The Tower Of Old London
A contemplative moment at the Tower
Rummaging through the thousands of glass slides from the collection of the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society, used for magic lantern slides a century ago at the Bishopsgate Institute, I came upon these enchanting pictures of the Tower of London.
The Tower is the oldest building in London, yet paradoxically it looks even older in these old photographs than it does today. Is it something to do with the straggly beards upon the yeoman warders? Some inhabit worn-out uniforms as if they themselves are ancient relics that have been tottering around the venerable ruins for centuries, swathed in cobwebs. Nowadays, yeoman warders are photographed on average four hundred times a day and they have learnt how to work the camera with professional ease, but their predecessors of a century ago froze like effigies before the lens displaying an uneasy mixture of bemusement and imperiousness. Their shabby dignity is further undermined in some of these plates by the whimsical tinter who coloured their uniforms in clownish tones of buttercup yellow and forget-me-not blue.
As the location of so many significant events in our history, the Tower carries an awe-inspiring charge for me. And these photographs, glorying in the magnificently craggy old walls and bulbous misshapen towers, capture its battered grim monumentalism perfectly. Today, the Tower focuses upon telling the stories of prisoners of conscience that were held captive there rather than displaying the medieval prison guignol, yet an ambivalence persists for me between the colourful pageantry and the inescapable dark history. In spite of the tourist hordes that overrun it today, the old Tower remains unassailable by the modern world.
The Ceremony of the Keys, c.1900
Salt Tower, c. 1910
Byward Tower, c.1910
Bloody Tower, c. 1910
The Tower seen from St Katharine’s Dock, c.1910
Tower Green, c.1910
View from Tower Hill, c, 1900
Upon the battlements, c. 1900
View from the Thames, c. 1910
Bell Tower, c.1900
Bloody Tower, c. 1910
Courtyard at the Tower, c.1910
Byward Tower, c 1910
Yeoman warders at the entrance to Bloody Tower, c. 1910
Vegetable plot in the former moat adjoining the Byward Tower, c.1910
Byward Tower, c. 1900
Water Lane, c 1910
Rampart, c 1900
Yeoman Gaoler – “displaying an uneasy mixture of bemusement and imperiousness.”
Middle Tower, c. 1900
Steps leading from Traitors’ Gate, c. 1900
Steps inside the Wakefield Tower, c. 1900
The White Tower, c. 1910
Royal Armoury, c. 1910
Beating the Bounds, c. 1920
Cannons at the Tower of London, c. 1910
Queen’s House, c. 1900
Elizabeth’s Walk, Beauchamp Tower, c. 1900
Yeoman Warder, c. 1910
Tower seen from St Katharine’s Dock, c. 1910
Images courtesy Bishopsgate Institute
Residents of Spitalfields and any of the Tower Hamlets may gain admission to the Tower of London for one pound upon production of an Idea Store card.
You may like to take a look at these other Tower of London stories
Chris Skaife, Raven Keeper & Merlin the Raven
Alan Kingshott, Yeoman Gaoler at the Tower of London
Graffiti at the Tower of London
Beating the Bounds at the Tower of London
Ceremony of the Lilies & Roses at the Tower of London
Bloody Romance of the Tower with pictures by George Cruickshank
John Keohane, Chief Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London
Constables Dues at the Tower of London
The Oldest Ceremony in the World
A Day in the Life of the Chief Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London
The picture of the steps inside the Wakefield Tower is amazing. So much depth and so mysterious.
These photos are wonderful; thank you so much for finding them! Aside from the ghastliness of the tinted uniform – which makes it look a bit like a clown suit – the Byward Tower doesn’t look like that anymore, does it?
Oooops, I may be wrong about the Byward Tower – I see Joanna Moore’s 2012 drawings resemble the 1910 photos…
Great to see pictures of the Tower without it being overshadowed by massive office blocks!
Great photographs of the Tower.
Those young lads beating the bounds look as if they are enjoying themselves!
Thanks for the special pictures of the Tower. The Beating the Bounds ritual will probably take place again soon, won’t it?
Love & Peace
ACHIM
… And within a few years of the 1910 photos, The Great War had begun and the Tower was once again hosting executions, Death by firing squad was the fate awaiting captured spies.
It’s a wonderful place, having visited several times. My 11 year old follows in many others footsteps in June.
Really interesting. My Great Great Grandfather was a Yeoman warder from 1868 to 1891 and they lived in the Salt Tower where he raised his young family. My Great Grandfather who was baptised in the Tower enlisted into the army there in 1895.
Great pics yes lots of ghosts in thee tower but in 2014 my husband guy Fawkes and Thomas wintour and Jack kit Wright and Chris kit Wright and Robert wintour left thee tower and live wyth me don’t forget you can see our book as we have donated along wyth a calendar to raise funds for president vododymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine
Loved those veggie plots in the moat!
Wonderful images, even if the Yeoman Warders do appear rather ‘jaundiced’ looking!