,
Quite the
history buff, I was unable to contain my glee at having the opportunity to
amble amongst the footsteps of long-ago generations whilst gallivanting around
the British capital. Meandering along
the cobblestoned pathways that Shakespeare himself trod upon, I was giddy at
being able to finally immerse myself into the rich literary world of William
Blake, Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens.
Virtually oozing hundreds of years of history, with sacred churches and gilded
palaces regally scattered on every which corner, their crumbling and restored
facades seeping with tales of intrigue, privilege and power.
Ever fascinated
by the Tudor dynasty, especially with daily life at Hampton Court, the reign of
King Henry Vlll and his six wives continued to pique my curiosity about what it
was like to reside in the 16th century. The scandals, the clandestine forbidden
liaisons and, of course, the beheadings were topics that continued to enthrall
my wildly over-active imagination and send it to places of no return. I therefore could not wait until I firmly
placed my pink-sneakered foot onto London’s famously arresting (literally!!) Tower
of London and come face to face with history.
Ravenously poring over hundreds of books that documented the tragic and
gruesome events that had transpired over the centuries in this medieval
fortress, I was anxious to finally be witness to this unsavoury past.
The Tower of
London has quite the ghastly and morbid history, imprisoning and executing a
number of tragic souls, the majority of them undeserving of such a dreadful fate. Locked up on trumped up charges of treason,
adultery and espionage, neither paupers nor royals were exempt from
imprisonment in the Tower. Coups and
plots of overthrow ruled supreme, as rival family members sought to usurp the
other in their blood thirsty desire for prestige and power. Depending upon the political allegiances of
the day, one could literally be a court favourite today yet find himself on the
chopping block the next. From Lady Jane
Grey, who was Queen for only 9 days, to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, a
parade of Queens have been mercilessly executed at the infamous Tower, all upon
royal orders.
“If only these walls could talk” took on an entirely new meaning, as I
pondered what hopes, desires and secrets the cold stone slabs held, forever
sealed in mystery behind those ancient padlocked prison gates. It is
unfortunate then, that I didn’t have the chance to see for myself the inside of
this massive medieval fortress, for alas, I had arrived at the World Heritage
Site quite late in the afternoon, a couple of minutes before the questionably
early 5:00pm closing time. Yikes!! Scheduled to depart London the following day
for the next leg of my journey to the white cliffs of Dover, I had to content
myself with merely traipsing around the grounds of this sprawling edifice and
stock up on even more reading material in the Tower of London souvenir
bookstore.
Vowing to
return to London sometime within the next couple of months and spend a full two
days visiting the Tower, I consoled my disappointment and indulged with a few
pints of Guinness and jumped feet first into history, eagerly devouring page
after page of my newly purchased Tudor history books.
Pink Sneaker Tidbits of
Info about the Tower of London:
Legend
has it that if the six ravens (there is one to spare) were to fly away from the
Tower of London, the city as well as the fortress would ultimately fall. Why take any chances then? Their wings are
therefore clipped in order to prevent such a possibility from coming to
fruition.
The
black ravens are treated as minor celebrities and are catered to with an
impressive menu of delicacies such as only ravens would dare to lunch on - raw
meat, biscuits soaked in blood (yuck!!) and furry rabbits (double yuck!!).
The
Crown Jewels were almost stolen in 1671 by an appropriately named “Thomas
Blood” who brazenly attempted to walk out of the fortress with the priceless
gems. Surprisingly though, he was pardoned by the King who must have admired
the Colonel’s sheer gall and tenacity in attempting to pull off such an
incredulous feat. I read somewhere that
he was also gifted a parcel of land by the monarch, but am unable to verify
whether that is either fact or fiction.
Animals
of all sorts were also “imprisoned”
in the infamous Tower, its menagerie home to a lion, hyena, owls, monkeys and
even an elephant! A polar bear gifted by the King of Norway in 1252, frequently
swam in the river Thames and caught fish for his supper while tethered to an
extremely long leash.
Come walk
through the corridors of history as you listen in to the tales and whispers of
royal intrigue, treason and drama, carefully guarded secrets of the walls of
the Tower of London.
Next week
– What adventures lie ahead for the Kid and Miss Pink Sneakers?? Stay tuned!!
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