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2020

The Power of the Tower Part 2 – The Crown Jewels and torture

by Mark Eades March 17, 2020

The Tower of London is known for another thing, it is the location where England’s Crown Jewels are kept and safeguarded. And therein lies a tale. Click here to read the first part of the visit.

The building in which the Crown Jewels of England are kept.

It is an imposing looking building, with a fascinating history, and some diamonds and more. The Tower of London is located on the banks of the Thames, which I went boating on in a previous post.

A Raven stands guard at the Tower of London.

But it takes more than a Raven to guard the tower.

Royal Guards marching to their post.

Now where are these troops marching to?

Ravens have had a home at the Tower for centuries.

No, these Ravens are not the guards. But they patrol the grounds too.

Getting ready to change the guard.

They change the guards on duty around the main tower building regularly. Their precision in step and changing posts is fascinating to watch.

Guards on duty have a place to stand, but they do not have to stand still.

The guns the guards carry appear to be quite real and quite lethal, unlike the ancient cannons posted here.

At times, the guards pace, at times, between the two guard shacks, one of them only at a time. The other maintains a vigilant watch.

Armor for guards and knights from the past on display.

If this was a movie, the old armor would come to life if called upon.

Really cool armor.

Can you imagine having to wear this while fighting or on guard?

Looks quite masculine.

The armor is just as impressive up close, and a man had to be in really great shape to wear it, much less fight while wearing it.

An armored knight and his armored steed.

Well not quite. The steed is a really cool statue. All of this is on one of the floors of this Tower of London building.

Another kind of armored knight and steed.

Really impressive in size up close.

More of the tower’s old defenses.

Lots of older cannons that used to be placed in different eras around the tower, or used in conflicts.

A really cool golden statue.

The lion is a big symbol in England.

The Crown Jewels.

These are just part of the displays of Crown Jewels safeguarded and on display at the Tower of London. This is a borrowed photo as no photos were allowed to be taken inside the vault where the jewels are housed and displayed. And yes, the crown was actually worn by the monarch. In a previous post, I visited Westminster Abbey, where many monarchs were crowned.

The rack.

In the old days, people who tried to steal the jewels, or do other deeds that ran counter to the crown, would be put on this torture device, or worse.

A way to hang people very uncomfortably.

Some criminals or political prisoners could find themselves being hung out on this thing and tortured.

A nasty torture device.

This looks really bad. All the torture devices were on display in the area where they were used. You guessed it, the dungeon of the Tower of London.

Ravens on guard.

Of course, over the centuries, the Ravens have seen a lot of history at the Tower of London.

The head Raven.

This guy was yelling at me to not get to close. But he did pose for this wonderful photo.

The Tower Bridge.

I would visit the Tower Bridge the same day as the Tower of London visit. That’s in the next post.

March 17, 2020 2 comments

London Tower of London vacation

The Power of the Tower of London – Part One

by Mark Eades February 27, 2020

The Tower of London actually comprise more than the famed tower. It includes an early palace where the country’s monarchs resided. Officially, it is called Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London. Located on the north bank of the Thames near the Tower Bridge.

Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, also the place where the Crown Jewels are kept and safeguarded.

The palace and tower was first built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The grounds were also used as a prison from 1100 until 1952.

It was a gray day when we visited here. But it still had a decent number of visitors. You can tour on your own, or take a guided tour.

This is a tour guide, in character, leading a guided tour.

As you enter, you can’t help but notice statues of some lions on the left.

They represent some of the animals brought to the grounds by monarchs in the past. Also nearby were various instruments of war.

I wonder if the members of Monty Python were inspired by this?

Besides a prison, place of torture, and home to the Crown Jewels, it was also home to a variety of monarchs – some willingly, some not. And some died or were murdered here.

Nice rooms with a view if you can get them.

The entire grounds are surrounded by a large stone wall – to either keep the riff-raff out, or the elite in.

It would have been difficult to climb these walls way back then.

But it is just like a small city inside the grounds.

Check out the cobblestone street inside the grounds.

Time to go inside the living quarters for the monarchs.

I wonder if the bricklayer lost his head after completing this job?

Of course the king and queen had regally appointed quarters.

The life of luxury in the 1280s.

And they must have a “king-sized” bed in their chambers.

A royal bed upon which to do royal things at night.

Look at the prices King Edward paid to have that bed built.

Though they could be quite ruthless in their rule back then, the royals were also religious.

A private place to pray and atone for one’s sins was for made for the royals.

Since a King lived here, there had to be a throne room upon which the King could sit and receive visitors and other courtiers.

Only the best windows for the royalty living in the Royal Palace.

Some beautiful handiwork on this set of stained glass windows in the Royal Palace.

That’s it for our visit to the Royal Palace living quarters.

Don’t get dizzy going down these steps.

It will be onward to the rest of the grounds, some areas we were not allowed to take photos. But it is a fascinating place.

Here is a link to a visit to Westminster Abbey.

Click here to go Boating on the Thames.

February 27, 2020 0 comment

England London vacation

Boating on the Thames

by Mark Eades February 19, 2020

This part of the visit to London found several of us taking a trip on the Thames. If you missed the previous post about Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, click on this sentence to go read it.

We don’t want to pigeonhole you, but you’re a pigeon.

We found this guy in the parking lot for the boats.

I’d say it has an eye on the Thames.

So we set off down the river and the biggest thing dominating the first part of the journey is the London Eye.

One really tall Ferris Wheel!

The pilot of the boat moved us over to the Eye to give us a better feeling for how massive it really is.

Is that building bulging in the middle?

Some of the newer office buildings have some unique architecture.

This bridge does not appear to be falling down.

This is not the bridge you think it is.

Everything old is new again.

