Tower Hill

This Week in London – Wes Anderson’s archive explored; Edwin Austin Abbey at The National Gallery; and, Christmas at the Tower…

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• The first retrospective of the work of film-maker Wes Anderson has opened at the Design Museum in South Kensington. Wes Anderson: The Archives draws on the director’s own archives to chart the evolution of his films from early experiments in the 1990s and collaborations to an exploration of the design stories behind films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr Fox and Isle of Dogs. The display features more than 700 objects including original storyboards, polaroids, sketches, paintings, handwritten notebooks, puppets, miniature models and costumes. Highlights include a candy-pink model of the Grand Budapest Hotel, vending machines from Asteroid City, a FENDI fur coat worn by Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums, stop motion puppets used to depict the fantastical sea creatures in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Mr Fox wearing his signature corduroy suit and show dog Nutmeg alongside miniature sets. There’s also a screening of Bottle Rocket, Anderson’s first short film, created in 1993. Runs until 26th July. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/wes-anderson-the-archives.

Edwin Austin Abbey, ‘Study for The Hours in the Pennsylvania State Capitol’ (about 1909–11), oil on canvas, 381 × 381 cm Yale University Art Gallery, Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Collection. PICTURE: Courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery

• A design for the ceiling of the House of Representatives in the Pennsylvania State Capitol in the US has gone on show at The National Gallery as part of a new exhibition dedicated to its creator Edwin Austin Abbey (1852-1911). The 12-feet diameter half-scale design for The Hours, newly conserved by the Yale University Art Gallery, depicts 24 female figures representing the 24 hours of the day. The display, Edwin Austin Abbey: By the Dawn’s Early Light, also features six preparatory drawings for his work, The Apotheosis of Pennsylvania, a vast wall mural featuring representations of 16th and 17th century English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh and American frontiersman Daniel Boone behind the Speaker’s dais. Abbey, who lived and worked in the UK, displayed the first of his Harrisburg murals at the University of London in 1908 prior to shipping them to the US – guests included King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria. The free display can be seen in the HJ Hyams Room (Room 1) until 15th February. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/edwin-austin-abbey-by-the-dawn-s-early-light

• The Tower of London is being transformed into a “magical storybook world” to mark Christmas this year. A Storybook Christmas at the Tower of London features royal romances, legendary figures and treasured traditions which include animals who once lived in the Tower’s royal menagerie, the famous tower ravens, the chance to step onto a regal throne for a family portrait and find storybook backdrops among Christmas trees and wreaths, and an opportunity to explore the story of the Tower’s Royal Observatory where the first Royal Astronomer was appointed in 1675. The “storybook Christmas” opens on Sunday and runs until 4th January. Included in general admission. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

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Treasures of London – The Medieval Palace at the Tower of London…

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Located in one of the oldest parts of the city’s iconic fortress, the medieval palace has undergone a revamp with a restoration of the sumptuous and extravagant decorative scheme that was in place in the 13th century.

The King’s Bedchamber inside St Thomas’s Tower, part of the medieval palace in the Tower of London. PICTURE: Michael Bowles/© Historic Royal Palaces

The medieval palace is found within the St Thomas’s Tower, the Wakefield Tower and the Lanthorn Tower on the southern side of the Tower and was built on the orders of successive monarchs, King Henry III and his son King Edward I. They were used as a domestic and diplomatic space periodically by the kings and their queens, Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor of Castile.

The medieval palace today includes a recreation of Edward I’s vibrant bedchamber in the St Thomas’s Tower (which once directly fronted the River Thames and sits above the water gate later known as Traitor’s Gate) and an exploration of the influence Eleanor of Castile had on the decoration.

The Wakefield Tower, meanwhile, was built by King Henry III as royal lodgings between 1220 and 1240. It originally sat at the river’s edge and could be accessed from the river by private stairs.

Believed to have been used as an audience chamber, it contains a recreation of a throne and canopy based on 13th century examples which are decorated with a Plantagenet lion – the symbol of the royal family. The vaulted ceiling is 19th century.

Inside the Wakefield Tower in the Medieval Palace in the Tower of London. PICTURE: Michael Bowles/© Historic Royal Palaces.

The third of the towers – the Lanthorn Tower – was built as lodgings for King Henry III’s Queen but is now a 19th century reconstruction after the original tower was gutted by fire.

It contains a display and among the new objects is a stone, on loan from the Jewish Museum London, which came from a Jewish mikveh or ritual bath, dating to about 1200 and discovered in London in 2001 within the home of the medieval Crespin family. It’s part of a new effort to explore the story of London’s medieval Jewish community, the taxation of which helped to pay for the construction of St Thomas’s Tower in the 1270s.

