NOTE. Occasional references to the Tower have been made in the preceding chapters. Its history in full would be the history of England and far too extended for the scope of this work; therefore an outline only is given, with reference in brief to many important prisoners who were confined or suffered within its gloomy walls. [Illustration: _Great Court of the Tower of London_ Ancient palace-citadel of London, and famous state prison, whose history began with William the Conqueror. The chief buildings of the group are the work of Norman kings and Henry III. Familiar as the place of durance and scene of death of many prisoners of royal blood and political importance.] FOOTNOTES: [274:1] They have since been repeated, but accompanied by more premeditation, in the case of Lefroy, who murdered Mr. Gould in a first-class carriage on the Brighton line in 1881. CHAPTER X THE TOWER OF LONDON Location—Traditions of ancient fortifications—William the Conqueror and Gundulf the Builder—Additions by other kings—The first prisoners—Royal tenants—Richard Duke of Gloucester and the "Two Little Princes"—Increase in number of prisoners during Tudor period—Anne Boleyn's two visits to the Tower—Another queen's fate—The "Nine Days' Queen" and her friends—Spanish influence fills the Tower—Sir Walter Raleigh—Lady Arabella Stuart—Executions grow fewer—Culloden—The last man beheaded in England—Present uses of the Tower. On the north bank of the Thames, a half mile below London Bridge and just east of the old city of London, stands an irregular pile of buildings with walls, battlements and moat which fires the imagination, and grips the fancy as no other group in the world can do. The Tower of London, in turn fortress, palace and prison—sometimes all three simultaneously—and now a storehouse and museum, has a continuous existence almost as long as England's history. Tradition says that the Britons had a stronghold here before Cæsar came; that the great Roman himself ordered the walls strengthened; that the Saxon kings held court on the site. Certainly excavations for various purposes made from time to time have revealed masonry and relics of all three periods. The Tower as we have it to-day goes back only to the Norman kings. William the Conqueror's keen eye saw the advantage of this low hill and wished a fortress which should command the river and help to overawe the turbulent city to the west. Gundulf, a Benedictine monk, whom he had made Bishop of Rochester, and who had shown his ability by rebuilding the cathedral there, set to work in 1078 or 1079 on the keep, or White Tower.