| Famous
people imprisoned at the Tower of London |
The Tower
of London
was begun by William the Conqueror in 1066 when he had a wooden
palisade built where the White
Tower now stands. In 1097 this was
rebuilt in stone and over the following centuries successive
monarchs extended and improved the fortress.
In
earlier centuries it has been used as a Royal residence in times
of conflict but its most famous function was that of a prison
and place of execution for people deemed a particular threat
to the monarch and therefore the State.
Tower
of London
Here is a selection of some of the famous prisoners held in
the Tower from 1101 until 1941, listing when they were held
there, why and what happened to them.
|
|
12th century
|
Rannulf
Flambard
Bishop of Durham |
1100-1101 |
The
first known prisoner of the Tower of London was sent there by
Henry
I. Flambard was also the first known to have escaped. Using
sheets tied together, he climbed from his window in the White
Tower and fled the stronghold. |
 |
|
|
13th century
|
|
Hubert
de Burgh
Earl of Kent
|
1232-1234 |
Being
regent to Henry
III made de Burgh one of the most powerful men in the land
but this didn't stop him being imprisoned in the Tower when
he fell out of favour with Henry in 1232. De Burgh spent two
years in the Tower and although he was eventually pardoned he
never regained his former power after his release. |
| |
|
|
Gruffydd
ap Llewelyn
Fighter for Welsh independence |
1241-1244 |
Also
using sheets tied together, he attempted to escape, this time
from the roof of the White
Tower. The sheets didn't hold and
he fell to his death. |
| |
|
|
John
de Balliol
King of Scotland |
1296-1299 |
Captured
by the English in Scotland in 1296, he was kept prisoner in
different castles throughout England including three years in
the Salt Tower.
He was eventually released into exile to his estates in France. |
|
|
|
14th century
|
William
Wallace
Fighter for Scottish independence |
1305 |
Betrayed
to the English, he was imprisoned in the Tower for a short time
before being executed at Smithfield.
William
Wallace |
| |
|
|
|
David
II
King of Scotland
|
1346-1356 |
Captured
at the Battle
of Neville's Cross in Durham.
He was kept in the White Tower
until he was moved to make way for an even more important prisoner,
King John II of France. Moved to Odiham
Castle in Hampshire, he was released
on payment of a ransom the following year. |
| |
|
|
John
II
King of France |
1356-1360 |
Captured
at Poitiers
by Edward
the Black Prince. He was imprisoned with his son in the
White Tower.
He was also kept for a time at other locations including at
Hertford Castle in Hertfordshire.
He was eventually released so that he could return to France
to raise his own ransom, his son being kept in England as part
of the agreement. But while in France his son escaped, breaking
the agreement, and so John, seeing his honour at stake, returned
to London in 1364, dying there the same year.
|
| |
|
|
Richard
II
Plantagenet King of England |
1399 |
Deposed
by the future Henry
IV, he was imprisoned in the White
Tower. Forced
there to abdicate, he was then transferred to Pontefract
Castle in Yorkshire where he was murdered the following
year.
Richard
II |
|
|
|
15th century
|
James
I
King of Scotland |
1406-1408 |
Captured
at sea en route to France when his ship was blown ashore at
Flamborough
Head, Yorkshire. When his father, Robert
III, heard of his capture he reputedly
died of a broken heart.
The new Scottish King was kept in the Tower for two years before
being moved to Nottingham Castle.
He stayed there until 1424 when he was released on payment of
a ransom. |
| |
|
|
| Charles,
Duke of Orleans |
1415-1440 |
Captured
at the Battle of Agincourt.
After a quarter of a century of imprisonment at the Tower and
other castles he was released on payment of a ransom. |
| |
|
|
Henry
VI
Lancastrian King of England |
1465-1470
1471 |
Deposed
twice by the future Edward
IV he was imprisoned both times in the Wakefield
Tower where in 1471 he was murdered
while at worship.
Henry
VI |
| |
|
|
|
Margaret
of Anjou
Wife of Henry
VI
|
1471-1476 |
Captured
at the Battle
of Tewkesbury.