Other new objects on show in the Lanthorn Tower include a 13th century seal matrix from a 13th century Italian knight and a gold and enamel 13th century pyx – a small round container used to hold communion wafers made in the French city of Limoges (both on loan from the British Museum) as well as a child’s toy knight made of lead that dates from c1300, lent by London Museum and a perfectly preserved wicker fish trap which was excavated from the Tower moat, containing bones likely dating from the 15th or 16th century and illustrating the moat’s role as a fishery.

A replica of King Edward I’s seal matrix in the Medieval Palace exhibition, accompanied by a description in braille. This item is intended to be touched by visitors, to help them understand what the seal matrix might have looked and felt like in three dimensions. PICTURE: Michael Bowles (www.michael-bowles.com)

The medieval palace also includes a small private chapel which is where it’s believed King Henry VI died in 1471.

Among other stories now told in the display is that of less well-known Tower residents such as King Edward I’s laundress Matilda de Wautham, and John de Navesby the keeper of the white bear which was held in the menagerie at the Tower.

WHERE: The Medieval Palace, The Tower of London (nearest Tube Station is Tower Hill); WHEN: 9am to 5:30pm daily (last entry 3:30pm); COST: £35.80 adults; £28.50 concession; £17.90 children (free for Historic Royal Palaces members and £1 tickets are available for those in receipt of certain means-tested financial benefits); WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/

London Explained – London’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites…

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UNESCO’s World Heritage List includes as many as 1223 properties right across the globe which the World Heritage Committee considers as having “outstanding universal value”.

Most of them are cultural sites (952) but they also include some 231 natural sites and 40 which have both qualities.

The UK is actually home to 35 sites on the list, ranging from Stonehenge and the English Lake District to neolithic Orkney and the City of Bath.

The Tower of London: PICTURE: Gavin Allanwood/Unsplash

London itself is home to four internationally recognised UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These include the Tower of London, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey (including the neighbouring St Margaret’s Church), and maritime Greenwich.

The first of the four to be added to the list was the 10 hectare site of Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey in 1987 (described as being of “great historic and symbolic significance”). It was followed by the Tower of London in 1988, and the 109 hectare area covering the Queen’s House, Old Royal Naval College and Royal Observatory known as maritime Greenwich in 1997.

The 132 hectare site of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew was the most recent addition to the list in 2003.

As well as being added to the list, sites can also be removed as happened when Liverpool became the third site to be removed from the list in 2021 due to what the World Heritage Committee said was “the irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value of the property”.

Concerns have been raised over the Tower of London’s future on the list due to surrounding development and, of course, there are always other sites that can be added (we vote for Hampton Court Palace, among others).

10 London mysteries – 6. The disappearance of Edward V and his brother Richard…

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The disappearance of King Edward V and his brother, Richard, Duke of York, after being last seen in the Tower of London is one of London’s most famous mysteries. And while it’s one we’ve written about before, we thought we’d take a look at the recent announcement that new evidence had been found in the matter.

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10 London mysteries – 4. How did King Henry VI die?

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The Tower of London is known for many mysteries – the most famous, perhaps, being the fate of the two ‘Princes in the Tower’. But among the other mysterious deaths which took place behind the closed doors of the fortress is the death of the deposed King Henry VI.

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This Week in London – Lord Mayor’s Show; ‘Poppy Fields at the Tower’; and, ‘The Great Mughals’ at the V&A…

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• The Lord Mayor’s Show – featuring the 696th Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King – will be held this Saturday. The three-mile long procession – in which the Lord Mayor will ride in the Gold State Coach – features some 7,000 people, 250 horses, and 150 floats. It will set off from Mansion House at 11am and travel down Poultry and Cheapside to St Paul’s Cathedral before moving on down Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice. The return journey will set off again at 1:10pm from Temple Place and travel via Queen Victoria Street back to Mansion House where he will take the salute from the Pikemen and Musketeers at 2:40pm. For more information, including where to watch the show, head to https://lordmayorsshow.london.

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 Poppy Field at the Tower. PICTURE: © Luxmuralis / Historic Royal Palaces.

