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The Tower of London, officially the Royal Palace and Her Majesty's Fortress, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It is located within the London district of Tower Hamlets, separated from the north limit of the city by an open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, named after the entire castle, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, becoming a symbol of oppression in London by the new ruling elite. From at least 1100, the castle was used as a prison, although this was not the primary purpose.Together, the Tower is a complex of several buildings located within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat; the castle was expanded in several phases, especially under the command of Richard Heart of Leon, Henry III and Edward I in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The general layout of the late thirteenth century has been maintained despite the subsequent activity.
The Tower of London has played a prominent role in the history of England. It was besieged several times and having it controlled was important to control the country. The tower has served as armory, treasury, house of fierce, Royal Mint, public records, and House of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.From the beginning of the fourteenth century until the reign of Charles II, a procession was organized from the tower to the abbey of Westminster at the coronation of a new monarch. It should be noted that in the absence of the monarch, the guard of the tower is in charge of the castle (the guard was a position of trust in the medieval period). At the end of the 15th century, the castle became a prison. Under the reign of the Tudor, the tower was used less as a residence, and despite attempts to refortify and repair the castle, the development of its defenses were left behind for engaging in artillery.
The heyday of the use of the castle as a prison came in the 16th and 17th centuries, when characters like Isabel I (before becoming queen) fell into disgrace and were retained between these walls. This use has resulted in the saying "send to the Tower" as synonymous with "send to prison". Despite its reputation as a place of torture and death, popularized by 16th century religious and 19th century writers, only seven people were executed inside the tower before the World Wars. Executions usually took place at Tower Hill, north of the castle, which in a 400-year period witnessed 112 executions.
In the second half of the 20th century, institutions such as the Mint moved to other locations from the Tower of London, leaving many empty buildings. Architects Anthony Salvin and John Taylor then took the opportunity to restore the tower to its original medieval appearance, removing many of the post-medieval structures that remained empty. During the World Wars, the tower was used again as a prison, witnessing the executions of twelve people for espionage. After the wars, the damage done was repaired and the castle reopened its doors to the public. Today, the Tower of London is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the country. The maintenance is carried out by the charity Historic Royal Palaces, and was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1988, because it is an exceptionally well preserved Norman fortress and its significance as a center of power uninterrupted for centuries and centuries of British and European history.