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The White Tower, Tower of London.
The great central keep was built by William the Conqueror and finished by his sons and successors, William Rufus and Henry I. It is 90 feet high and is of massive construction, the walls varying from 15 feet thickness at the base to almost 11 feet in the upper parts. Above the battlements rise four turrets; three of them are square, but that on the northeast is circular. This turret once contained the first royal observatory.
The original single entrance was on the south side and an external staircase reached it. There were no doors at ground level. The walls on the upper floors were penetrated by narrow slits positioned in wide splays. On the southern side, four pairs of original double slits remain. In late 17th and early 18th centuries Sir Christopher Wren replaced all others with the windows seen today.
In the White Tower the medieval kings of England lived with their families and their court. Here was the seat of government and here the laws of the land were made. The royal family lived in the top storey; the council chamber was on the floor below. In this chamber in 1399 Richard II was forced to sign away his throne, and in 1483 Richard III summarily sentenced Lord Hastings to death.
The Royal Armouries is responsible for all the displays in the White Tower, the central keep of the castle complex, and for researching and recording the history of the Tower and the many institutions which have grown up there.
The displays contain many of the examples of royal arms and armour in the Royal Armouries collection, including armours of Henry VIII, Charles I, Charles II and James II. They also reconstruct many of the historical displays of arms and armour for which the Tower is famous, including the Grand Storehouse which was destroyed by fire in 1841
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