Take your punishment: The Tower of London

I personally looked forward to the Tower of London more than almost anything else this trip, which means I could have been disappointed, but I was not. It does cost to go to the Tower, so keep that in mind if you make it a requirement for students. However, I think if you are teaching Criminal Justice, it's a must and really worth it. I taught a theme of Surveillance, Discipline and Punishment using Michel Foucault in my Comp II this semester, so of course it was appropriate for them. If you feel guilty for making the students go on a paid excursion, make it a requirement with extra credit points added. I mean if they want to whine about it, maybe remind them it is a major part of British history...built in the Norman Conquest for pete's sake. The Norman Conquest!

The Tower is a real medieval castle - about 1,000 years old. It's right there in town, on the Thames, and it still houses the crown jewels, which you can view while you're there. There are great views of London and Tower Bridge from the battlements, and you can explore all areas of the castle including where prisoners were kept. The dungeon is actually now the gift shop. The ticket includes an hourly tour, which I highly recommend. The tours are led by a real yeoman warder, or "beefeater" in uniform, and you get the full stories of the executions (and murders) that took place in early times, including the beheading of Anne Boleyn, which is a gnarly one.

If you tour a castle, you will have plenty of opportunity to see suits of armor of all kinds. Many of these were worn by real kings, or the real kings as boys. This suit was obviously not for a little boy, hence the codpiece there.

This crossbow is on display highlighting as well the cross-shaped arrow holes found all over the castle (in every castle...including Windsor as you will see in an upcoming post.)

The early castle featured a "royal menagerie" of all manner of exotic beasts, which are memorialized throughout the place with brass wire figures like these baboons.

The battlements feature a view of the Shard beyond the Bell Tower, as well as a lot of really cool photo-perfect views. I didn't do a pano, but I wish I had.

A "block" for execution, with an example of the "Scavenger's Daughter" behind it. I will expound upon these in my post about the Clink Prison Museum. Hilariously, the Tower had a lot of interactive activities for kids inside, despite the pretty macabre subject matter.

The Bloody Tower, so called because it was the site of the murder of the Princes in the Tower, namely prince Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury who were murdered in the 15th century (over inheritance obviously.)

A detail inside St. John's Chapel.

This is a dragon made of shields, swords, cannons, and all other manner of armament and device featured in the Tower. 

According to the Royal Collection Trust website: The Horse Armory features some remains of a display called the "Line of Kings" in which all the monarchs, from William the Conqueror all the way down, were shown in armor atop their horses.

Like all the royal palaces, there is an armed guard with a big furry hat who marches solemnly to and fro at intervals.

All tours are led by real yeoman warders, actual military men - not actors - in uniform. "And it is a uniform...not a costume, not an outfit...a uniform," as our guide said. After joking about his water bottle containing gin, he said, "Calm down...the bottle does not contain gin, it's water. And gin."

Or something to that effect. We definitely got the best guide available.

This isn't the actual rack, which was lost...it's a replica.

You can also see the ravens of the Tower, either at their designated area or flitting about the castle. This is my favorite photo of the trip.

Traitors Gate, where the condemned would enter the castle from the Thames.

The White Tower at the center is the keep, where the king or his representative actually lived. It is supposedly the most complete 11th century castle in all of Europe.

A view of the inner ward.

Note to teachers: If you are teaching Criminal Justice or teaching Foucault's Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, the tour offered at the Tower is a great supplement to what you might be learning about medieval forms of punishment for crimes.