| Summary : The Bloody Tower at the Tower of London was constructed as the main water gate by Henry III in the 1220s. Following land reclamation from the river and the extension of the outer ward it became an inner gate of the inner curtain wall. The vaulted gate passage beneath the tower was originally defended by two portcullises. The tower was used to imprison Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury in 1553-4; Judge Jeffreys in 1668-9 and Sir Walter Raleigh from 1603-1616. The tower had once been known as the Garden Tower as it adjoined the Lieutenant's garden. It became known as the Bloody Tower following the alleged murders of the "Princes in the Tower" - Edward and Richard, sons of Edward IV who were lodged there following their fathers death in 1483. The tower was extensively restored in the 1840s to 1860s by Salvin. |