After being kept at the Tower and other castles she was released
on payment of a ransom and went into exile in France.
Margaret
of Anjou |
| |
|
|
George,
Duke of Clarence
Brother of Edward
IV
and Richard
III |
1477-1478 |
He
was imprisoned in the Bowyer
Tower by his brother for treason.
He was murdered at the Tower the following year, reputedly by
being drowned in a barrel of wine. |
| |
|
|
Edward
V
Uncrowned Yorkist King of England |
1483 |
Imprisoned
by his uncle, the future Richard
III, on the death of his father Edward
IV. He was murdered with his brother, probably in the Garden
Tower which has since become known
as the Bloody Tower.
Edward
V |
| |
|
|
|
Duke
of York
Brother of Edward
V
|
1483 |
Imprisoned
by his uncle, the future Richard
III, on the death of his father Edward
IV. He was murdered with his brother, probably in the Garden
Tower which
has since become known as the Bloody Tower. |
|
|
|
16th century
|
Thomas More
Politician |
1534-1535 |
Imprisoned
by Henry
VIII in the Bell Tower
for high treason. He was publicly beheaded on Tower
Hill. He is buried in the Tower's
chapel, St Peter ad Vincula.
Thomas
More
More in the Tower |
| |
|
|
Anne
Boleyn
Second wife of
Henry VIII |
1536 |
Imprisoned
in the Lieutenant's House
by her husband Henry
VIII for treason (adultery). She was beheaded
using the French method of a sword instead of an axe. She was
one of seven people who were given private executions on Tower
Green, away from the eyes of the public.
She is buried in the Tower's chapel, St Peter ad Vincula.
Anne
Boleyn |
| |
|
|
Thomas
Cromwell
Politician |
1540 |
Imprisoned
by Henry
VIII. He was publicly beheaded on Tower
Hill.
Thomas
Cromwell |
| |
|
|
Catherine
Howard
Fifth wife of Henry
VIII |
1542 |
Imprisoned
by her husband Henry
VIII. She was one of seven people who were beheaded on Tower
Green, away
from the eyes of the public. She is buried in the Tower's chapel,
St Peter ad Vincula.
Catherine
Howard |
| |
|
|
Anne
Askew
English Protestant |
1546 |
The
only woman to have been tortured at the Tower, Anne Askew had
been arrested under the charge of heresy, a result of her openly
preaching her Protestant beliefs. She was imprisoned in the
Cradle Tower
and burnt at the stake at Smithfield.
|
| |
|
|
Thomas Cranmer
Archbishop of Canterbury |
1553-1554 |
Imprisoned
in the Bloody Tower
he was taken to Oxford
where he was burnt at the stake in 1556.
Thomas
Cranmer |
| |
|
|
Guilford
Dudley,
Husband of Lady
Jane Grey |
1553-1554 |
Executed
on the same day as his wife, he was publicly beheaded on Tower
Hill. He
is buried with her in the Tower's chapel, St Peter ad Vincula.
|
|
|
|
Lady
Jane Grey,
Uncrowned Tudor Queen of England and Ireland |
1553-1554 |
Deposed
and imprisoned in the Lieutenant's
House by Mary
I. Executed on the same day as her husband, she was one
of seven people who were beheaded on Tower
Green, away from the eyes of the public.
She is buried in the Tower's chapel, St Peter ad Vincula.
Lady
Jane Grey |
| |
|
|
Princess
Elizabeth
Future Elizabeth I, Tudor Queen of England and Ireland |
1554 |
Imprisoned
in the Bell Tower
for eight weeks by her sister Mary
I. She was transferred to Woodstock
in Oxfordshire.
Elizabeth
I |
|
|
|
|
17th
century
|
Guy
Fawkes
Gunpowder
Plot
conspirator |
1605-1606 |
Arrested
during the night of November 4-5th whilst preparing to blow
up Parliament during the next day's royal opening by the Catholic
James
I. He was kept at the Queen's
House before being executed in front
of the Houses of Parliament in January the following year.