• An immersive sound and light show commemorating World War I and II opens at the Tower of London tomorrow ahead of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday. Historic Royal Palaces has partnered with Luxmuralis to present Poppy Fields at the Tower with visitors invited to go inside the Tower where – recalling the 2014 display Bloodswept Lands and Seas of Red in the Tower of London moat to mark the centenary of World War I – the walls will not only be illuminated with tumbling poppies but also historic photographs, documents and plans. The display is being accompanied by music composed by David Harper, and poetry recordings. Visitors will also be granted special access to see the Crown Jewels after-hours to learn more about their removal from the Tower during both World Wars. Runs until 16th November and should be pre-booked. Admission charges apply. For more, see https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/poppy-fields-at-the-tower/.

Akbar handing the imperial crown to Shah Jahan in the presence of Jahangir, Bichitr. Dated regnal year 3 (18th January 1630–7 January 1631), the borders c1630–1640. Opaque watercolour and gold on paper. Folio
from the Minto Album. © CC BY – 4.0. Chester Beatty, Dublin

• An exhibition celebrating the golden age of the Mughal Court opens at the V&A in South Kensington on Saturday. The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence examines the “creative output and internationalist culture” of Mughal Hindustan during the age of its greatest emperors, a period spanning c1560 to 1660. More than 200 objects are on display arranged in three sections corresponding to the reigns of the Emperor Akbar (1556-1605), Jahangir (1605 to 1627) and Shah Jahan (1628 to 1658). The objects include paintings, illustrated manuscripts, vessels made from mother of pearl, rock crystal, jade and precious metals. Highlights include four folios from the Book of Hamza, commissioned by Akbar in 1570, and the Ames carpet which was made in the imperial workshops between c1590 and 1600 and is on display for the first time in the UK. There’s also a unique wine cup made from white nephrite jade in the shape of a ram’s head for Shah Jahan in 1657, two paintings depicting a North American Turkey Cock and an African zebra created by Jahangir’s artists, and a gold dagger and scabbard set with over 2,000 rubies, emeralds and diamonds. Runs in Galleries 38 and 39 until 5th May. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

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10 towers with a history in London – 8. The Bell Tower…

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We return to the Tower of London this week to look at the history of another of its storied towers.

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This Week in London – Underground shelters in wartime – then and now; new Ravenmaster at the Tower; and, ‘La Ghirlandata’ back at the Guildhall Art Gallery…

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• A new photographic exhibition exploring how Underground stations and metro systems provide shelter to citizens during periods of war, both now and in the past, opened at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden last week. Echoes of the Blitz: Underground shelters in Ukraine and London features 70 images, including historical pictures from the museum’s collection as well as 38 contemporary photographs shot by six renowned, mainly Ukrainian, documentary photographers. The latter include photography showing ordinary Ukrainian citizens sleeping, waiting, cooking, washing clothes, caring for their pets and creating temporary make-shift homes in metro stations of Kyiv and and Kharkiv show alongside black and white archive images of Londoners taking refuge in Tube stations during World War II. The exhibition, which is being run in partnership with Berlin-based journalistic network n-ost, can be seen until spring next year. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk.

A raven at the Tower of London. PICTURE: Kasturi Roy/Unsplash

• A new Ravenmaster has been appointed at the Tower of London. Yeoman Warder Michael ‘Barney’ Chandler took up the role at the start of this month, 15 years after he first became a Yeoman Warder at the Tower. The Ravenmaster oversees a team of four responsible for the care of the Tower’s seven ravens which legend says must remain at the Tower to ensure its protection. The legend apparently goes back to at least the reign of King Charles II – when the King’s astronomer John Flamsteed complained that the resident ravens were impeding his work at the Tower and requested their removal, the King was told that if the ravens left the Tower then the Kingdom would fall (and so they remained). While the Yeoman Warders have longed cared for the ravens, the post of Ravenmaster was only created in the past 50 years and was first held by Yeoman Warder Jack Wilmington. Yeoman Warder Chandler, who became the 387th Yeoman Warder at the Tower when he was appointed in March, 2009, is only the sixth person to hold the office. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

• One of the most popular paintings at the Guildhall Art Gallery is being reinstalled to mark International Women’s Day on Friday. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s La Ghirlandata has been on loan – first to the Tate Britain and then to the Delaware Art Museum in the US – but is now being returned. The painting dates from 1873 and depicts a ‘garlanded woman’ playing an arpanetta and looking directly at the viewer. The muse for the woman is said to have been the actor and model, Alexa Wilding, while the two ‘angels’ in the top corners were posed by William and Jane Morris’ youngest daughter, May Morris. The City of London Corporation acquired the oil on canvas work in 1927. On Saturday, free family activities will be held at the gallery to mark the work’s return. For more, see www.thecityofldn.com/la-ghirlandata.

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Have a Merry Christmas!

