Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) EditionReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) Edition
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
The Tower of London now had outer walls of fortress buildings
surrounded by a wide and deep moat, over which was one stone causeway
and wooden drawbridge. Within this was an inner curtain wall with twelve
towers and an inner moat. The palace within was a principal residence of
English monarchs, whose retinue was extensive, including the chief
officers of state: Lord High Steward, Lord High Chancellor, Lord High
Treasurer, Lord Great Chamberlain, Lord High Constable, Keeper of the
Seals, and the King's Marshall; lesser officials such as the Chamberlain
of the Candles, Keeper of the Tents, Master Steward of the Larder, Usher
of the Spithouse, Marshall of the Trumpets, Keeper of the Books, Keeper
of the Dishes and of the Cups, and Steward of the Buttery; and numbers
of cat hunters, wolf catchers, clerks and limners, carters, water
carriers, washerwomen and laundresses, chaplains, lawyers, archers,
huntsmen, hornblowers, barbers, minstrels, guards and servitors, and
bakers and confectioners. The fortress also contained a garrison,
armory, chapels, stables, forge, wardrobe for a tailor's workroom and
secure storage of valuable clothes, silver plate, and expensive imports
such as sugar, rice, almonds, dried fruits, cinnamon, saffron, ginger,
galingale, zedoary, pepper, nutmeg, and mace. There was a kitchen with
courtyard for cattle, poultry, and pigs; dairy, pigeon loft, brewery,
beehives, fruit stores, gardens for vegetables and herbs; and sheds for
gardeners. There was also a mint, which minted a gold penny worth 2s. of
silver, a jewel house, and a menagerie (with leopards, lions, a bear,
and an elephant). The fortress also served as a state prison. Most
prisoners there had opposed the royal will; they were usually permitted
to live in quarters in the same style they were used to, including
servants and visits by family and friends. But occasionally prisoners
were confined in irons in dark and damp dungeons.
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