The Tower of London is perhaps the most recognized and historic site in the city. With Roman walls on display on it's north side, the Thames river to it's south and Tower Bridge to the east, the setting reminds a visitor of Royalty, Empire, seapower and engineering. This symbol of Royal authority has been used as a fortress, a prison, a royal residence the site of important executions, and the one time home of the Royal Mint. Other government offices that were once housed here were the Public Records, the Royal Ordnance and the Royal Menagerie. Today you can view the weapons of the Royal Armory and one of the most popular attractions in England, the Crown Jewels. Although many different structures were built on the site before 1066, when William the Conqueror arrived in London to assume the throne, he realized that a military strategy was required in order to secure his position in city.

The large central keep  which is known as the White Tower is 27 meters in height and took only 10 years to complete. One of the most famous functions of the tower, that of a prison, has seen many famous and infamous people come and go and many die. The rooms which Sir Walter Raleigh lived in during his imprisonment have been carefully preserved. The oratory in which the murder of Henry VI was murdered can still be viewed as you wander structures of the Tower.

Traitors gate is the famous entrance which new prisoners were often brought into the tower through, from the Thames River. In the North west section of the complex sits the Royal chapel of St Peter ad Vincula which was built in the 16th century and was often the last site many saw just before their heads were cut off on the green beside it.

Some of those who were put to death there were Lady Jane Grey, Thomas More and John Fisher. One of the great mysteries of the tower was the fate of the Princes of the Tower. These two young boys were the sons of Edward IV and the elder, Edward V was heir to the throne.

His uncle Richard III took the throne and placed the boys in the tower until they were of age. The disappeared under mysterious circumstances and only in the last century were the bone of two young boys found under s staircase during renovations. On the west side of the tower some of the rooms in which the imprisoned dignitaries lived, one can see where they carved their last messages in the rocks and masonry of the wall.

The tower continues the traditions and ceremonies of 1,000 years of English history and many of these events are still held on a daily basis for visitors to the Tower of London.