5/11: Plot Four hundred years ago today, had all gone to plan, Guy Fawkes planned to destroy the Houses of Parliament and most of the country's nobility in one single catastrophic act of high treason. Instead he found himself locked away inside the Tower of London, beaten but as yet unbowed, the tables turned. Fawkes was secured in an upper room inside the Lieutenant's Lodgings, still insisting to his captors that his name was 'John Johnson', honest guv. Then the following day, on the direct orders of the King, he was taken down to the dark basement of the White Tower to be tortured in the hope that this might finally loosen his tongue. By November 9th Guido had admitted all, the shaky signature on his confession hinting at the brutality of the abuse that he had experienced. Fawkes spent the last three months of his life locked inside the Tower, denied the freedom he had hoped to deny others, before finally being led away to trial and execution. End of.
You probably think of the Tower of London as a vastly overpriced tourist honeytrap, and you'd be right, but think of the place instead as central London's finest medieval castle and somehow the £14.50 entrance fee feels slightly more justified. The setting is nothing if not spectacular, tucked in beside the Thames alongside eponymous Tower Bridge. Here, ten centuries ago, William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a huge fortress to subdue the people of newly-invaded London. The sheer enormity of the White Tower was like nothing seen before in England, and the local population must have been duly cowed. Over the years the scale of the castle was enlarged, first with one high surrounding wall and then another, until eventually the structure contained a full 20 towers encircled by a deep protective moat. In medieval times the Tower doubled up as both military stronghold and royal residence, although its defences were never tested by any invasion and most kings and queens preferred to live elsewhere. From Tudor times the Tower became more of a prison and armoury, but within the walls were also to be found a mint, a royal zoo, a record office and a fiercely guarded treasure house. Few, if any, buildings anywhere in England are as diverse, or as historic.
I entered the Tower via the modern paved piazza on the western side (and not by boat through Traitors'Gate). The queues were pretty long, even first thing on a Sunday morning, and I suspected that I was one of the few visitors attending from my home country. A free guided tour of the Tower runs half-hourly from the main gate - a mass of eager tourists flocking round a single cheery Yeoman Warder - but I walked past to gain entry to the main part of the castle site before the majority of the day's visitors arrived. The central courtyard was almost deserted, save for a couple of gossipping Beefeaters and a few flapping ravens, and the experience was rather magical.
The start of the day was definitely the best time to view the Crown Jewels in the Waterloo Block. I sailed through the slalom of antechambers, barriers and film presentations (during busier periods the experience must be a little like queuing for an upmarket Disney ride), eventually passing through a thick vault door to view the collection itself. A wide variety of royal regalia was on display, from official coronation robes to obscenely ostentatious gold banqueting plate, but the centrepiece was the priceless set of bejewelled crowns, orbs and sceptres. These are viewed by standing on the world's slowest travelator and being carried gently by. It being quiet, I went past three times, just because I could. Most impressive were the enormous sparkling gemstones, including the legendary Koh-i-Noor diamond and the world's largest cut diamonds, Cullinan I and Cullinan II. The British Royal Family may have custody of these unique jewels only because of outdated historical privilege, but this collection surely makes Her Majesty the UK's official diamond geezer. But it's been more than fifty years now since much of the coronation regalia was last used, and at this rate it may be a couple more decades before King Charles gets to wear any of it in public.
Next I nipped across the courtyard to the White Tower. There were four floors to explore, most featuring exhibitions of royal armour and shining weaponry. I was duly impressed by the size of King Henry VIII's codpiece (surely he should have been embarrassed walking around with that mighty protruberance sticking out in front of him?), and also by some of the intricate equestrian armour. A special audio-visual exhibition on the top floor presented the story of the Gunpowder Plot, just in case I hadn't seen it enough on my previous travels, while in the basement (somewhere) was the very room where Guy Fawkes was taken to be so brutally tortured. Best of all however was the chance to walk around inside an ancient Norman castle in the very centre of London. I'm a great lover of twisty-turny medieval stone staircases, and there were several of these on the way round. William the Conqueror may not have been bound by modern accessibility legislation, but I was secretly pleased that no modern committee had ordered the renovation of the historic upper floors to include ramps for pushchairs or lifts for wheelchairs. Sorry, but some buildings are best left well alone.
