One Building, Many Uses!

It originated as a means of defence for William, who was nervous of Londoners rebelling against his newly established power. Successive monarchs continued to expand the building for similar reason, and even added a moat. This was a large ring of water around the castle, designed to keep strangers and troublemakers away!

A little later, it became the home of ‘The Tower Mint’, which was where all of the coins in Britain were produced and distributed from until the early 1800’s. The Tower is a highly secure building which made it ideal for this purpose, and is also why various Kings and Queens chose to store their valuables in the Tower. The existing collection of ‘Crown Jewels’ have been kept in the Tower for over 350 years, where they are under the constant supervision of armed guards. If you visit the Tower of London today, your ticket will allow you to view the jewels, and see some of the items worn by numerous Kings and Queens during their coronations.

However, the most famous use of the Tower of London, was as a prison…