Tower of London on fireBurning of the Tower of London.
Tower of London on fire
TheTower of London is one of the greatest curiosities in that famous city. It stands on the north bank of the river Thames, in the eastern part of the city. It consists of several buildings, erected at various times, all enclosed by a high wall, on which cannon are mounted. The wall encloses twelve acres of ground. The middle building is at once the oldest and tallest of the group: it is a large quadrangular structure, with a number of large rooms, and having a tower at each corner. This is called the White Tower, and measures 116 by 96 feet, and is 92 feet high.
Connected with this great building, are the grand storehouse, ordnance office, jewel office, and the chapel, beside many other edifices. In the chapel lie the remains of many celebrated persons, who have been executed here or who died in prison. Among the rest, are Anne Boleyn, the unfortunate; Katherine Howard, the guilty; Essex, the brave but rash favorite of queen Elizabeth.
The tower of London was begun by EdwardIII., in the thirteenth century, by the construction of the white tower. It was designed as a royal palace, and as such was occupied for a time. In the time of HenryVIII., it had acquired a horrid celebrity as a state’s prison. Here many persons have been incarcerated for years by the government; and it is curious to remark, that many of those who have even perished by the axe in this prison, are now regarded as among the greatest and best of mankind. In the dungeons which are beneath the white tower, it is said that Sir Walter Raleigh wrote his celebrated history of the world.
The whole of the white tower may be termed a storehouse, at the present day. It contains many thousand stand of arms, all kept in perfect order, and beautifully arranged; vast military stores, beside a multitude of papers and documents in what is called the round office.
The armories in the tower consisted of three vast collections, viz., the “Horse Armory,” “Queen Elizabeth Armory,” and the “Small Arms Armory.” The two first are collections of ancient armor; and though chiefly kept as objects of curiosity, they are exceedingly interesting. Here are to be seen almost every kind of armor, from the earliest period of English history.
The horse armory is kept in a building erected for the purpose in 1825. Queen Elizabeth’s armory is kept in an edifice recently erected for the purpose. The Small Arms armory was kept in a splendid building, called the grand storehouse, begun by JamesII., and finished by WilliamIII.It was this vast structure which was burnt to the ground on the night ofOct.30th, 1841. The engraving represents the building on fire in the foreground, with the turrets of the white tower a little in the distance.
This awful conflagration originated accidentally from an over-heated stovepipe. It burst forth near the middle of the night, and from its elevated position and the vastness of the pyramid of flame, it wrapped the whole of London in a glow of light, and aroused its mingled population with the most intense feeling of interest. “The tower is on fire! the tower is on fire!” rung through every street and lane and archway, sending a thrill of mingled sublimity and fear to every heart.
There is probably no one object in London better known than the tower. It is associated in every mind with some of the darkest transactions in English history. Here the young princes were murdered by RichardIII.Here Mary of Scotland was executed. Here, too, every one had been to see the vast displays of armor; the trophies won by Wellington, Nelson, and other heroes, in a thousand battles;the gorgeous jewels of the crown; the menagerie, with its lions, tigers, and other animals of foreign lands. What must, then, have been the emotions excited, when the midnight cry, which announced its destruction, rang through the city, and when the ruddy light of its flames gushed in at every window?
When the fire was first discovered, it appeared as though the whole collection of buildings must be destroyed: but by great efforts the flames were checked, and only the grand storehouse was burnt. This, however, was reduced to a heap of ashes, and with it have been destroyed all those vast stores of arms, and the many triumphant mementos of England’s prowess by land and sea, which have so long rendered it an object of surpassing interest. It contained, on the ground floor, a most extraordinary train of artillery. There were cannon and great engines of war, of almost every nation, and of every age, from the time of the invention of gunpowder down to the present day. Many of them were associated with England’s most glorious military and naval triumphs; others with the names of her greatest commanders, and most illustrious sovereigns. They presented an exhibition as curious to the engineer as interesting to the patriot, and such a one as no country but Great Britain could boast of; but she can boast of it no longer.
On the first floor was the splendid room, known as the “Small Armory,” and one of the grandest apartments in Europe. It contained, exposed to view, and in cases, nearly 150,000 stand of arms. The whole of this building, with the exception of the bare shell, is in utter ruins, its contents blended together in one mass of destruction.
“He who awatchwould wear, two things must do:Pockethis watch, andwatchhis pocket too.”
“He who awatchwould wear, two things must do:Pockethis watch, andwatchhis pocket too.”
“He who awatchwould wear, two things must do:
Pockethis watch, andwatchhis pocket too.”