A visit to the Tower of London

[bixaorellana]

On a rainy, historically significant day I set off to see this famous landmark, enjoying a stroll along the river on the way ~

Once inside, I was panting to see the crown jewels first (no photos allowed). But what's this?

There are wonderful views from all over the complex, which I'll show before proceeding to what are probably way too many pictures of my favorite part of the visit ~

[bixaorellana]

Iconic stuff everywhere you look~

The Royal Fusiliers have their headquarters in the Tower complex and there is a display of their history over several rooms. As a person from the US, I was interested in this phrasing of a historical event ~

The Tower is well protected ~

~





Lunch interlude ~



~ Please check in later -- more to come. ~

[htmb]

Fabulous start, Bixa! Are those real crows?

[bjd]

I believe they are ravens, htmb, and I think they are real. Are the baboons supposed to be a reminder of Gibraltar?

You are a better man than I, Gunga Din (aka Bixa). I have never been to the Tower of London.

[mossie]

A good introduction. Since William the Conquerer built it in the 11th century, it has been a centre point of Englands history.

The birds are ravens, part of the crow family, if they leave the tower the crown will fall. The other animals are representative of the time when the Tower held the Royal menagerie and served as Englands first zoo. It was set up to house animals which had been given by foreign rulers. The animals were eventually transferred to Regents Park to form the basis of the present zoo.

I have never been in the grounds, only walked round the outside, so thanks Bixa for this, and more I hope.

[lagatta]

I found a lovely little cup (a small coffee cup, not a teacup) with the Tower ravens at a charity shop here; unfortunately it got broken...

Thanks for the auspicious beginning to your tour.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks for all the kind comments, folks.  

Yes, Htmb, they are ravens, as Bjd said, and real and alive. They are very used to people, as they let me and others get quite close to them. Mossie has the story on the Tower's ravens and also on the menagerie.

Bjd, I had a ticket and figured I needed to see some of London's famous spots. I'm glad I went, as it's interesting and entertaining. I walked around without a guide and skipped certain things (the torture chamber, for instance). The crowns in the crown jewels room were as enthralling as I'd expected, although you are hustled past on a conveyor belt (I got on a second time and walked backwards so I could look my fill.)

Yes, Mossie, there will be more! It's very surprising what grabs the interest. Thanks for the info on the menagerie. There is an exhibition on it with the history and more of the wire animals, plus some interactive stuff that kids like.

The cup sounds adorable, LaGatta. More of the tour coming right up. I'd say the Tower is a place to visit more than once, as there is almost too much to take in at one time.

Now for a large selection of pictures from what turned out to be my favorite part of the whole visit, to my surprise: the Royal Armouries.
The sculptures of horses and humans are as interesting as the beautifully wrought armor ~

[bixaorellana]

Armor of Henry VIII, 1540 ~

Armor for a Boy, probably Prince Henry Stuart ~

[questa]

All wonderful photos, as we have come to expect from you, Bixa, but the picture of the solitary raven above the city has blown my mind!

[Deleted]

The armour is all so bright and shiny. I can imagine all of the dusting and polishing that must go on every day the moment the place closes to the public.

[bixaorellana]

What a nice thing to say, Questa -- thanks! Those are big birds, about a foot tall.

Chapel adjoining the room above. Photos were forbidden, which meant I had to snap one ~

[bixaorellana]

Jul 18, 2016 5:22:56 GMT kerouac2 said:

The armour is all so bright and shiny. I can imagine all of the dusting and polishing that must go on every day the moment the place closes to the public.

Coincidentally, I read something about that just last night:

The sets of armour are not in their original black and gold because of over-aggressive polishing in the 19th century when ... "they were polished with brick dust and rangoon oil to within an inch of their life" to fit the aesthetic of what armour should look like, all shiny and silvery.

Here is the source of that quote, a most interesting article telling more about armor and about Henry VIII's expanding girth.

[bjd]

I rather like those wooden horses. I had always thought the horses wearing armour plus an armoured knight on top would have to look like Percherons or some giant workhorses in order to bear the weight. Seems that was not the case.

[bixaorellana]

Bjd, the life-sized horses in that room full of armor were extremely impressive. It was hard to get the pictures I wanted because of the lighting, but you can still see how lifelike they are, I think. I vaguely thought that people were much smaller back then, so a regular or smallish horse could bear the weight + armor easily, but it appears not when you look at Henry's dimensions.
,
Around this time I was getting somewhat museumed out, so didn't give the next sections the proper attention. They were various kinds of weaponry, things presented to the crown, plus some miscellany, as you'll see ~

[questa]

WOW... Elizabeth looks just like I imagined her. In paintings she looks rather complacent and arrogant, but this sculpture shows her as intelligent and very devious, as she was. She has the strong face of her father and I can see why she got frustrated at "being a woman and not a man".
A face that was beautiful and could charm the men...until she had them beheaded or hanged.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Questa. You can see I was fascinated by the portrait head, which is so full of personality and intelligence. I particularly admire the way the artist managed to make her timeless, considering that she was crowned at age 25 and ruled until her death at age 69.

A glance at the window tells me I should check the weather ~

After some snaking through the rain to see a couple more towers & grab a couple more pictures, it seemed dry enough to head home ~

You all may recall that in the OP I said that this visit took place on a historically significant day. It was also a day that transport service was disrupted by previous days of heavy rain.
Passengers were ejected from the tube at Embankment station and told there were no more cars west that day. Here is the rush hour crowd, presumably some of whom were hurrying home to vote in the referendum of June 23 ~

~ the end ~

[htmb]

Bixa, I have only seen the Tower of London from afar in my visits to London, but after seeing your wonderful photos, I might need to add it to my bucket list. Nice report!