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Wishing you a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

PICTURE: SHansche/iStockphoto

Keep an eye out for our annual countdown of the most popular posts for 2023 next week!

This Week in London – Hans Holbein at The Queen’s Gallery; ‘Crown and Coronation’ at the Tower; Christmas at Kew; and, Charles Dickens’ friendship with Wilkie Collins explored…

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Hans Holbein the Younger, 
Anne Boleyn (1532)/Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023.

• The largest exhibition of the work of Tudor-era artist Hans Holbein the Younger has opened at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Holbein at the Tudor Court features more than 50 works by Holbein including intimate portrait drawings of the royal family and the Tudor nobility including one of few surviving drawings of Anne Boleyn made during her lifetime, drawings of Jane Seymour and Sir Thomas More, and an unfinished portrait of King Henry VIII’s son Prince Edward. Other portraits include that of Derich Born, a 23-year-old Steelyard merchant, and one of Richard Southwell, a convicted murderer who was one of King Henry VIII’s closest advisors. The exhibition also features objects including a Brussels tapestry, jewel-like miniatures and Henry VIII’s magnificent armour, usually on show at Windsor and in London for the first time in a decade. Runs until 14th April. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/holbein-at-the-tudor-court/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace

The White Tower looking south-east, showing a coloured light projection of St Edward’s Crown, the crown used at the moment of Coronation. PICTURE: © His Majesty King Charles III 2023 -Royal Collection Trust – Historic Royal Palaces

• The magnificence of coronations and the Crown Jewels will be on show at the Tower of London from tomorrow night in a new light and sound show. Crown and Coronation – which has been created by Historic Royal Palaces in partnership with Luxmuralis as part of an artistic collaboration between artist Peter Walker and composer David Harper – brings the “spectacle, significance and shared experience” of coronations to life and demonstrates the pivotal role of the Crown Jewels in the ceremony as it takes visitors on a journey through the past 1,000 years. Images of the jewels will be projected on the White Tower in the show with visitors then able to view the actual jewels themselves in a special after hours opening. But you’ll have to be quick – the show can only be seen for nine days, ending on 25th November before it embarks on a two year UK-wide tour. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

The Palm House light show, part of Christmas at Kew. PICTURE: © Raymond Gubbay Ltd, Richard Haughton

• Christmas returned to Kew this week with the launch of it’s new festive light trail featuring seven new installations. Highlights of this year’s trail include three metre tall illuminated flowers, cascading lights suspended from the tree canopy, one of the longest light tunnels to ever feature in Kew’s Christmas celebrations and the Hive – which recreates life inside a beehive – as well as the iconic Palm House light show, the twinkling tunnel of light inspired by arched church windows known as the ‘Christmas Cathedral’, and a ‘Fire Garden’ at the Temperate House. There’s also festive treats to sample and visitors can experience a traditional Christmas dinner at The Botanical Brasserie. Admission charges applies. Runs until 7th January (advance bookings only). For more, see www.kew.org/christmas.

• Charles Dickens’ friendship and collaboration with writer Wilkie Collins is explored in a new exhibition at The Charles Dickens Museum in Bloomsbury. Dickens met Collins, who would become one of his most significant friends, in 1851 as they performed together in a play at the house of John Forster and their personal and professional relationship lasted more than 15 years. The display features works produced as a result of the friendship – everything from articles in Dickens’s Household Words through to novellas and plays such as The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices and The Frozen Deep – and features original letters, historic objects, and interactive displays focusing on everything from the pair’s moustache-growing contests and cruising international entertainment districts to co-writing side by side, discussing writer’s block and plot devices. Admission is included with general admission. Runs until 25th February. For more, see https://dickensmuseum.com.

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This Week in London – Coronation outfits at Buckingham Palace; Rex the Raven; and, a Crystal Palace dinosaur recreated…

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Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

• The coronation outfits worn by King Charles III and Queen Camilla can be seen at Buckingham Palace from Friday as part of the summer opening of the State Rooms. The clothing includes the Robe of Estate worn by the King for his departure from Westminster Abbey (it had been worn by his grandfather King George VI for his coronation in 1937), the King’s cream silk overshirt and the Purple Coronation Tunic – both specially created for the occasion – and the King’s Royal Naval Trousers as well as Queen Camilla’s Bruce Oldfield-designed Coronation Dress and her Robe of Estate. Also on display will be the Coronation Glove and the Girdle or Coronation Sword Belt – both of which were first worn by King George VI at his coronation. Visitors to the State Rooms will also be able to see the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, and by combining their trip with a visit to the Royal Mews, the Gold State Coach, used in every coronation procession since King William IV in 1831. The State Rooms are open until 24th September. Admission charges apply. For more, including an accompanying programme of events, see www.rct.uk.

