The Tower of London is one of the most popular attractions in London. Pocahontas went there too. That was 400 years ago.
The Tower of London
There was a bit of an animal theme today, as it turned out, starting with this cutie.
A cute bulldog at the Tower of London
The Tower of London is a collection of towers and other buildings inside two concentric walls. It’s a fortress over 900 years old. The half-timbered building on Tower Green is the Queen’s House, built in 1540 and as historic paint expert Patrick Baty says, it’s “the most complete high-status timber-framed building in London pre-dating the Great Fire of 1666”.
Tudor Queen’s House on Tower Green at the Tower of London
Just along from Tower Green is the way into the Bloody Tower. Sir Walter Raleigh was a prisoner at the Tower of London three times. The longest period by far was almost 13 years ending in 1616. This room is set up with furniture from the time, showing how his study would have looked.
Sir Walter Raleigh’s room in the Bloody Tower
A quite exciting find there is an original version of the book he completed in 1614, History of the World.
Sir Walter Raleigh’s book, History of the World, written in 1614
In 1616, Pocahontas visited London with her English husband, John Rolfe. Raleigh had only been out of prison in the Tower for a few months, but he took her back there with him to visit another prisoner friend.
On our visit to the Tower we saw a costumed interpreter leading a group of school children on an educational tour. Her outfit was very much like the English clothing Pocahontas is wearing in the only known portrait of her, drawn in London shortly after her arrival.
An educator at the Tower of London in an outfit similar to one Pocahontas wore in London in 1616
There is more to this story but it’s late at night now! I’ll be back to put up more pictures and finish the tale of Pocahontas at the Tower.
Disclosure
This is my standard form of disclosure that I am retroactively adding to all blog posts done before April 1, 2018, and will add to all new posts.
1. Is this experience open to the public?
Yes.
2. Who paid the cost of me doing this?
I did.
3. Did I get any compensation or special consideration for writing this blog post?
No.
4. Would I be as positive about this place if I had gone as a regular visitor?
Yes. I did go as a regular visitor.
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