Prison
For most of its history the Tower of London has been the state prison of England. Men and women charged with, or suspected of, treasonable offences have been confined within its walls.
The Tower, a great medieval castle, was one of the strongest of the monarch’s palaces, and one which, because of its military character and geographical position in the administrative and commercial centre of the kingdom, gradually lost its character as a royal residence and acquired one as a state prison and home of several major offices of state.
The term treason could cover active rebellion, conspiracy or simple religious non-conformism, whether Protestant or Catholic, if this seemed to challenge the authority of the monarch. In the 17th century, prisoners of conscience and conspirators were joined by political prisoners and prisoners of war, but once the political stability associated with the late 18th century had succeeded the upheavals of the 17th century, governments felt less need to imprison their opponents, and the Tower came to be used only as a prison of last resort.
Even when its prison population was at its highest this was never the sole, nor even prime function of the Tower. It continued to house the Mint, some of the Crown Jewels and the Office of Ordnance with its arsenal of armour and weapons and its workshops.
PRISONERS
Prisoners might be held in almost any part of the fortress, depending partly on their rank and the nature of the charge. Most prisoners seem to have been reasonably well lodged and fed, but there were two infamous places of solitary confinement.
The first was the ‘dungeon amongst the ratts’ – described as a sort of cave, 20 feet deep, with no light and which at high tide became infested with rats seeking shelter.
The other cell was known as ‘Little Ease’, a prison so small that a man could neither move nor stand upright.
Inmates of the Tower were either ‘close’ prisoners confined to their cells and not allowed visitors, letters, books or other possessions, or were allowed the’Liberty of the Tower’. This meant that although they had to return to their cells at given times, they could receive visitors and associate with other prisoners.
Each prisoner had his or her own warder and more important often had their servants, and even their wives living with them. Servants and family members had to submit to prison regulations and were not allowed to leave the Tower at will.
There is no complete list of all the prisoners held at the Tower but the most comprehensive to date can be found in ex-Yeoman Warder, Brian Harrison’s book, The Tower of London Prisoner Book, published by the Royal Armouries.
To purchase a copy click here.
