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.
Specials
2024 in review – 12 of our most popular posts: 4 to 1…
The wait is over and here’s the final four in our countdown…
4. 10 atmospheric ruins in London – 8. Coldharbour Gate…
3. What’s in a name?…Basinghall Street…
2. 10 atmospheric ruins in London – 4. Spitalfields Charnel House…
1. London Explained – The Common Cryer and Sergeant-at-Arms…
Our usual coverage will resume next week!
2024 in review – 12 of our most popular posts: 8 to 5…
2024 in review – 12 of our most popular posts: 12 to 9…
To mark the end of 2024, we’re taking a look at some of our most read posts during the past year*. So without further ado…
12. 10 significant (and historic) London trees…7. D-Day Tree…
11. 10 significant (and historic) London trees…8. The Old Lions…
10. What’s in a name?…Barons Court…
9. 10 atmospheric ruins in London – 7. London Wall, Noble Street
* The calculation is based on the number of people that clicked on the post URL (it doesn’t include people who read the post on the main page). So it’s an indication rather than a decisive list!
10 London mysteries – 5. The St Pancras walrus…
Archaeologists were excavating the former St Pancras Old Church burial ground ahead of the expansion of St Pancras Railway Station to accommodate the Eurostar in 2003 when they came across a rather unusual coffin.
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10 London mysteries – 4. How did King Henry VI die?
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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10 London mysteries – 3. Where is Boudicca buried?
The location of Queen Boudicca’s grave has remained a mystery for almost 2,000 years and, dare we say it (yes, thinking of you, King Richard III), is likely to remain so.
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10 London mysteries – 2. Who was Jimmy Garlick?
This week we look at a mysterious mummified figure who was “discovered” in the vaults beneath the floor of St James Garlickhythe in the 1850s.
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10 London mysteries – 1. The murder of Robert Pakington…
London’s rich layers of history has left its fair share of mysteries and in this series we’re going to take a look at 10, some well-known and others, such as this first one, less so…
First up, it’s a 500-year-old murder mystery. The victim was Robert Pakington, an MP and prominent member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, who is often said to be the first victim to be murdered with a handgun.
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10 towers with a history in London – A recap…
10 towers with a history in London – 10. The ‘Lollard’s Tower’, Lambeth Palace…
This 15th century tower can be found at the north-west corner of Lambeth Palace, London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
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10 towers with a history in London – 9. The Queen’s Tower, Imperial College London…
This free-standing, 287 foot-high tower is a survivor – it’s all that remains of the Imperial Institute.
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10 towers with a history in London – 8. The Bell Tower…
We return to the Tower of London this week to look at the history of another of its storied towers.
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10 towers with a history in London – 7. Tower of the former Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth…
Part of the deconsecrated Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth – now the home of the Garden Museum, is a tower which was first built in the 14th century.
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10 towers with a history in London – 6. Westminster Cathedral campanile…
A well-known landmark in Westminster, the distinctive striped brick and stone campanile of Westminster Cathedral stands 284 feet or 64 metres high.
Building of a Roman Catholic cathedral in Westminster – what would be the largest in England and Wales – was the vision of Cardinal Herbert Vaughan. Construction started in 1895 and was complete eight years later. The campanile was the final part of the building’s structure to be completed.
Conscious that the Gothic Westminster Abbey only a short distance away, architect John Francis Bentley instead designed the cathedral in a neo-Byzantine style and the plans originally included two campanili or bell towers which may have been influenced by those in Venice (it was Cardinal Vaughn who famously said one campanile would be enough for him resulting in just one being built).
The 30 foot square dome-topped tower, like the rest of the building, was constructed of stripes of red brick and Portland stone which reflected existing residential buildings nearby.
Formally known as St Edward’s Tower, it contains the 55cwt St Edward’s Bell (named after St Edward the Confessor) which was a gift of Gwendoline, the Duchess of Norfolk, in 1910. It was cast at the Whitechapel Foundry and bears the inscription, “While the sound of this bell travels through the clouds, may the bands of angels pray for those assembled in thy church. St Edward, pray for England.”
