Day 3, Part 3: Monday, November 5, 2001
The building in the above photos is known as the White Tower. It was commissioned to be built by William the Conqueror soon after he conquered England in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It was built on the site of an Anglo-Saxon fort. It was used for different purposes during different times. At one time it was used as a munitions storage facility, and the number of kegs of blackpowder was too much for the floors. Some collapsed. The entrance to the building can be seen in the lefthand picture. On the right side of that picture, a door and a stairway can barely be seen.
This is a photo of a couple of ravens which live on the Tower of London grounds. There is a very old saying that the kingdom of England will stand as long as there are ravens living at the Tower of London. The ravens are banded, and they are released from cages every morning. (At least that is what I understood.)
Here is some of the grounds below the White Tower.
This is a picture of the outside of a small chapel. Like all chapels and churches in London, people are buried in the floor throughout. The building to the right which can barely be seen is the building in which the Crown Jewels are displayed. We couldn't take pictures of them. Sorry. The display of the crown jewels is very impressive. Large diamonds, etc. are always impressive -- no matter how they were acquired. For me, the most impressive item was a large punch bowl. It was of solid silver, overlaid in gold. It could hold hundreds of bottles of wine, and it weighed over 500 pounds (if I remember right). It was huge.
