1080s
Work on the White Tower is under way
1101
Ranulf Flambard, the first known prisoner at the Tower, makes a daring escape
1155
Thomas Becket, keeper of the works at the Tower, carries out repairs
1220s
Henry III starts a major expansion of the royal palace
1251
A polar bear joins the Tower menagerie
1263
Henry III surrenders the Tower to Simon de Montfort
1275-79
Edward I builds St Thomas’s Tower and the watergate now known as Traitors' Gate
1360
John II ‘the Good’ of France lives in great splendour as a prisoner
1381
Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, is dragged out of the Tower and murdered on Tower Hill during the Peasants’ Revolt
1389
Geoffrey Chaucer, clerk of works, oversees completion of Tower Wharf. Chaucer is better known for having written The Canterbury Tales.
1483
The ‘Princes in the Tower’ disappear, presumed murdered
1536
Queen Anne Boleyn is beheaded at Tower Green
1554
Lady Jane Grey, the ‘nine days queen’, is executed. Princess Elizabeth, later Elizabeth I, is imprisoned in the Tower.
1605
Guy Fawkes is tortured at the Tower following the failed Gunpowder Plot to assassinate James I and blow up Parliament.
1671
Colonel Blood attempts to steal the Crown Jewels
1780
The last hangings take place on Tower Hill
1826
Duke of Wellington becomes Constable of the Tower and appoints Yeoman Warders based on their exemplary military service
1835
Tower Menagerie closes. The animals are transferred to the new London Zoo.
1841
Crown Jewels are saved from fire
1850
Koh-i-noor diamond is presented to Queen Victoria
1952
East end London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray are held at the Tower
