Tower of London

A timeline

A short history of the Tower of London

Nearly a thousand years old, the Tower has been a palace, a prison, an armoury, a mint, an observatory and a zoo. Here are the moments that shaped it.

The Tower of London from the River Thames

  1. 1066William arrives

    William the Conqueror wins the Battle of Hastings and begins building a fortress to control London.

  2. 1078The White Tower

    Work begins on the great stone keep that gives the Tower of London its name.

  3. 1279The Royal Mint

    Edward I moves the Royal Mint into the Tower, where it will stay for over 500 years.

  4. 1483The Princes in the Tower

    Edward V and his brother Richard vanish from the Tower — the great unsolved mystery of English history.

  5. 1536Anne Boleyn

    Henry VIII’s second queen is executed on Tower Green. Two more of his queens will follow.

  6. 1671Stealing the Crown Jewels

    Colonel Thomas Blood makes the most audacious — and nearly successful — attempt to steal the Crown Jewels.

  7. 1834The Menagerie closes

    The royal zoo, kept at the Tower for 600 years, moves out to become London Zoo.

  8. 1941Wartime prison

    The Tower’s last prisoner, Rudolf Hess, is held here briefly during the Second World War.

  9. 1988World Heritage Site

    UNESCO inscribes the Tower of London on the World Heritage List.