Why was traitors gate bricked up

St Thomas's Tower provided additional royal accommodation for the King and his family. The function of the Tower of London was originally to provide royal power base in the City of London and to provide a retreat for the Royal family in times of civil disorder. This changed over the years and was increasingly used as a prison for enemies of the state accused of treason which was entered via Traitors Gate.

The Tower was last used as a Royal residence by Anne Boleyn when she was preparing for her coronation. It was a tradition that new Kings and Queens of England would make their way from the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey for their coronation.

The death of Anne Boleyn heralded the increased use of the Tower as a prison. The water-gate under St Thomas's Tower has been known for over years as 'Traitors Gate' because of the number of prisoners, accused of treason, who have passed through it. It looks like just the outer wall is now bricked up, so no access direct from the Thames anymore. Borris Caporegime Joined: 25 Oct Posts: 30, To the OP - yes. To be fair, had I not read this thread then I think i would have had no interest in the traitor's gate until it was in front of me, and at that time I doubt I would have a computer to hand.

While comments like "use google" are wholly applicable, I'm glad I took the time to read the thread because I have learned something, and would not have had the thread starter just looked it up immediately. On the other hand, comments like "IBTL" are just imbecillic. So thanks for posting. In fact, prisoners of different status were treated in different ways. Rich and influential inmates were held in relative comfort, deprived only of their liberty.

Some of them were allowed to bring personal servants and were even allowed to go out for hunting. However, those suspected or found guilty of treason or plotting against the monarch had to face the unavoidable sufferings. It was reported to have taken three strokes by the executioner to complete the beheading , James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth beheaded on 15 July , on Tower Hill - all had to enter the Tower by the fearsome Traitors' Gate, as they were brought by barge along the Thames.

They were taken to the tower of London by barge and had to cross the entrance of the door of the traitors. Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII was stripped of her title as queen on 23 November , on the grounds of treason for committing adultery. She was beheaded on 13 February, at the age of However, support for her half-sister Mary grew very quickly and most of Jane's supporters abandoned her.

Her primary supporter, the Duke of Northumberland, was accused of treason and executed less than a month later. Jane was captivated as a prisoner at the Tower and was convicted of high treason in November Initially, Mary spared her life. She was taken to the Tower on 18 March , by barge. She was aware that her mother, Anne Boleyn, had been executed on the Tower Green when she was only three years old.

It was raining heavily, when she was to land at the gate. At first, Elizabeth vehemently refused to land and angrily proclaiming that she was no traitor. However, finally she had to surrender helplessly, as she had no choice but to be led into the Tower. Nevertheless, subsequently she was released, as there was no evidence of Elizabeth's involvement in the plot. Imprisonment and execution at the Tower continued intermittently until the German spy Josef Jakobs was shot by firing squad in Maybe Jersey.

Then a bit of island hopping to Guernsey and France. All of that sounds like a good holiday plan to me. I had heard of this gate but was not aware of the back story; very interesting and a great shot to go with it, CP. I am glad you found the information interesting. I remember this on the only tour I ever did of the tower back in the day.

The poppies filled the moat so there is no particular relevance. I liked the added colour they gave to the gate and took advantage of the one off photo opportunity. Free WordPress Theme. Cherie's Place Random thoughts and photos of my journey through life….