The Tower of London's Most Notorious Prisoners

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From Ann Boleyn and Walter Raleigh to Rudolf Hess and the Kray twins, London's iconic Tower of London has held some of history's most notorious figures over its 1000 year history. Host of Gone Medieval podcast Matt Lewis joins Dan to uncover the secrets embedded within the tower's formidable walls. They dive into the deep history of this mighty fortress built by William the Conqueror and tell the stories of the executions, the escapes and the animals that have called the tower home, including a 13th century polar bear who would swim and catch fish in the Thames.

You can find out more about the Tower of London and its notorious prisoners in the History Hit Miscellany book available in bookshops and online.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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Transcript

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0:50.0	Hi everybody, welcome to Dan Snow's history in the 1070s, just a few years after the conquest of England and during the ongoing struggles to make that conquest and enduring occupation.
1:05.0	William the Conqueror started building a massive castle on the edge of what was probably
1:10.0	his most important city of this new kingdom, London. It was down river to the east of London.
1:16.8	Ships could come and go uninterrupted by having to pass through the arches of bridges.
1:22.8	Reinforcements could be brought across the channel from Normandy.
1:27.0	If necessary, those ships could also evacuate members of the Royal Family from the troublesome
1:31.9	city altogether. It was a massive statement of Norman
1:35.2	Control. Even the rock itself was transported from Normandy to build this huge tower inside which William, his family, key officers of state
1:48.0	would be able to shelter from the wrath of Londoners. The tower was so pronounced that even to this day a thousand years later it's still simply known as the Tower.
1:58.6	The Tower of London is one of the most powerful fortresses in Europe because of its central place in the nation's capital as an important
2:05.1	royal centre of power.
2:07.0	It has been enlarged over the centuries.
	...

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