The courtyard was more crowded now. Tourists were busy filming the sentry outside the Jewel House, taking pictures of the ravens hopping about on the lawn and accosting Beefeaters to pose with them in a souvenir photo. Some were gathered around the scaffold on Tower Green where (only seven) prisoners were executed, while others enjoyed the dramatic presentations being staged to bring the Tower's history to life. Around every corner it seemed there was another doorway to explore. I squeezed into the Bloody Tower to see the room where two royal princes may once have been murdered, and braved another narrow staircase in the Beauchamp Tower to see graffiti scratched into the stone wall by desperate prisoners back in Tudor times. I explored Edward I's royal palace overlooking the river, now partially restored to resemble their original 13th century splendour. I found the well-concealed entrance to the eastern battlements, from which you can look down on the front doors, rooves (and washing lines) of the houses occupied by the Yeoman Warders and their families. And beneath the Bell Tower I captured this photograph of the very room in which Guy Fawkes was held during his time in the Tower (behind the upper right window). Here he'd have spent his last night on earth, praying to his Catholic God before being taken away to be hanged, disembowelled and chopped up into four meaty chunks. I counted myself rather more fortunate when, after thoroughly enjoying my time exploring the Tower of London, I was able to leave of my accord.
5/11: Plot
You probably think of the Tower of London as a vastly overpriced tourist honeytrap, and you'd be right, but think of the place instead as central London's finest medieval castle and somehow the £14.50 entrance fee feels slightly more justified. The setting is nothing if not spectacular, tucked in beside the Thames alongside eponymous Tower Bridge. Here, ten centuries ago, William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a huge fortress to subdue the people of newly-invaded London. The sheer enormity of the White Tower was like nothing seen before in England, and the local population must have been duly cowed. Over the years the scale of the castle was enlarged, first with one high surrounding wall and then another, until eventually the structure contained a full 20 towers encircled by a deep protective moat. In medieval times the Tower doubled up as both military stronghold and royal residence, although its defences were never tested by any invasion and most kings and queens preferred to live elsewhere. From Tudor times the Tower became more of a prison and armoury, but within the walls were also to be found a mint, a royal zoo, a record office and a fiercely guarded treasure house. Few, if any, buildings anywhere in England are as diverse, or as historic.
I entered the Tower via the modern paved piazza on the western side (and not by boat through Traitors' Gate). The queues were pretty long, even first thing on a Sunday morning, and I suspected that I was one of the few visitors attending from my home country. A free guided tour of the Tower runs half-hourly from the main gate - a mass of eager tourists flocking round a single cheery Yeoman Warder - but I walked past to gain entry to the main part of the castle site before the majority of the day's visitors arrived. The central courtyard was almost deserted, save for a couple of gossipping Beefeaters and a few flapping ravens, and the experience was rather magical.
The courtyard was more crowded now. Tourists were busy filming the sentry outside the Jewel House, taking pictures of the ravens hopping about on the lawn and accosting Beefeaters to pose with them in a souvenir photo. Some were gathered around the scaffold on Tower Green where (only seven) prisoners were executed, while others enjoyed the dramatic presentations being staged to bring the Tower's history to life. Around every corner it seemed there was another doorway to explore. I squeezed into the Bloody Tower to see the room where two royal princes may once have been murdered, and braved another narrow staircase in the Beauchamp Tower to see graffiti scratched into the stone wall by desperate prisoners back in Tudor times. I explored Edward I's royal palace overlooking the river, now partially restored to resemble their original 13th century splendour. I found the well-concealed entrance to the eastern battlements, from which you can look down on the front doors, rooves (and washing lines) of the houses occupied by the Yeoman Warders and their families. And beneath the Bell Tower I captured this photograph of the very room in which Guy Fawkes was held during his time in the Tower (behind the upper right window). Here he'd have spent his last night on earth, praying to his Catholic God before being taken away to be hanged, disembowelled and chopped up into four meaty chunks. I counted myself rather more fortunate when, after thoroughly enjoying my time exploring the Tower of London, I was able to leave of my accord.
5/11: Plot
You probably think of the 
I entered the Tower via the modern paved piazza on the western side (and not by boat through 
The courtyard was more crowded now. Tourists were busy filming the sentry outside the Jewel House, taking pictures of the 