Tower Wharf
The Tower Wharf is a former wharf in front of the fortress of the Tower of London . Today it functions as a footpath between the Tower and the Thames. From the quay, the Honorable Artillery Company fires a salute on special days of honor, such as the Queen's birthdays.
Built in the 13th century and expanded in the 14th century under Edward III. , the quay has served as a landing stage for transports to and from the Tower of London for centuries. Edward had it expanded during the Hundred Years War against France. The Tower was an important center of English arms production and a collection point for arms from the rest of England. From the tower, they were loaded onto ships via Tower Wharf and brought to France.
Before the quay was built, the Thames flowed along the walls of the tower. The lower parts of the older wall sections of the tower are therefore particularly protected against the river water. However, it happened that the walls were washed away by the river.
Elizabeth I had the wharf renewed between 1592 and 1602 and oriented more towards representative purposes. It was here that official visitors were invited, foreign ambassadors were received, and monarchs visited when they visited the Tower. Prisoners kept in the tower drove through a gate in the wharf to the gate in St Thomas's Tower .
Boat tours to the Tower ran via Tower Pier until the end of the 20th century, and via Tower Millennium Pier since the beginning of the 21st century .
Individual evidence
- ^ Kristen Deiter: The Tower of London in English Renaissance drama: icon of opposition Routledge, 2008 ISBN 0415963176 p. 37
- ^ Adrian Pettifer: English Castles: A Guide by Counties Boydell & Brewer, 2002 ISBN 0851157823 p. 152
- ^ Kristen Deiter: The Tower of London in English Renaissance drama: icon of opposition Routledge, 2008 ISBN 0415963176 p. 58
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 25 " N , 0 ° 4 ′ 35" W.