In the year A. D. 1066 William of Normandy invaded England to claim the throne, which he believed had been promised to him. He defeated a defending Saxon army at the Battle of Hastings in October of that same year and thereby declared himself king of England.

One of William’s first acts as king was to order the construction of a vast stone castle within the southeast walls of London. Located on the north bank of the Thames River, the structure was meant for defense and as a prison for William’s enemies. The fortress, which eventually came to be known as the White Tower, had 100-foot-high ramparts that were up to 15 feet thick in some sections. This was later surrounded by a stone wall and a wide moat, both designed to keep prisoners in and enemies out. A series of additions were added over the centuries to complete all of the buildings collectively known today as the Tower of London.

In over 900 hundred and fifty years since it was built, many famous men, women, and children have been imprisoned, tortured, and even executed in the Tower of London. However, not every person imprisoned in the Tower of London was executed. The first known prisoner was Ranulf Flambard, the Bishop of Durham, who was King William’s tax collector. He was convicted of extortion in A.D. 1100 but managed to escape. One prisoner who was lucky enough to leave was Queen Elizabeth I. Sir Walter Raleigh was released from the tower once but was later imprisoned again and beheaded.

For those who were executed, the severity of the crime and the social standing of the condemned determined the manner and site of the execution. Some executions, such as that of Sir Thomas Moore, were carried out in public on Tower Hill. Other private executions occurred behind the castle’s walls on Tower Green. Two of the victims at this site include King Henry VIII’s second and fifth wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. The Tower of London was also the setting for political intrigue and murder. It is widely believed that the two young sons of King Edward IV were killed by order of King Richard III, their uncle, to avoid competition for the throne.

Today, the Tower of London is one of the most famous tourist destinations in all of Europe. For some strange and dark reason, mankind seems to always be attracted to the macabre and ugly side of life.

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