Guy
Fawkes |
| |
|
|
Walter Ralegh
Adventurer |
1592
1603-1616
1618 |
In
1592 Ralegh was imprisoned in the Brick
Tower by Elizabeth
I for marrying one of her ladies-in-waiting without her
permission. In 1603 James
I accused him of treason and had him imprisoned for a second
time, this time in the Bloody
Tower.
He spent the next 13 years there during which he wrote his bestselling
"History of the World". He was released in 1616 to
command an expedition to find gold in South America, but when
this failed he was rearrested on his return to England in 1618
and put once more in the Tower. The same year he was beheaded
in front of the Houses of Parliament.
Walter
Ralegh |
| |
|
|
William
Laud
Archbishop of Canterbury |
1640-1645 |
Impeached
by Parliament for being a threat to Protestantism he was imprisoned
for treason and publicly beheaded on Tower
Hill.
William
Laud |
|
|
|
William D'Avenant
Poet Laureate |
1650-1652 |
A
supporter of the executed Charles
I, D'Avenant was on his way from exile in France to the
USA when his ship was captured in the English Channel. He was
imprisoned in the Tower but later released. |
| |
|
|
William
Penn
Quaker founder of Pennsylvania |
1668-1669 |
Imprisoned
for publishing controversial religious pamphlets. He was released
after seven months.
William
Penn |
| |
|
|
Samuel
Pepys
Diarist |
1679 |
Imprisoned
for maladministration in his job at the Admiralty. He was released
after six weeks.
Samuel
Pepys |
| |
|
|
Duke
of Monmouth
Son of Charles
II |
1685 |
Imprisoned
after being defeated at the Battle
of Sedgemoor.
He was publicly beheaded on Tower
Hill. He is buried in the Tower's
chapel, St Peter ad Vincula.
Duke
of Monmouth |
| |
|
|
Judge
Jeffreys
Judge |
1688-1689 |
Notorious
for his severity at dealing with opponents to the crown he was
especially active during the reign of the Catholic James
II. He dealt brutally with supporters of the Monmouth
Rebellion in the West Country in what became known as the
"Bloody Assizes".
But when James II fled the country after the Glorious Revoluton
of 1688 Jeffreys was imprisoned in the Tower, dying the following
year in the Bloody Tower
due to excessive alcohol consumption. |
| |
|
|
Duke
of Marlborough
Soldier and future commander
of British forces during the War of the Spanish Succession and
victor at Blenheim in 1704 |
1692 |
Imprisoned
for suspicion of harbouring sympathies for the exiled James
II. He was released after six weeks.
Duke
of Marlborough |
|
|
|
18th century
|
Robert Walpole
Future Prime Minister |
1712 |
Imprisoned
for corruption. He was released after six months and from 1721
until 1742 became Britain's first and longest ever serving "Prime
Minister" under George
I.
Robert
Walpole |
| |
|
|
Simon
Fraser, Lord Lovat
Scottish Jacobite |
1746-1747 |
Captured
after the Battle
of Culloden he became the last ever man to be beheaded in
Britain when he was publicly executed on Tower
Hill. He is buried in the Tower's
chapel, St Peter ad Vincula.
Lord
Lovat |
| |
|
|
Flora
Macdonald
Scottish Jacobite |
1746-1747
|
Imprisoned
for helping Charles Stuart "Bonnie
Prince Charlie" escape to the continent after defeat at
the Battle
of Culloden. She was released the following year.
Flora
Macdonald |
| |
|
|
Henry
Laurens
American leader and president of the Continental Congress |
1781-1782 |
Captured
on a diplomatic mission en route to the Netherlands during the
American
War of Independence.
He was released in exchange for the British General Cornwallis
who had surrendered at Yorktown in Virginia, the defeat which
heralded the end of British involvement in the United States. |
|
|
|
20th century
|
Rudolf
Hess
Deputy to Adolf Hitler |
1941 |
Captured
in Scotland where he had flown to from Germany. He was kept
in the Lieutenant's House
for four days before being transferred to Mytchett Place, a
country house in Surrey. |
|
|
|
