The Tower of London is one of the most famous places in the world, and for good reason. Thousands upon thousands of tourists flock to the complex every year, strolling along the cobblestone streets behind the Yeoman Warders and gaping at the magnificent crown jewels.
But one of the biggest reasons people are drawn to the ancient palace is a sort of morbid fascination. Because, you see, the Tower of London has an extremely gruesome history.
In 1066, William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and thus became King William I of England. Many English citizens weren’t happy with his rule, so as a show of power, he built the White Tower in 1078 – the very first building in the complex.
Over the centuries as the palace grew, its many towers and barracks were used to store crown jewels, armory and weapons, official palace records, and a royal menagerie (or zoo). But, most famously, it was used as a prison and saw the execution of over 700 people between the 14th and 18th century.
And that’s what we’re going to talk about today.
Now, most of the executions weren’t actually completed inside the tower walls, and instead took place on an adjacent hill – the Tower Hill (now Trinity Green) – in front of thousands of cheering citizens. Because, really, what else was there to do? Might as well gather the family and have a nice picnic before going down to see a nobleman get his head chopped off. Or hanged. Or drawn and quartered. Or…
Well, I won’t get into the details because I’m trying to keep this blog PG. But let’s just say that the Tower of London is called “bloody” for a reason. You absolutely did not want to die here.
Of course, not everyone was executed. In all, the Tower of London has housed over 3,500 criminals – 31 of which have successfully escaped. It has also been the site of 13 unsolved murders.
Today, I want to share with you some of my favorite tales of torture, deception, escapes, and murder.
Come with me as I journey into the dark past of Tower of London.
The bloodiest beheading in English history
We’re coming right out of the gate with a doozy, here.
Born in the Netherlands, James Scott was the eldest of King Charles II’s 13 illegitimate children. Once he was old enough, Scott was persuaded to stake a claim to his father’s throne, believing that Charles II and his mother had married in secret and so he was the rightful heir. (He claimed he had proof of the marriage, though he never produced any evidence.)
In February 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, James II, was crowned the new king. Scott gathered support from Protestant citizens to stage a rebellion against the Roman Catholic rule of King James II, which became known as the Monmouth Rebellion.
It was swiftly crushed.
James escaped the aftermath of the battle and evaded capture for an entire week, during which he was condemned to death. He was found hiding in a ditch.
On 15 July 1685, James Scott was lead to Tower Hill to be executed by a very drunk Jack Ketch in what became the bloodiest execution in English history. It reportedly took between five and eight axe swings and one very horrifying butcher knife to finally finish the job.
Yikes.
The Princes in the Tower
Following the death of Edward IV of England in 1483, his only two surviving sons – Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York – were in line to inherit the throne.
The two young princes were kept in one of the 13 towers inside the Tower of London for their protection in preparation for Edward V’s coronation. They were left under the watchful eye of their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Throughout the summer of 1483, people saw less and less of the two princes, until suddenly they had all but vanished.
Richard took the throne for himself and became Richard III of England.
Then, in 1674, men who were working beneath a staircase in the White Tower accidentally dug up a box which contained two small human skeletons. Although it’s never been proven, these skeletons are widely believed to be those of the two missing princes and are now buried at Westminster Abbey.
Even today, no one knows for sure what happened to those young boys, or even when they actually disappeared. But the most popular theories state that they were smothered in their sleep under the order of their uncle – or perhaps by their uncle – to secure his hold on the throne.
Edward was 12 and Richard was 9.
All dolled up and nowhere to go
On a lighter note, let’s talk about one of the most entertaining prison-breaks ever.
A man named William Maxwell, 5th Earl of Nithsdale, was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1716 for his contribution to the First Jacobite Rising. While he was locked up, his wife gathered a group of female friends and set off to visit her condemned husband for one final goodbye. Then, during the visit, they caused so much commotion sobbing and screaming that the guardsmen conveniently happened to miss several of the ladies smuggling in a clever disguise.