• A new raven chick, Rex, has joined the flock at the Tower of London. Rex, who is joining the six other ravens at the Tower, is named for the Latin title meaning “King, Ruler” – appropriate for a Tower raven born in the year of HM King Charles III’s Coronation. The term is referenced on King Charles III’s cypher that appears on the uniforms of Yeoman Warders, and above the entrance to the Jewel House. The cypher displays the intertwining initials “C” and “R”, representing “Charles” and “Rex”, an update from Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s cypher “E R” “(Elizabeth Regina).

PICTURE: James Balston

• A recreation of a Victorian-era sculpture of an extinct mammal distantly related to horses, has been placed at the Grade I-listed Crystal Palace dinosaurs site. The 2.2 metre-long sculpture of Palaeotherium magnum is the work of one of Britain’s leading palaeo artist, Bob Nicholls, under the supervision of the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, scientists from the Natural History Museum and the University of Portsmouth. It has been funded by the new Crystal Palace Park Trust and Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs.

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This Week in London – The Crown Jewels (redisplayed); The Troubles at IWM; and, Tate Britain, rehung…

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Part of the new Jewel House display of the Crown Jewels at The Tower of London. PICTURE: ©Historic Royal Palaces

• A new display of the Crown Jewels opens in the Tower of London’s Jewel House tomorrow – the first major change to the display in more than a decade. Opening just weeks after the coronation regalia was used in the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey, the re-presentation of the jewels comes about thanks to a partnership between Historic Royal Palaces and royal jewellers Garrard and is the culmination of a four year project aimed at delving deeper into the history of the collection and coronations. The display, which features images from the recent coronation, starts with a celebration of the timelessness of monarchy featuring the State Crown frames worn by King George I, King George IV and Queen Victoria. It explains how historic jewels including the Black Prince’s Ruby have passed from crown to crown and explores the origins of the current jewels, starting with the destruction of the medieval coronation regalia in 1649. The story of gems including the Koh-i-Noor and Cullinan Diamond will also be explored while at the heart of the display is a room dedicated to the spectacle of the Coronation Procession. It ends with the Treasury containing more than 100 objects including the St Edward’s Crown of 1661, the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross and the Sovereign’s Orb. As an added spectacle, for nine nights in November, the Tower will also host a touring light and sound show, Crown and Coronation, which, created in partnership with Luxmuralis Artist Collaboration, will feature imagery and footage of monarchs and coronations past, along with images of the regalia. Images will be projected on buildings of the Inner Ward including the White Tower. The light and sound show, which will run at the Tower from 17th to 25th November, will tour the UK in 2024. Entry is included in general admission. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/the-crown-jewels/.

More of the new display in the Jewel House of the Crown Jewels at The Tower of London. PICTURE: ©Historic Royal Palaces

• The almost 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles is the subject of a new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. Northern Ireland: Living with the Troubles, which opens tomorrow, features familiar objects including rubber bullets, propaganda posters and a Good Friday Agreement booklet as well as rarer items such as a screen-printed handkerchief made by UVF paramilitaries in the Long Kesh internment camp. There will also be the chance to hear first-hand testimonies including from republican and loyalist paramilitaries as well as British soldiers, local police and ordinary civilians, and the opportunity to see archival photography depicting hunger strike riots, army checkpoints and bomb wreckage. Admission is free. Runs until 7th January. For more, see www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london.

Sir John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1851-2, Oil paint on canvas; Support: 762 × 1118 mm, frame: 1105 × 1458 × 145 mm
PICTURE: Tate (Seraphina Neville)

•Tate Britain has completed a complete rehang of its free collection displays – the first for 10 years. Visitors can see more than 800 works by 350 artists including iconic treasures such as John Everett Millais’ Ophelia (pictured above), William Hogarth’s The Painter and his Pug, David Hockney’s A Bigger Splash, Barbara Hepworth’s Pelago and Chris Ofili’s No Woman, No Cry. The collection also includes more than 100 works by JMW Turner, rooms devoted to such luminaries as William Blake, John Constable, the Pre-Raphaelites and Henry Moore, and a series of changing solo displays exploring other ground-breaking artists such as Annie Swynnerton, Richard Hamilton, Aubrey Williams and Zineb Sedira. Some 70 of the works in the collection – ranging from Tudor portraits to contemporary installations – which have been acquired in the last five years alone. For more, see www.tate.org.uk.

