London - Tower of London 1 of 2

The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames. It was founded toward the end of 1066. The castle was also used as a prison from 1100 until 1952 although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.

The Tower has served variously as an armory, treasury, the Royal mint, and home of the Crown Jewels. The zenith of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures who had fallen into disgrace. Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death, in 16th-century religious propaganda and 19th-century writers, only seven people were executed. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, with 112 occurring there over a 400-year period. In the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle. The Tower was used as a prison again in WWI & WWII and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage.Read more