But London also makes use of its older buildings, repurposing them. In this case, an art museum.

Older buildings sit alongside the river Thames for miles. But sometimes the new mixes in with the old.

To be or not to be?

The Old Globe still regales theater goers with regular performance.

A very old pub. I had the meat pie. Meh. Neighborhood pubs were better.

Purportedly the oldest operating pub in London. It’s more like a tourist trap now.

This old ship was in dry dock as a crew was replacing a lot of the wood, using centuries old techniques.

It takes two elevator trips to get to the top. There’s a bar at the top too.

The Shard, the tallest building in London. Yes, we went to the top later that evening.

The authentic London Bridge.

Sing along with me now…”London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.” Actually this one is not. The one that was sinking was sold to a crazy American, who took it apart and rebuilt it in Lake Havasu.

I guess English architects like a bulge in their modern buildings.

Another office building with unique architecture.

One of her majesty’s warships, check out those guns.

Yet another one of her majesty’s warships. They were available for tours, but by the time we got back ashore, it was 5 p.m.

Tower Bridge.

Finally, the visual icon on the river Thames. Not it’s not the London Bridge, it’s the Tower Bridge. We will get up close and up on top in another post.

This guy joined us towards the end of our journey on the Thames. So long for now. Where’s the nearest pub?

Want to visit the Tower of London? Here’s the link to Part One of that story.

February 19, 2020 0 comment

Big Ben Churchill England London vacation Westminster Abbey

A visit to London’s Westminster Abbey and Big Ben

by Mark Eades February 17, 2020

The family and I took a trip to Europe recently, visiting both London, Paris and, of course, Disneyland Paris.

We rented a flat in London, it was just north of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. It was a nice flat with a kitchen, three bathrooms, four bedrooms and a living room. Enough to fit the 10 of us plus a grandkid. The only drawback? It was on the top floor, a total of 83 steps by my wife’s count, and no lift (elevator to us Americans).

Our view from the living room of our London flat. Wouldn’t it be cool if there were chimney sweeps dancing across those rooftops?

Since we arrived in the evening, we didn’t really do much but settle in and explore around the area a bit that first night.

Westminster Abbey. This side of the church faces the Thames. Notice the construction fence and the scaffolding – lots of work happening on the exterior of the ancient structure.

The next day, our first stop was Westminster Abbey.

Gray clouds everywhere in London, just like I’ve heard it is. Cold, yes. But inside, warmer.

The weather for London met every cliche in the book. Gray, foggy and wet. Not really rain, just wet, at times.

All the stone work makes one wonder how this magnificent gothic church was built way back in the olden days.

Look at the archways, wow!

A lot of the stone and statues were carved by hand – no 3D printing here.

Reaching to God. No this is not Big Ben.

Multi-stories and stone steps to get to the top.

Little statues with some meaning to the church. None are exactly alike.

Figurines by the dozens above the massive main entrance doors.

I suppose this held a lit torch back in the day. Look at the detail on the bottom.

This was also by the front door.

This is not a Catholic Church, but a lot of the same symbolism.

Mary and son Jesus as depicted by this statue between the two front doors of the main church building.

Don’t hide your eyes, that’s me about to enter Westminster Abbey.

Okay, time for me to enter the church. No photos allowed inside. So the next bunch of photos are from the outside courtyard and an area that has something to do with war units.

Construction of this church began in 1245, and was started by King Henry III. It is absolutely gorgeous, awe-inspiring and more inside the church. It has many sections. A place for a choir. A massive organ and more. It is also a functioning church and conducts regular services. It is also a site where there are many famous and not so well known personages buried in the crypts of the church. Of the United Kingdom monarchs, 17 of them are buried there.

An outside corridor. Look at the wear on the stone pavers.

This is a corridor outside the church after exiting the tour. By the way, you can go with a group, or they give you audio devices that you can play as you choose in each section. The audio guides were excellent.

I’d hate to have to clean those windows.

The stained glass throughout has a lot of detail. I believe these panes represent different United Kingdom military groups. But then my memory ain’t what it used to be. Again, this is not in the main church.

The only noise here is that of the fountain.

The church is a great place for quiet meditation as is this courtyard.

A biographical mural about St. John the Divine.

An ancient mural depicting the life of St. John the Divine. He figures high in the church’s history.

It took several hours to tour the church and the courtyard, plan at least three hours. Five is probably better if you want to be thorough. There is a cafe for food.

The door is not very tall. People were a lot shorter back then, or always had their heads bowed.

Another unique feature, the United Kingdom’s oldest door. Inside the Abbey. I don’t think it is actively used these days.

What a smart man.

Look at all his achievements. He’s here somewhere.

Well, time to go back outside and wait for the family.

Those twin towers were likely built by hand. Wow.

Intricate details everywhere, and each statue is different.

Gold leaf too, I guess Walt Disney learned about how long it lasts from structures like this when creating the small world facade.

Big Ben is inside that Clock Tower.

Okay, lesson time. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Big Ben is the name of the bell you can hear when it rings. As you can see, the tower was surrounded by scaffolding as they work on refurbishment of the structure and Parliament. Kinda like attractions at Disneyland.

And the skies are still gray.

Another view. Parliament is on the other side. It, too, was surrounded by scaffolding.

The pigeons don’t care who they sit on and do their “duty.”

There are statues of famous people in United Kingdom history in a nearby plaza such as Gandhi.

The man who watched over England and London during WWII.

No visit to London would be complete without seeing the statue of Winston Churchill.

If you get to London, be sure to see Westminster Abbey, and afterwards, find a neighborhood pub to enjoy a pint or two.

Here’s a story about a trip on the River Thames.

And here’s the first part of a visit to the Tower of London.

February 17, 2020 2 comments

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