So, dressed to the nines in women’s clothing and face caked with make-up, Lord Nithsdale slipped right past the guards and just waltzed out of the tower with his wife’s friends.
And his wife, being the absolute genius that she is, stayed behind to have an imaginary conversation with her “husband” in the room. She impersonated his voice and everything.
They escaped to Rome, where they remained for the rest of their days.
“Remember, remember, the fifth of November…
…the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.”
A member of the Gunpowder Plot, a failed assassination attempt on King James I in 1605, Guido Fawkes – better known as Guy Fawkes – was captured while guarding barrels of gunpowder hidden in the cellars below Parliament.
Under the pseudonym of “John Johnson,” Fawkes was interrogated and subsequently sentenced to be tortured at the Tower of London to have him reveal the names of his co-conspirators. After several days of intense torture, he finally cracked and gave up the names. They were all tried, found guilty of high treason, and condemned to death.
But on the day of his execution, Fawkes got the last huzzah as he jumped from the gallows and snapped his own neck, killing him instantly and thereby avoiding the long and painful process of being drawn and quartered.
The private execution of Anne Boleyn
Everyone knows the story of Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I and second wife to King Henry VIII, convicted of high treason and beheaded because she was unable to produce a male heir.
Queen Anne Boleyn entered the Tower of London through Traitor’s Gate in 1536 and never left. Unable to produce a son after several attempts, Henry VIII lost interest in Anne and instead started pursuing the noblewoman who would eventually become his third wife, Jane Seymour. But before he could marry Jane, he had to find a way to annul his marriage with Anne.
In the end, the poor woman was charged with high treason on accounts of plotting to kill the King, adultery, and incest with her own brother.
She and several other men, including her brother, were taken to the Tower of London and held there for a long, dismal 18 days. During this time she faced an unfair trial, with unconvincing evidence provided against her and a jury packed with her enemies and jealous ex-lovers, and was found guilty and sentenced to death.
And yet, though she was terrified of being beheaded, eyewitnesses reported that she was happy in the days leading up to her execution… because at least it would be an end to her suffering.
It is said that the executioner was so good and the sword so sharp that, when the severed head was lifted up to face the crowd, her lips were still moving in prayer and her eyes were still fluttering around.
The Nine-Day Queen
Perhaps the saddest story from the Tower of London is the execution of the 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for only nine days.
In 1553, the 15-year-old King Edward VI fell ill and died, naming his first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey, as his successor. Jane was crowned Queen of England and ruled from the White Tower of London with her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, by her side.
But only nine days later, Mary I – Edward VI’s half-sister and the only surviving daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon – petitioned Parliament and proved that she was the rightful heir to the throne. “Bloody Mary” then regained power by storming the Tower of London and imprisoning Jane and her husband in the houses on the Tower Green.
Guildford, her husband, was executed on Tower Hill. She would’ve seen him being forcibly marched across the Tower Green; would’ve heard the cheers of the people as he was executed; would’ve gasped as his headless corpse was wheeled past her room.
From her house on the Tower Green, Lady Jane Grey would have watched the carpenters prepare her own scaffolding.
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore”
And finally… let’s talk about the ravens.
Wild ravens are thought to have first been attracted to the Tower of London due to all of the executions (no surprise there) throughout the centuries. Today, there are six captive ravens who reside within the tower walls, and who themselves have become a tourist attraction.
Many stories exist of ravens being kidnapped, abandoning their “posts,” and there are even a few who fell out of favor of the Crown and were formally retired. And yet despite this, crowds of wild and captive ravens continue to flock to London to see the bloody towers, not unlike tourists.
But this is a good thing. For it is said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the Crown will fall – and Britain with it.
What did you think? Would you like to hear more stories from the Tower of London? Which one was your favorite? Have you been to London? What was your experience like? Leave a comment below and let me know!