The Tower of London

[Prince_Lieven]

Was only royalty kept there? No peasants who didn't pay taxes, and such? And what about the different toture devices they used...what was the worst?

The rack - aka the 'Duke of Exeter's daughter' - was popular, I believe. 

[Ena]

You can make a visit to the Tower an all day occasion.  There is so much there to interest almost everyone.

There is graffiti on the walls.  Prisoners would carve their initials and statements into the stone walls.  These are protected by pieces of plexi-glass.

You can also view the Crown jewels there.  They are housed in a separate room. You step on a moving conveyer to go past them.  There are also coats of armour for several princes and kings. 

[PrincessIncarnate]

I went to London when I was 18 and we didn't visit the Tower because the tour guide sucked. I would revisit of course, but that will be a long time from now...which is why I ask... 

I'm fascinated by the Tower...I wonder what else in other countries is comparable?

[Taren]

I went to London when I was 18 and we didn't visit the Tower because the tour guide sucked. I would revisit of course, but that will be a long time from now...which is why I ask... 

I'm fascinated by the Tower...I wonder what else in other countries is comparable?

I guess on some level you could say the Bastille in France. The prisoners weren't just the nobility, but it has its legends -the man in the iron mask for instance. The storming of the Bastille is also considered one of the defining moments of history. An American counterpart would be... Guantanamo? Goodness only knows what goes on there though.

[bell_the_cat]

Actually the Tower of London was (and is) primarily a royal palace, and only secondarily a prison (for very privileged inmates), by reason of its high degree of security, and it's location at the edge of the City of London. There were other prisons (Newgate, for example) for less noble prisoners.

The Bastille was part of the fortifications of the City of Paris, like the Tower of London, but it was never a palace, and was used  in the 17th and 18th centuries solely as a prison.

I don't think the comparison with Guantanamo Bay is a very good one, I'm afraid.

[Taren]

She wanted the closest thing to a counterpart, and those are both famous prisons, though neither are palaces. I said Guantanamo because it's a famous prison and there's likely some torture going on there. I'm not sure if you'd call those prisoners political. More like prisoners of war, though I don't know if they're bound by the rules of the Geneva convention. Nothing really is comparable to the tower, as I don't know of any other prisons/palaces. I don't know of any royal that would be willing to share his or her home with a prisoner -even if it's not at the same time! 

[PrincessIncarnate]

Thank you for your responses. Was it a class thing to send only royalty to the Tower? A priveledge...almost? Especially considering the monarchs would stay the night there before their coronation. I wonder what made that place so special...its impenetrability? There should be a national Tower of London day in England 

[bell_the_cat]

She wanted the closest thing to a counterpart, and those are both famous prisons, though neither are palaces. I said Guantanamo because it's a famous prison and there's likely some torture going on there. I'm not sure if you'd call those prisoners political. More like prisoners of war, though I don't know if they're bound by the rules of the Geneva convention. Nothing really is comparable to the tower, as I don't know of any other prisons/palaces. I don't know of any royal that would be willing to share his or her home with a prisoner -even if it's not at the same time! 

Also, most of the prisoners in the Tower had a trial (of sorts).

[Prince_Lieven]

She wanted the closest thing to a counterpart, and those are both famous prisons, though neither are palaces. I said Guantanamo because it's a famous prison and there's likely some torture going on there. I'm not sure if you'd call those prisoners political. More like prisoners of war, though I don't know if they're bound by the rules of the Geneva convention. Nothing really is comparable to the tower, as I don't know of any other prisons/palaces. I don't know of any royal that would be willing to share his or her home with a prisoner -even if it's not at the same time! 

Also, most of the prisoners in the Tower had a trial (of sorts).

Of sorts is right - most of them resembled Stalinist show trials. 

[helenazar]

I am not sure if anyone mentioned this already, but in addition to a prison and a one time royal residence, the Tower also used to be a zoo during Victorian times. Today it also holds the crown jewels.

[Kimberly]

And I believe it was a Royal Mint at one time

[PrincessIncarnate]

A Zoo!? That sounds preposterous...

And out of naive curiosity, were commoners allowed to watch the executions? And were there really mass hysteria and excitment when it occured? Several movies that depict traitors being executed show screaming crowds...

[ilyala]

i think the public executions were of commoners - and of charles 1st. i think the noblemen had the courtesy of dying in a more private manner... right?

[Kimberly]

I think that some of the executions of the nobility were "by invitation only"

[Alianore]

There was a menagerie in the Tower from the thirteenth century to the nineteenth.  In 1235, Emperor Frederick II sent Henry III three lions (or leopards, it's not clear), as a wedding present, which were kept there.  Towards the end of its existence, it was open to the public.

Most nobles were executed on Tower Hill, which was outside the Tower and open to the public.  Seven people (William Hastings, Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, Jane Grey, Lady Rochford, the countess of Salisbury, and the earl of Essex) were executed on Tower Green, which was 'by invitation only'.