Tower holds many historic features including the Crown Jewels that were once stolen by a Colonel Blood in 1637, a very interesting plot because he was pardoned by King Charles II. Who would want to be the person that actually gets to cleam them?

The Tower was also a very famous prison holding many historic and imfamous people right up to after the second world war. It even held the Kray twins ( for readers not from the UK the Kray Twins were notorious gangsters from London in the 1950's and 60's).

Once a year at low tide people are allowed on the river foreshore to scavenge amung what was the Tower rubbish dump for centuries. The piles of rubbish reveals some surprising finds like a gilded spur or a medieval door lock or a tile or a piece of masonary centuries old.

Lets hope that the discovery channel reapaets the series soon.

www.tudorhistorytours.com