and stronghold for the Crown Jewels. Initiated around 1080 by William the Conqueror – as a power base and refuge – his central White Tower dominated the skyline for miles around. Over the following three centuries the Tower was expanded into the formidable fortress we see today. The riverside buzzes all day with photosnapping visitors, posing against a backdrop of City Hall, HMS Belfast and Traitor’s Gate, the one-time river entrance for Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More and others sent for execution. The Tower is still garrisoned with soldiers and Yeoman Warders – or Beefeaters – who provide entertaining tours. Why Beefeaters? Because as members of the Royal Bodyguard, they were permitted to eat as much beef as they wanted from the king's table. Remember, Tower Hamlets residents get a very special deal: entrance is only £1 (normally £22 for adults) if you present your Idea Store card and proof of address at the ticket office. Beyond the main entrance gate, wire mesh lions stand poised, a reminder of the Royal Menagerie started here around 1200 by King John. Slope up on the wide walkway – taking a last glance at the poppies – and head left to All Hallows by the Tower (6). All Hallows is the oldest church in the City of London, founded in 675. A visit inside is richly rewarded; you’ll see a Saxon archway, a Roman pavement in the crypt, pew-end sword rests, and model ships suspended in the nave. All Hallows has links with many notables, including William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, notorious Hanging Judge Jeffreys, and Samuel Pepys who watched the Great Fire of London from the church tower. After exploring inside, take the crossing to Trinity Square Gardens (7). This green was the site of the Tower Hill scaffold – where Tudor unfortunates met their end – and also serves as a war memorial to those from the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets with “no grave but the sea”. Edwin Lutyens designed the WWI stone pavilion and the WWII semi-circular garden incorporates Seven Seas reliefs sculpted by Charles Wheeler. Leave the green by the northern gate. To the left, Ten Trinity Square (8) towers on high, built in 1922 as the Port of London Authority headquarters. Maritime connections continue next door with the offices of Trinity House (9), with its elegant neo-classical façade, topped by a golden ship weathervane. Granted a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1514, Trinity House is responsible for managing and maintaining lighthouses and buoys around the UK coastline. Skirt around into Coopers Row. Viscount Wakefield peers down from No 41 – he was instrumental in landscaping Tower Hill – and next door a blue plaque commemorates All Hallows’ vicar Rev Philip ‘Tubby’ Clayton, who founded the international Christian fellowship, Toc H, from a WWI soldiers’ club in Belgium. At the Grange City Hotel, nip through the covered driveway. An impressive section of London Wall (10) stands at the rear, surrounded by office buildings. The tall Kentish ragstone wall reveals signs of staircases and arrow-slit windows; it was a daunting prospect for would-be invaders. From here, retrace a few steps and you’re back at Tower Hill Tube station, the end of your walk. (Left, l-r) The Port of London Authority building; David Wynne’s Girl with Dolphin; harvest at All Hallows by the Tower (Right) A ship at All Hallows by the Tower (Left, top to bottom) Port of London Authority building; the City seen under Tower Bridge. (Main photo) The Tower of London, with the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Redby ceramic artist Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom Piper (Left) The Merchant Seamen’s memorial at Trinity Square Gardens 20 – 26 OCTOBER 2014 N E W S FROM TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL AND YOUR COMMUNITY 19
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