THE TOWER OF LONDON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11764, 31 July 1916, Page 4

THE TOWER OF LONDON.

HISTORIC SURVIVAL. About a year ago the Bloody Tower in tho Tower of .London was "for the first time thrown open to tlie public (says "Tho Times"), and thousands of visitors from all parts, of the globe havo since seized the opportunity of seeing the tiny chamber m which, according to tradition, the two tiny sons of Edward IV. were murdered by Tyrrell and his hired ruffians at the bidding of their uncle, afterwards Ricaard 111. In a very short time a further privilege will be extended to tho public. Tho main floor and the dungeons of tho Whito Tower, the great central building of the old-world fortress, will be on view, and for shecdramatic horror there is little to touch tho storied past of those underground prisons, even amid all the romance and tragedy that surround the Tower of London.

The Whito Tower, called "La Tour Blanche" in the days of the P!an<agenets, obtained its name from the frequency with which it was whitewashed. It is 90ft high, and the -.vails are from 12ft to 15ft thick. It has <ot;r turrets, three are square and one round, and on each turret is a v-,.ather-cock. The main floor of tnc White Tower contained tho private apartment of William I. The io>ms a<e large and lofty. They must- have been exceedingly cold. There is a fireplace on the east side, and also <n the west. Thero arc no chimneys, but the smoke in each case escaped upwards at an angle tnrough a hole in the solid wall. The me Stable, result of an east or west wind Mould have been to make apartment t.ninhabitable from smoke <i tbe lire on the same side of the room were burning.

The really grim features of the Whito Tower are the dungeons a,id vaults, an entrance to whiuh is Ivii made from the outside. In the >l;len days the only approach was by a winding staircase from tho floor above, which turned always to the left as it descended, so that tho defender coming down to attack lm foe would have his sword arm free, while the. .ascending enemy would have his sword arm hampered. At tho foot of these stairs in bygone days the rack was placed; and down these stairs Queen Elizabeth herself came to hear Sir Thomas Wyatt's confession from the rack. The dungeons are -now lighted, but the visitor must picture iliem in black darkness. In one part is shown a prison in which in King John's day 600 Jews —men, women and children—were herded together in horrible promiscuity without light or heat, for clipping the coin of the realm and other crimes. Hard by is the cell known as Little Ease, with the ring in the floor to which Guy Fawkes was attached by his ankle and wrists, all in close touch, after ho had suffered on tlie rack.