History of the Tower
The Tower of London is the oldest fortress, palace and prison of its type anywhere in Europe. With a long history of execution, murder and torture, ranging from hanging, beheading, to being hung, drawn and quartered, it is the perfect recipe for a haunted history.
It is no surprise that it ranks as one of the most haunted Castles in Britain. Hundreds of ghost sightings have been reported in and around the Tower over the years.
The first structure on the site was a motte-and-bailey castle, which was started not long after William the Conqueror became king in 1066; the castle was built on the old Roman walls, which once formed the corner of Londinium. The first stone building on the site was the White Tower, which was commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1078 and completed in 1097. It was a bastion of Norman power, towering 90 feet over the capital city.
There have been literally hundreds of executions on Tower Hill, from claimants to the throne, political activists and petty criminals. Many of the towers once held prison cells, and the White Tower once held torture chambers within its crypt. Tower Green outside the White Tower was reserved for Royal executions, while Tower Hill served as the public execution place for all the other traitors.
The first documented sighting of a ghost at the tower was that of Thomas A. Becket. It was reported that during the construction of an inner curtain wall, he appeared and showed his anger at the construction by reducing the wall to a pile of rubble by striking it with his cross.
Read More:
The Tower of London - History of the TowerThe Tower of London - The Tower's Ghosts
The Tower of London - Murder of the two Princes
The Tower of London - Readers Emails
