The Tower of London, (Vol. 1 of 2)Gower, Ronald Sutherland, Lord
History
The Tower of London, (Vol. 1 of 2)
Gower, Ronald Sutherland, Lord
Tower of London (London, England)
“On coming out of the Tower we were led to a small house close by,
where are kept variety of creatures—viz. three lionesses, one lion
of great size, called Edward VI., from his having been born in that
reign; a tyger; a lynx; a wolf excessively old; this is a very scarce
animal in England, so that their sheep and cattle stray about in great
numbers, free from any dangers, though without anybody to keep them;
there is besides, a porcupine, and an eagle. All these creatures are
kept in a remote place, fitted up for the purpose with wooden lattices
at the Queen’s expense.”
Hentzner, who visited England as tutor to a young German nobleman,
gives a vivid account of what was considered most noteworthy in London
in the days of Elizabeth, and in this the Tower looms large. His
Journal was translated into English from the German and published by
Horace Walpole, who had it printed at Strawberry Hill. We shall meet
with Hentzner again in the White Tower.
Early in the eighteenth century there were eleven lions in the Tower,
and in the _Freeholder_ Addison alludes to the Tower menagerie; later
on, Dr Johnson would growlingly inquire of newly-arrived Scotchmen in
the metropolis, “Have you seen the lions?” In the place where formerly
lions roared and bears were baited, the ticket office and visitors’
refreshment rooms now stand. In France or Germany here would probably
be an attractive restaurant or café; but in these matters we English
are woefully behind our neighbours, and it would be as difficult to
find an appetising luncheon in the Tower as it is to understand why the
art of cooking is so neglected in our country.
Near here, in 1843, when the moat of the fortress was drained of its
waters and cleared of its rubbish, many stone cannon shot were
found, shot which had probably been used when the Yorkists besieged the
Tower in 1460 and cannonaded it from the other side of the Thames. In
Elizabeth’s day this portion of the fortress was named the Bulwark or
the Spur-yard—the origin of the latter term is not known.
[Illustration: _The Byward Tower._]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account