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LondonLife – The Tower and City of London from another angle…

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PICTURE: Zetong Li/Unsplash

8 locations for royal burials in London…A recap…

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Before kicking off a new series, here’s a recap of our last…

1. (Old) St Paul’s Cathedral…

2. St Clement Danes…

3. St Edward’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey…

4. Christ Church Greyfriars…

5. Henry VII’s Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey…

6. St Peter ad Vincula…

7. Westminster Abbey (near the High Altar)…

8. Kensal Green Cemetery…

This Week in London – 12 Days of Christmas at the Tower; Museum of London celebrates its London Wall closing; and, William Beatty at the Old Royal Naval College…

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• The Tower of London is getting into the festive spirit with a celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Twelve installations have been installed at the Tower, each representing as different aspect of the fortress’s unique history – from nine wreaths representing “nine rowdy ravens” to five gold coins representing the Mint once housed there. There’s also the six Queens of King Henry VIII and three “lordly lions” – a reference to a gift presented to King Henry III and housed in a Lion Pit at the tower. Visitors will have the chance to collect a map at the start of their visit and follow a trail to find the installations at they explore the Tower. Christmas at the Tower of London runs daily until 3rd January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

• The Museum of London is preparing to close its doors at its London Wall site as it moves to its new location in Smithfield and to celebrate it’s holding two free weekend festivals. The first, to be held this weekend, will feature family-friendly activities including arts and crafts, dance, face painting and theatrical performances while the second, to be held on the weekend of 3rd and 4th December (after which the museum will close), will feature a celebration of London’s music scene from the 70s to the present day with a DJ sets, a late night film festival and museum’s first ever 24 hour opening. Visitors on both weekends can also take part in London Biggest Table Football competition for a chance to win an England shirt signed by Harry Kane and to see the museum’s collection in a new light thanks to an illuminated display. For more on the festivals, see www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london.

• Now On: Blood and Battle: Dissecting the life of William Beatty. The life and work of renowned 19th-century naval surgeon and physician, Sir William Beatty, is explored in this exhibition at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. The display – which marks 200 years since Beatty, who had served as ship’s surgeon on HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar (and who wore the musket ball that killed Nelson in a locket on his watch chain for the rest of his life afterwards) – took up the post of Physician to the Royal Hospital for Seamen – explores Beatty’s work as a ship’s surgeon, his time at Greenwich Hospital and how he was honoured by being knighted and appointed Physician Extraordinary to George IV and the Duke of Clarence (later William IV) as well as his outside interests including his involvement in developing the London – Greenwich Railway. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://ornc.org.

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8 locations for royal burials in London…6. St Peter ad Vincula…

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The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula. PICTURE: David Adams

Officially the The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, this small church is located in the Inner Ward of the Tower of London.

Under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch as a “royal peculiar”, the current building – and the name means “Peter in Chains”, a reference to St Peter’s imprisonment at the hands of King Herod – dates from 1520 and was constructed on the orders of King Henry VIII.

As well as being the burial place of officers who served at the Tower, the chapel – which is located only a few steps away from the execution site on Tower Green – is also the final resting place of many who were executed within the Tower’s precincts including the likes of Thomas Cromwell and Bishop John Fisher.

Those buried here include two of King Henry VIII’s wives who both suffered the ignominy of being beheaded. Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Catherine Howard – respectively the second and fifth wives of the king – were both interred here after their executions.

Memorial stone for Queen Anne Boleyn in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. PICTURE: AloeVera95 (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Anne Boleyn, who was executed on 17th May, 1536, was buried under the floor in front of the high altar (along with her brother George who was executed two days before the Queen). Catherine Howard was executed several years later on 13th February, 1542, and was also buried beneath the floor.

The other royal figure buried in the Chapel was Lady Jane Grey, the “Nine Day Queen” who was executed on Tower Green on 12th February, 1554, at just the age of 17 on the orders of Queen Mary I. She was buried beneath the chapel’s altar (along with her husband, Lord Guilford Dudley, who was also executed on Tower Green).

The chapel fell into some neglect by the mid-19th century and in 1876 works were carried out under the direction of architect Anthony Salvin to restore the building. This included replacing the floor which had collapsed owing, it’s said, to the large number of burials that had taken place under it since the 16th century.

Many of the bodies were exhumed and identified, including that of Queen Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey, and moved into a newly created crypt underneath.

The marble floor which was installed over the top features memorials commemorating those interred underneath. These include individual memorial stones for Henry VIII’s two Queens and a stone commemorating several of other prominent figures buried beneath including Lady Jane Grey.

