The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-08-27
oubIiette Of Tower Of London,


The building Of the new guard-roon IN
the inner bailey OF the Tower OF London
has led to q strange aud interesting as
eovery. and enhanced the mystery aEd 70
nance which have gathered for centu-
ries around it's gray walls ana battls-
ments. The new guard-room occupies the
space between the Bloody Tower and the
White Tower upon the right as you enter
the inner ward. and in preparing ITS
Foundations q subterraneaa passage was
discovered Cor. 70 be accurate. re-dIseov-
cred. for It's existence was known before).
extending from the nloat near the Trai-
tors Gate beneath St. Thomas Tower. IN
the direction OF the southwest angle OF
the White Tower. The passage Is lined
throughout with Norman masonry and
has level floor: II was evident at once.
therefore. that 1t was not . drain or eul-
vert. for in that case Il would have had n
rounded bottom. and Il became a matter
OF interest to follow Il both ways towards
the moat and towards the White Tower.
for the purpose Of ascertafnfng whether Il
communicated directly with the interior OF
the White Tower forming. thus. an out
let to the moat from the lower portion OF
the keep where the dungeons are situated
It seems most likely that this saOuld ne
the case, but expectation has been disap-
pointed The passage does. indeed. lead to
a dungeon, and most horrible one. but
there Is no communication with the
White Tower. II runs straight from the
moat into the dungeon. but the dungeon
Is completely isolated from all parts Of the
fortress. and fits communication with the
upper air is by shaft which descends
into the passage.
nv zart..
representative OF the Daily Graphic was
allowed to descend the shaft and inspect
the passage and the dungeon under the
guidance of Mr. May. the clerk OF the
works. Arriving at the tower and pre-,
senting his pass at the office Of Mr.. May.
that gentleman first exhibited to his visi-
tor in the little yard behind his Office the
object discovered In clearing out the
shaft and passage. These consist mainly.
OF masses OF potsherds. amid which are
fragments OF green-glazed ware such as
was common throughout the Middle Ages:
several broken brown jugs. known as bel
larmines. and pieces Of coiored delft and
Fulham ware-all. no doubt. fragments
OF the broken utensils OF the garrison
thrown down the shaft after the dungeon
had ceased to be used. in Elizabethan
times and later. More interesting than
these relics are numbers of cannon balls.
OF stone and OF iron. which were found IN
the excavation. Some OF the iron balls
have marks on them. One has been
found marked with the letter r." To
others pieces OF bone and timber are still
adhering. II Is believed. with great prob
ability. that some at least OF these round
shot were fired at the tower OF the Pro-
testant rebels under Sir Thomas Wyatt.
The ''R'' mark on one of the balls may
be that Of the arsenal at Rochester. to
whicN ,Ns rebels had access before ad-
vancing to London.
Wyatt, as Is well known. headed a re-
bellion OF KentIsh men when the fear
spread that the Spaniards were coming to
conquer the realm after the queen had set
her heart on the marriage with Philip OF
Spain. The stirring tale Is briefly told by
Green: The ships In the Thames sub
mitted to be seized by the insurgents A
party Of the tralnbands OF London. who
marched under the Duke Of NO.Iolk
against them, deserted to the rebels in a
mass, with shouts of A Wyatt! n WYATT
We are all Englishnman.' Had The insur-
gents moved quickly on the capital It's
gates would have been flung open and
success would have been assured. But IN
the critical moment Mary was saved by
her queenly courage. Riding boldly to the
Guildhall. she appealed with a mans
voice to the loyalty OF the citizens. and
when Wyatt appeared on the Southwark
bank the bridge was secured" Wyatt
pushed on up the river. crossing az Kings
ton. turned back to London. and was
finally defeated and made prisoner al
Temple Bar. Il have kept touch" ne
cried at the gate. but his adherents within
were unable to make the promised diver
sion in his favor. and Wyatt was sent to
tower and beheaded. II seems probable
that the cannon balls now discovered were
fired either by the ships in the rive-. or
from the other side Of the artillery which
Wyatt had with him on his march But
the tower. even on its most vulnerable
side the river front. was impregnable 20
any force OF foot or artillery which Wyatt
could bring against Il. The bones which
adhere to some OF the cannon shot SEEN
to tell OF some execution done-ghastly !
relics. maybe. OF some OF the garrison
who fell In the bombaTdment.
One Of the most interesting finds was 4
mass OF Roman cement. In which were
embedded three Of the well-known tiles |
with which the Roman architects banded /
their walls. The cement Is. as usual. 81 (
extreme hardness.