New Evidence of Tudor and Jacobean Life uncovered at the Tower of London
As part of work to re-lay 19th century cobblestones on Tower Green, shallow excavations for the pavement foundations have unexpectedly revealed extensive remains of a substantial building. Elizabethan prisoners, such as the disgraced courtier, Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel*, incarcerated in the adjacent Beauchamp Tower would have seen this building from their prison windows.
The Tower’s Historic Buildings Curator, Jane Spooner, was aware that fragments of this building still lay beneath Tower Green due to discoveries made nearby in 1975 by Dr Geoffrey Parnell, who is now the Royal Armouries’ Keeper of Tower History, but the sheer extent of the undiscovered remains at such a shallow depth was surprising.
Historic views and plans of London and the Tower show a building in this location from at least 1570. 17th century accounts tell us that the structure was demolished in 1684, and was rebuilt quickly the following year, only to be entirely removed shortly afterwards.
It is described in historic accounts as the ‘Old Main Guard’, or the ‘Warders’ Guardhouse’ and is likely to have been used by the predecessors of today’s Beefeaters (Yeoman Warders) and soldiers.
The foundations, floors, drains and cellar walls uncovered show at least two different building phases – the first is possibly late medieval and the second late 17th century. The finds uncovered by the archaeologists include sherds of ceramic vessels, clay tobacco pipes, animal bones and oyster shells and a rare, nearly whole Bellamine jar with a bearded face mask on it, revealing clues about the tastes and habits of Jacobean warders, not to mention their liking for oysters, which were somewhat cheaper than nowadays…
These archaeological discoveries provide a unique insight into the lives of ordinary people working and living at a royal castle in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Once the archaeology has been investigated and recorded, the cobblestones on Tower Green will be re-laid as part of Historic Royal Palaces’ work to improve access for all visitors.
This discovery comes ahead of new, interactive displays on the theme of ‘prisoners’ which will open in various locations within the Tower at the beginning of July 07. Also, armed with a playing card giving the vital statistics of one real Tower prisoner, visitors will set out on their personalised adventure to discover how different prisoners lived here and their fate – whether death, release or even escape…
*The Earl of Arundel had fallen foul of the Queen for converting to Catholicism and attempting to leave the country. He was imprisoned from 1585 until his death in 1595 at the age of 38.