Carved stone eagles surround the apex of the tower – a reference to St John the Evangelist (apparently patron saint of the architect) and the cross on top of the cupola is said to contain a fragment of the True Cross discovered by the Empress Helena in 326 AD.
The campanile famously appears at the end of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 thriller, Foreign Correspondent, in a scene in which the bad guy is thrown from the top.
The campanile, which has a lift to the top, is open to the public. Viewing balconies on all four sides of the tower provide 360 degree views of the surrounding city including over the stunning domes of the cathedral itself.
WHERE: The Campanile, Westminster Cathedral (nearest Tube stations are Victoria and St James’s Park); WHEN: 11am to 3:30pm Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; COST; £6 adults; £12 families (two adults and up to four children); £3 concessions (aged 60+); WEBSITE: https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/tower-viewing-gallery-reopens/
10 towers with a history in London – 5. St Augustine’s Tower, Hackney…
This tower – said to be the oldest building in Hackney – is all that remains of a 16th century church and, as a local symbol, appears on the London Borough of Hackney’s coat-of-arms.
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10 towers with a history in London – 4. Caledonian Park Clock Tower…
Located in Islington, the Caledonian Park Clock Tower is a local landmark and among all that now remains of the 19th century Metropolitan Cattle Market.
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10 towers with a history in London – 3. Victoria Tower…
Located at the south-western end of the Houses of Parliament, the rather grand Victoria Tower was built as part of Sir Charles Barry’s 19th century redevelopment of the site in the Gothic Perpendicular style.
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10 towers with a history in London – 2. The tower of St Olave, Old Jewry…
This tower is a survivor and was originally part of the rebuilt Church of St Olave, Old Jewry.
The medieval church, which was apparently built on the site of an earlier Saxon church, originally dated from 12th century. Its name referred to both the saint to whom it was dedicated – the patron saint of Norway, St Olaf (Olave) – and its location in the precinct of the City that was largely occupied by Jews (up until the infamous expulsion of 1290).
The church, which is also referred to as Upwell Old Jewry (this may have related to a well in the churchyard), was the burial place of two former Lord Mayors – mercer Robert Large (William Caxton was his apprentice) and publisher John Boydell (who apparently washed his face under the church pump each morning). Boydell’s monument was later transferred to St Margaret Lothbury.
The church was sadly destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 but it was among those rebuilt under the eye of Sir Christopher Wren in the 1670s. It’s from this rebuilding that the current tower dates.
At this time, the parish was united with that of St Martin Pomeroy (which had already shared its churchyard and which was also destroyed in the Great Fire).
Wren’s church was eventually demolished in 1887 as moves took place to consolidate church parishes under the Union of Benefices Act – the parish was united with that of St Margaret Lothbury and proceeds from the sale were used to fund the building of St Olave, Monor House. It’s worth noting that a Roman pavement was found on the site after the church demolition.
The tower (and the west wall), meanwhile, survived. The tower was subsequently turned into a rectory for St Margaret Lothbury and later into offices.
Interestingly, the Grade I-listed, Portland stone tower is said to be the only one built by Wren’s office which is battered – that is, wider at the bottom than the top. It’s topped by some obelisk-shaped pinnacles and a weather vane in the shape of a sailing ship which was taken from St Mildred, Poultry (was demolished in 1872).
The tower’s former clock was built by Moore & Son of Clerkenwell. It was removed at the time of the church demolition was installed in the tower of St Olave’s Hart Street. The current clock was installed in 1972.
10 towers with a history in London – 1. The Bloody Tower…
Carrying rather a gruesome name, this rectangular-shaped tower sits over a gate leading from outer ward into the inner ward in the Tower of London.
The tower, which once controlled the watergate before the outer walls were constructed, was originally known as the Garden Tower due to its location adjoining the Tower Lieutenant’s Garden.
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