WHERE: St Peter ad Vincula, Inner Ward, Tower of London (nearest Tube station Tower Hill); WHEN: 10am to 4.30pm (last admission 3.30pm), Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 4.30pm (last admission 3.30pm) Sunday to Monday; COST: £29.90 adults; £14.90 children 5 to 15; £24 concessions (family tickets available; discounts for online purchases/memberships); WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/.

Treasures of London – The ‘Line of Kings’…

by exploringlondon
PICTURE: HRP/Newsteam

A star sight at the Tower of London for some 350 years, the ‘Line of Kings’ dates back to the mid-17th century and was originally installed in the Royal Armouries at the Tower to promote the restored monarchy of King Charles II and the Stuart dynasty.

Often described as the “world’s longest running tourist attraction” (the first visitor was recorded in 1652), it features the historic armour of monarchs on wooden figures and accompanied by fully decked-out carved horses – the work of Grinling Gibbons and others among Britain’s best woodcarvers.

The line has been added to and redisplayed numerous times over its history, partly to accommodate successive monarchs (17 in all were included with King George II being the last).

Only those monarchs deemed worthy were included – this deemed “bad” kings like King Richard III were omitted while “good” kings like King William the Conqueror, King Edward III and King Henry V were included. Queens were not included – when Queen Mary II and King William III were created joint monarchs, only King William was included.

The display began to be mentioned in guidebooks from the 1750s onwards. In 1825, amid growing scholarship and criticism, the line underwent a major change.

It was dismantled and then redisplayed in a purpose-built gallery adjoining the south side of the White Tower. The new line-up included prominent noblemen as well as kings while the kings themselves were reshuffled with some, like King Edward III, dropped, and King James II added.

It was further enhanced in 1869 but the display closed in 1882. The equestrian figures then appeared on the upper floor of the White Tower.

The Line of Kings, which is now located on the entrance floor of the Tower, last underwent a significant revamp between 2011 and 2013.

Highlights include the earlier surviving armour of King Henry VIII – a silvered and engraved armour which was made in the years following his coronation in 1509 – as well as the gilded armours of King Charles I and King James II.

WHERE: White Tower, Tower of London (nearest Tube station Tower Hill); WHEN: 9am to 5.30pm daily; COST: £29.90 adults; £14.90 children under 15; £24 concession; family tickets from £52.20; WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/.  

LondonLife – Superbloom at the Tower of London…

by exploringlondon
The Queen’s Garden, part of the Superbloom as seen near the Tower’s entrance on 22nd May. PICTURE: © Historic Royal Palaces
A Yeoman Warder in the transformed moat with Mehrdad Tafreshi’s swarm of insects. PICTURE: © Historic Royal Palaces

Twenty million seeds have been sown into the Tower of London’s moat to create a floral display known as ‘Superbloom’ as part of the celebrations surrounding Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

Paths, walkways and viewing points have been installed throughout and in a first at the Tower, a four lane slide has been installed to provide an unusual entrance to the display.

Those visiting the display – which features wildflowers such as red poppies, yellow corn marigolds and blue cornflowers as well as garden plants including sunflowers, cosmos and rudbeckias – will hear a score by Scottish composer Erland Cooper – Music for Growing Flowers – while other attractions include a willow sculpture by artist Spencer Jenkins and a swarm of intricate copper insects by sculptor Mehrdad Tafreshi.

The centrepiece of the display is the “Queen’s Garden” which has been installed by Grant Associates – the lead designers for the Superbloom project – in the Tower’s historic Bowling Green.

A willow sculpture by Spencer Jenkins. PICTURE: © Historic Royal Palaces

Inspired by the Queen’s Coronation gown, this garden features a combination of meadow flowers, topiary and summer-flowering perennials, bulbs and ornamental grasses and draws on the colours, shapes and motifs used by designer Norman Hartnell in the 1953 gown.

Rising above the garden are 12 cast glass forms by glass artist Max Jacquard which represent the national emblems featured in Hartnell’s design and in their centre sits a glass crown, a reminder of the Tower’s role as home of the Crown Jewels.

Tower Wharf, meanwhile, has been transformed into a food and drinks venue, with street food and bars from KERB and fine dining available riverside in ‘The Glass Rooms’. The flowers are expected to gradually bloom in June and will continue to evolve until September. For more, including how to purchase tickets, head here.

The slide entrance to the Superbloom as seen on 22nd May. PICTURE: © Historic Royal Palaces
Mehrdad Tafreshi’s swarm of insects as seen on 22nd May. PICTURE: © Historic Royal Palaces

10 historic stairways in London – 9. ‘Two Princes Staircase’, Tower of London… 

by exploringlondon
The White Tower with external staircase – they’re not the stairs we’re talking about, a remnant of them is located in the niche you can see about half way up the external staircase. PICTURE: Amy-Leigh Barnard/Unsplash.