[bixaorellana]

Thanks so much, Htmb. It's a very large and varied place -- large and varied enough for everyone to find interesting and favorite parts.

[Deleted]

That Japanese armour is amazing. It looks like it was designed for the Daleks.

[lagatta]

I love the horse statues; yes, not only the anatomy, but each horse seems to have his or her own character and personality.

But I wouldn't have envied Henry VIII's horse...

[breeze]

The wooden horses are remarkable. Their heads are so expressive and so are the poses.

Such fine work reminded me that when we visited National Trust houses, Grinling Gibbons was the name that always popped up if the house had any exceptional carving. (Probably other names came up at the time, but I can only retain so much. Either the names of 17c woodcarvers or my middle name had to go.) I wondered if these horses were from the same time period, and Google tells me not only was Gibbons at work then, he is believed to have carved one of these horses, the one I would call yellow.

Won't those monkeys and elephants get rusty?

Henry VIII--the original "takes a wide stance" guy. You are interested in the shoes, bixa? Me too. Holbein's portrait shows the same shoe shape. Is that how they made shoes back then, wider at the toes?

Finally, the Japanese armor. Shudder. I was scared out of my wits once, visiting a smallish National Trust house out in the country. The owner had been a collector of just about anything. I unexpectedly walked into a room FULL of samurai armor standing or seated on chairs. I backed into the hall at top speed and pressed myself up against a wall. I had to reassure myself that those couldn't be humans. Snowshill Manor. Be warned.

This is a really rich thread, bixa, and an argument for all of us not to give up our desktop computers.

[fumobici]

Jul 20, 2016 15:06:08 GMT kerouac2 said:

That Japanese armour is amazing. It looks like it was designed for the Daleks.

That's funny I thought the *exact* same thing looking at it.  What a delightful series of photos!  The one raven photo looks fake--and I mean that as the highest of compliments, even if it doesn't really sound like one.

[questa]

When my son was studying Japanese at high school he had to do a research assignment and chose to do Japanese armour...Yor-oi IIRC. The example he worked on was like the suit in the glass case above.
There are about 27 different named components in the suit and I knew about 20 of them by the time he finished. I was awed by the cleverness of this compared with the European armour of the same time.
Tiny little metal rings were bound with silk into rows of padding which covered the body coat. This was stuffed with feathers, scraps of material etc. The separate pieces were tied on to the user's body with silk cords and much ritual.
It was fascinating stuff. I must Google it sometime.

[bixaorellana]

Ha ~ good call on the armor, Kerouac! To me it looks rather insectile -- like the king of the grasshoppers or something.

You're right, LaGatta -- that poor horse must have been swaybacked. The horses are magnificent. Even up close they're very lifelike.

Breeze, what a great memory you have! Well, about the carver's name -- the alarming memory about the scary armor can't be so great for you.
Re: the yellow horse ~ the colors are actually more realistic. I did the best I could with the photos, but the lighting made for a pronounced yellow cast on things. There were also lots of pictures I couldn't get because of glare.
And yes, the shoes are interesting. Undoubtedly those were molded to fit his feet, but they seem so flat, as though they were more for use on horseback rather than walking.
The animals are made of galvanized wire & have been there since 2011: www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/02/lifelike-galvanized-wire-animal-sculptures-by-kendra-haste/
Thanks so much for your always kind and encouraging feedback!

Ha ha, Fumobici ~ thank you!

That is fascinating stuff, Questa. Interesting to see what a different direction a different culture took with armor.

[lugg]

Wow - great thread. Its been some time since I've been - like you I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the armoury.

Henry's cod piece - some over egging going on there
Like others really wowed by the raven.

[nycgirl]

I loved visiting the Tower. I went on a Beefeater tour and the guide was really humorous and engaging. Walking around alone, though, I was struck by how somber and creepy the place is. The ever-present ravens (poor things have their wings clipped) contributed to the mood.

I remember being impressed by the crown jewels. You saw so much more than I did, though. I didn't see the armory room and it looks like I missed out. Those wooden horses are so lively and impressively well-preserved. The armor is interesting, too. (I always chuckle at those codpieces.)

It's crazy you were there to witness the Brexit vote.

Thanks for taking us on this tour with you.

[bixaorellana]

Jul 17, 2016 9:50:29 GMT mossie said:

The birds are ravens, part of the crow family, if they leave the tower the crown will fall.

Jul 23, 2016 17:25:30 GMT nycgirl said:

The ever-present ravens (poor things have their wings clipped)

‘Bored’ ravens straying from Tower of London as tourist numbers fall <-- click

[tod2]

I'm so glad you revived this absolutely wonderful photo essay Bixa. It almost makes me feel I've never been there and want to visit again! Great photos.

[bixaorellana]

Aw, thanks, Tod! When I look at other people's travel threads they are fresh all over again. And when I look at my own I get to relive something pleasant.

Very belated thanks to NYCGirl, who always has something cogent and kind to say!

[bixaorellana]

Merlina seems to have flown away ~

www.nbcnews.com/news/world/queen-raven-leaves-tower-london-will-kingdom-crumble-n1254296

www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/world/europe/tower-of-london-missing-raven-merlina.html