Tower of London
The Tower of London is the most visited paid attraction in Britain and one of the most historically significant buildings in the world, a complex of medieval fortifications on the north bank of the Thames that has served across nine centuries as a royal palace, a state prison, a treasury, a menagerie, an arsenal and the home of the Crown Jewels, accumulating in the process a density of historical association that makes it one of the richest single heritage sites anywhere in Europe. The Tower was founded by William the Conqueror immediately after the Norman Conquest and the White Tower at its centre, built between 1076 and 1100, remains one of the finest and most complete Norman buildings in England.
The White Tower, the great keep at the heart of the complex, was built to intimidate the citizens of London and demonstrate the power of the new Norman regime with physical authority. Its massive dimensions, roughly 36 metres by 32 metres in plan and rising to 27 metres, made it the largest secular building in England at the time of its construction and its message of permanent military presence was entirely deliberate. The chapel of St John the Evangelist within the White Tower, a pure and austere Norman Romanesque space of considerable beauty, is one of the oldest intact ecclesiastical interiors in England.
The Crown Jewels housed in the Waterloo Barracks are the most visited attraction within the Tower, the moving walkway carrying visitors past the display cases of regalia, crowns, orbs, sceptres and ceremonial objects that represent the longest continuously maintained royal treasure in the world. The Imperial State Crown, worn by the monarch at the State Opening of Parliament, and the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross, set with the enormous Cullinan I diamond, are among the most valuable and most significant objects in the collection.
The Yeoman Warders, popularly known as Beefeaters, provide guided tours that bring the Tower's layered history vividly to life.