A truncated staircase – really just a few steps – located near the entrance to the White Tower is famous – or perhaps infamous is a better word – for its connection with the so-called ‘Princes in the Tower’ – the 12-year-old King Edward V and his nine-year-old brother, Richard, Duke of York, who disappeared after entering the Tower of London in the late 15th century.

While the princes are believed to have been held in the Bloody Tower, their connection with the staircase, which is located in a doorway niche halfway up the main outer stairway into the White Tower, dates to 1674.

King Charles II had ordered the demolition of what was left of the royal palace to the south of the White Tower and during those works a wooden chest containing two skeletons was discovered beneath the foundations of a staircase which had led up to St John’s Chapel.

Many have subsequently believed the skeletons to be those of the two princes.

A plaque located near the staircase remnant at the Tower of London. PICTURE: Ian McKellar (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

The princes had been taken to the tower in April, 1483, following the death of their father, King Edward IV, on the 9th of that month. Their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (and the Lord Protector of his nephews), had done so, ostensibly for their protection, while Edward’s coronation was initially scheduled for June.

The last recorded reference to them being in the tower dates from 16th June when they were seen “shooting [arrows] and playing in the garden of the Tower sundry times”.

There has since been much debate over their fate with many believing Richard, who in July of that year was crowned King Richard III, had them murdered to ensure his own ascension to the throne.

The two skeletons found almost 200 years later were put on display for several years following their discovery before King Charles II ordered that they be placed in an urn and reburied in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey. In 1933, they were disinterred and forensically examined by LE Tannery and W Wright who concluded they were the skeletons of two boys, aged 10 and 13. They were subsequently reinterred and have remained buried since. They have never been tested for DNA.

Historic Royal Palaces Chief Curator Lucy Worsley and special guests will look at the question of whether the urn should be opened and the bones tested using modern forensic methods in an online event on 16th March at 7pm. Follow this link to register for this event.

WHERE: Tower of London (nearest Tube station Tower Hill); WHEN: 9am to 4.30pm (last admission), Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm (last admission) Sunday to Monday; COST: £29.90 adults; £14.90 children 5 to 15; £24 concessions (family tickets available; discounts for online purchases/memberships); WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/.

A Moment in London’s History – The execution of Catherine Howard…

by exploringlondon

It’s 480 years this month since Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, was executed for treason inside the Tower of London.

Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard after Hans Holbein the Younger (oil on panel, late 17th century/NPG 1119 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Catherine, who it has been suggested may have been just 17-years-old when she died, was beheaded on the morning of 13th February, 1542, less than two years after her hastily arranged marriage to the King, just three weeks after his prior marriage to Anne of Cleves was annulled.

Catherine, also spelt as Katherine, was condemned to death after a young noble named Francis Dereham admitted, under torture, to having a sexual relationship with her prior to her marrying the king, and, more importantly, Thomas Culpeper, a Gentleman of the King’s Privy Chamber, who admitted to having an affair with her after her marriage.

Both men were executed at Tyburn following their admissions and their heads were displayed on London Bridge. Catherine sailed under it aboard a barge as she was taken to the Tower on 10th February, 1542.

She is said to have spent the night before her execution practising placing her head on the block – which was brought to her at her request.

Catherine was beheaded with the single stroke of a headsman’s axe on Tower Green – King Henry did not attend but some of her cousins, including the Earl of Surrey, were among the witnesses.

She was said to have been composed, although she needed help mounting the scaffold. It’s often said that her last words were “I die a Queen, but I would rather have died the wife of Culpeper” but there’s no eyewitness report which suggests this and instead she is believed to have stuck to a more traditional script, saying her punishment was just for her crimes and asking forgiveness.

Her maid – Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford – followed her to the block for her role in facilitating the affair while Henry was away from court. Catherine had apparently spent the night before practising how to lay her head upon the block.

Catherine was buried in an unmarked grave at in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula next to Tower Green – there’s a memorial to her in the church. The Queen’s ghost is famously said to be present in what’s known as the ‘Haunted Gallery’ at Hampton Court Palace – it is here that, when she was arrested, she apparently broke free from her guards and ran to the doors of the Chapel Royal where she believed the king was at prayer. Needless to say, her cries for mercy went unanswered.

Memorial stone set in the floor of the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. PICTURE: VCR Giulio19/Wikipedia (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)