In 2010-11, eleven primary schools from the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Hackney took part in the Tower of London’s Take One Building project. Our focus for 2010-11 was the 13th century Beauchamp Tower.

Built by King Edward I in 1281, the Beauchamp Tower became an important defensive tower on the inner curtain wall of the Tower of London, and helped to protect the heart of the fortress – the iconic White Tower – from invasion. Though it was not built as a prison, the Beauchamp Tower has been used to house prisoners throughout its long history. Many of those imprisoned inside the Beauchamp Tower were incarcerated on religious grounds, and evidence of their devotion to Christ can still be seen in the many intricate and often poignant 16th and 17th century graffiti carvings that still adorn the Tower’s walls today.

Children who took part in the Take One Building project visited the Tower of London for an education workshop designed especially for Take One. Led by a costumed interpreter and conducted on-site, the workshop told the story of Sir Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, who was sent to the Beauchamp Tower in 1585 by Queen Elizabeth I for his refusal to relinquish his Catholic faith. Held in solitary confinement for ten years, Howard was prevented from seeing his wife and never met his newborn son. He died of dysentry in 1595 and was canonised in 1970.