Places of tragedy and theatre

Day 14 Saturday 11^th Jan

The Tower of London was built in the 1070 -1080s  by William the Conqueror using some of the south eastern wall foundations of the previous

Roman town of Londinium, walls unused for 600 years.  The imposing white tower is still striking and must have been remarkably so when first built.  Over the centuries successive rulers added to the complex with further fortifications and towers.  The parts of the complex used for imprisonment and torture were fascinating.  Notable stories recounted were those of the two princely sons of Richard II (Edward & Richard) who were imprisoned in the Bloody Tower in 1483 never to be seen again – although bones of two children were found in a niche of the wall near the White Tower in 1674. Their death has been blamed on Richard III (particularly through his depiction by Shakespeare) but this has never been confirmed.  The Bloody Tower has torture equipment and the Beauchamp Tower has graffiti on the walls written by famous prisoners.

Queens' Lady Jane Grey and Anne Boylen and Catherine Howard were imprisoned and executed in the Tower complex but most prisoners (~125) were publicly beheaded on Tower Hill nearby including Thomas More, and John Fisher.

The Chapel in the complex contains the tombs of 3 Queens of Henry VIII: Catherine Howard, Anne Boylen,  and Lady Jane Grey.  Out the side are the tombs of Saints Thomas Moore and John Fisher.  Due to the kindness of one of the Tower Yeomen's Warders and some fast talking from Maureen about working in  a school called Thomas Moore College, we were able to get a couple of minutes in prayer at the Tomb of Saint Thomas Moore.  This was extremely moving for both of us and , all the more so, given the tomb is normally only allowed to be visited after special permission.  As a giant of faith and conscience Thomas Moore is a man we can only admire and see as a exemplar. 

On reflection I was perturbed that the tomb of such a prominent  Catholic Saint is so inaccessible to pilgrims and visitors to this site and I wonder why the tomb has not been moved.  There is no focus on the life of Thomas Moore at the Tower and this is unfortunate but perhaps not surprising given the religious tensions that it may invoke. 

The dazzling Crown Jewels were on display but I did not realise that the original jewels (crowns, orbs, sceptres) were melted down after the execution of Charles I in 1649 and after Oliver Cromwell was defeated and the royalty reinstated in 1660 a new set was made. 

An unexpected fact about the Tower is that it contained a zoo housing African animals including lions and monkeys from the 13^th -19^th century.  The animals were moved to the London Zoo when it opened.

In the evening Maureen’s cousin Sally had booked us tickets to a play called “WarHorse’ (based on the novel , there is also a movie by Stephen Spielberg) at the New Theatre in the West End.  We got off the tube at Covent Gardens and walked through Trafalgar Square  and up through Soho to get to the Theatre.  It was a very vibrant and busy locale for a cool Saturday evening.

The Play has had rave reviews and rightly so.  It was mesmerizing as life size puppets of the central characters were skilfully manipulated around the stage.  The plot involves a horse raised on a farm by a young boy that is later sold by the boy’s father to the English Calvary and becomes a war horse in France.  The young man joins the army to try to find his horse.  It is a poignant story of friendship, loyalty heartbreak and the tragedy of war.  Watching this Play reminded me of happy times with my childhood pony  ‘Curly’ whom I rode from about 8 -12 years of age.