Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-03-27
TIE FAMOUS rowER OF LONDON.
The Historic Pile which was Shocked on Satur-
day "Reminiscences NJ Past AgeS !

famous pile around whose history clust-
ers SO much that is of historic interest,
( occurred another of Yesterdays ter
rifle explosions which startled the
great metropolis. The Tower is the
most celebrated fortress in Great Brit
ain, and stands just without the an
cient city walls on the Middlesex bank
OF the Thames and between the Gus
tom House and st. Katherine's Docks,
about two and "a quarter miles from
the palace at which the other explo-
sion occurred. The scene of the ex-
plosion in this structure was in that
portion known as the White Tower
and shown in the Worlds diagram to-
day. The Tower of London IS suppos-
ed to have been commenced by julius
caesar, although some writer's are OF
the opinion that the venerable pile was
first begun by William the Conqueror
in 1913 No less an authority, how
ever, than Shakespeare declares it to
have been commenced by the Roman
Emperor.
The Tower Of London narrowly es-
capped destruction by fire in 1879. Ow-
ing to the excrtions Of the Fire Brigade,
the flames, which severely damaged
the officers quarters, were subdued
before further mischief was done.
The Tower had enjoyed long i'm
munity from danger Of that dcscrip-
ton On October 80, l04l, the great
armory or storehouse to the east of St.
Peters Chapel was burned to the
ground by fire caused by the over
heating Of the fue Of stove in The
"a,
adjoining On this occasion 100000
stand Of small arms were destroyed
and the Great or White Tower, as well
as the Jewel Tower, narrowly escaped.
The Regalia were saved mainly by the
agility and courage Of a .snperintend-
ent of the Metropolitan Police, Mr..
Pierse, who squeezing himself through
a small aperture hastily made by
crowbars in the iron grating Of the
room in which the jewels were kept,
handed out the various articles OF the
Regalia, remaining at his post at the
risk of his life until they were all
rescued.
The site Of the structure covers
about twelve acres Of ground and is
surrounded by q moat, which for the
past forty years ha~ been occupied as
u garden. On the river side is an en-
trance called the "Traitors' Gate"
through which distinguished person
ages were conveyed in boats after their
trial
MT Gate, misnnmcd, through which before
Went Sydney, RUSSELL RAJ ,gi, Crapmcr More.
Within the famous structure arc nu-
merous buildings, including the Bar
racks, Armory. jewel house, White
Tower, St. Prter's Tower, Bloody
Tower, where Richard III. murdered
his nephews; the Bowyer Tower, where
the Duke of Clarence was drowned in Il
butt OF Malmsey; the Brick Tower. in
which, Lady Jane Grey was confined;
the Bean champ Tower, the prison Of
Anne Boleyn, and numerous other
buildings. In addition to the Towers
original use rs Il fortress, it was the
residence Of the monarchs of England
down to the time of Elizabeth, and a
prison for state criminals. and numer-
Gus are the kings, queens, warriors
and statesmen who have not only been
imprisoned but murdered within it's
walls. The histories Of Lady Jane
Grey, Catherine Howard, Annie
Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Will
+ liam Russell, the Protector Somerset,
Sir Thomas More, William Wallace
and King John Of France live in the
remembrance of every historical read
or. Queen Elizabeth's Armory, filled
with arms and relics, is located within
the walls Of the White Tower, which
are fourteen feet thick. The room in
which Sir Walter Raleigh was immured
is here shown; he was confined three
different times in the Tower. and here
his son Carew was born. Lion Tower,
on the right, was for GOO years the
royal menagnrie: the few animals re-
manning were removed to the Zoologi-
cal Gardens in the reign of William w.
The jewel known rs the Wake
field Tower, which has apparently es-
capped injury, contains all the crown
jewels OF England; they are enclosed
in an immense case. Promine Mt among
them is the crown made for the coro-
nation of Queen Victoria, at an ex-
pense of about S6OO,0 900. Among the
profusion of diamonds is the large
ruby worn by the Black Prince; the
crown made for the coronation of
Charles H.; the crown of the Prince OF
Wales and that Of the late Prince Con-
sort; crown made for the coronation
of the Queen of James H., also her
ivory sceptre. The coronation spoon,
and bracelets, royal spurs, swords of
Mercy and Justice, are anloug the
other jewels. Here, too, is the silver
gilt baptismal font, in which is dcposi-
ted the christening water for the royal
children, and the celebrated Kohl
moor diamond, the present property Of
Queen Victoria, and the object of
great interest at the great exhibition
in Hyde Park in 1851. It formerly be-
longed to Runjeet Singh, chief Lahore.
and was called the 'Mountain of
Light 1885,
The oldest portion of the Tower is
the isolated square, keep or donjon in
the centre, called the White Tower,
built by William the Consueror in
1918, the architect being Bishop Gun.
dolph, of Rochester. This, rs stated,
was the scene of the explosion and
wreck. Thestructure was refaced aud
the windows modernized by Wren, but
its interior remains pretty much as
originally constructed. A winding
stairway at the corner. at the foot of
which the murdered princes were
found, leads to tho Chapel of St. John,
long used. as we'll as other chambers.
as place of deposit for records, but
now removed. 1t is one of the best
preserved of and oldest specimens of
Of early Norman style in Britain. plain
and massive piers supporting round
arches and a barrel vault. The east
end is an apse, and nd it aud the
aisles runs triforioM gallery, in
which the royal family may have heard
mass. The banqneting hall and Coun-