HM Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London - 2 Quiz

Answer: Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

The initial construction of 'Waterloo' Barracks began in 1841 with the Duke of Wellington, then the appointed Constable of the Tower of London, laying the first foundation stone on the 14th of June 1845. The barracks, initially intended to quarter the 1,000 soldiers responsible for the maintenance of order within the City of London, are used today to quarter the members of the guard at the Tower, a body of men which number considerably less than one thousand!

Although he is considered one of Great Britain's most prominent military figures and heroes, Arthur Wellesley was, in fact, born in Ireland of Anglo-Irish descent on the 1st of May 1769. Wellesley, who had initially desired a career in music contrary to the wishes of his family, finally joined the army in 1787 at the insistence of his mother. After an eventful military career, during which Wellesley fought, with distinction, in the Peninsular Wars in Spain, Wellesley became the 1st Duke of Wellington, a title that was bestowed on him in 1814, just a year before the victory over Napoleon at The Battle of Waterloo for which he is best remembered. After Wellesley's military career ended he entered politics eventually serving as Prime Minister for two terms, the first from January 1828 until November 1830 and the second, only very briefly from November to December 1834. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS passed away whilst at Walmer Castle in Kent on the 14th of September 1852.

Answer: The Two Princes

The tale of the 'Two Princes' is one of the Tower of London's most enduring stories and, possibly, one of the greatest mysteries in the history of England.

On the 9th of April 1483, King Edward IV of England died leaving his wife, Queen Elizabeth (Woodville), and his two young sons, the heir to the throne, Edward aged 12 and younger brother Richard aged 9. The Queen was very unpopular at this time and the king decreed that his brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester, would become Lord Protector until Edward became old enough to become king himself. The wily Richard took this opportunity and moved quickly, taking the young Edward into his custody whilst his brother Richard took sanctuary at Westminster with his mother and sisters. It took the Duke of Gloucester six weeks to raise enough support to enable him to pressure the Queen into surrendering her youngest son into his care and to have both princes imprisoned in the Tower of London. Both were seen regularly around the Tower grounds until June 1483 when they simply vanished. Having had both princes declared illegitimate, Richard himself was crowned king on the 6th of July 1483, becoming King Richard III. No attempt was made by Richard III to prove that they were alive or dead and they were never seen or heard from again. After the discovery of the two small skeletons, both were interred within Westminster Abbey by order of King Charles II. Over the years a number of attempts to identify the remains have been made. The first, in 1933, proved inconclusive and other, more recent requests for the remains to be DNA tested have not been approved by HM Queen Elizabeth II and, without her consent further testing will not be permitted.

Ironically King Richard III became the subject of a mystery of his own when, after his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, his remains disappeared. His final resting place was unknown until a skeleton was discovered buried under a car park in Leicester, England in September 2012. On the 4th of February 2013, after 527 years, it was confirmed, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the remains were those of the missing king.

Answer: True

Known as the 'Royal Menagerie' this private zoo was established during the reign of King John with the first exotic animals arriving at the Tower of London in around 1204. In 1235, King Henry III received, as a tribute to the Plantagenet coat of arms, three leopards from Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor.

It must be remembered that heraldic lions are referred to as 'leopards'. An elephant that was presented to the menagerie from King Louis IX of France in 1255, died shortly afterwards, the keepers believing that this huge herbivore could survive on a diet of prime beef! Over a period of 600 years or so the Royal Menagerie had been home to many exotic creatures which included lions, tigers, panthers, porcupines, raccoons and even a polar bear. During the reign of Elizabeth I, the menagerie ceased to exist purely for the enjoyment of the royal court and was opened to the public and became something of a popular attraction. Over the following two hundred years the menagerie thrived but by the early years of the 19th century it began to fall into terminal decline and, when the new Regent's Park Zoo opened in the early 1830s, the menagerie's remaining animals were moved there and the Royal Menagerie finally closed forever.

Answer: His was the last execution at the Tower of London

Josef Jakobs had served in the German army during WWI as an infantry officer and his previous military experience caused him to be drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1940, again with officer rank. However, it was revealed that Jakobs had served a prison sentence in Switzerland and this revelation forced him to resign his commission.

After his resignation he held a senior non-commissioned officer rank and was employed firstly by the German armed services meteorological office and then, later, by the 'Abwehr', the military intelligence service. On the 31st of January 1941, Jakobs was injured after parachuting into England on a spying mission.

He was arrested and held at Brixton Prison before his trial at the Old Bailey for espionage offences for which he was sentenced to death.

As he had been arrested wearing a German military uniform he was to be executed by firing squad and not by hanging. British policy at this time was that executions would be carried out at a venue close to the prison in which an inmate was held which, in Jakobs case, was the Tower of London. On the 15th of August 1941 his sentence was carried out and Jakobs was buried in an unmarked grave in Kensal Green, London.

The bullet damaged chair in which Jakobs was sitting when he was shot can be seen on display within the Tower.

Answer: For growing fruit and vegetables

During the first half of the 19th century the moat that surrounds the Tower of London was becoming a public health concern. Silting had caused the water in the moat to become so stagnant that it smelled like an open sewer. The Constable of the Tower at this time, a certain fellow known as the Duke of Wellington, started work that resulted in the moat being drained and partially filled, works that were completed by 1854. During the Second World War, the country was suffering from a lack of fresh food and so, all over the Great Britain, any land standing idle was brought into food production, a role that the moat was ideally suited to as the soil, being mainly silt, was very fertile. Today the moat is used as a venue for concerts and events such as fairs and displays.

In recent years it was even mooted that the moat should be refilled with water and used as a water venue during the 2012 London Olympics!

Answer: Ten persons associated with execution on Tower Green

Prior to the 4th of September 2006 when a new memorial was installed at the Tower Green, there was a simple memorial dedicated to the memory of Anne Boleyn who was executed there on the order of her husband King Henry VIII on May 19th 1536. The new memorial designed by Brian Catling, a British contemporary artist is in remembrance of a total of ten people whose deaths have become associated with the Tower of London. Those named on the new memorial include William, Lord Hastings who was executed in 1483, Lady Jane Grey executed in 1554 and three highlanders, Malcolm McPherson, Samuel McPherson and Farquhar Shaw of the Black Watch, shot for desertion on the 19th of July 1743.

Answer: Public executions

The area outside the Tower of London, to the north-west, is known as Tower Hill and it was here that public executions were carried out. Tower Hill was the site of London's permanent scaffold which was erected in 1485, initially falling outside of the walls of the city itself.

The scaffold at Tower Hill was the site of the executions of many of British history's most infamous traitors and criminals including Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (who at his death on the scaffold was the last of the male Plantagenets, the line becoming extinct with his death), and (in 1536) George Boleyn, brother of Queen Anne Boleyn, who was originally sentenced to have been hanged, drawn and quartered but this was later revised to beheading.

At the site of the scaffold it is possible to see a series of six plates, one in dedication to the site and the other five carrying the names of some who died there, often in horrific circumstances.

In addition to Tower Hill there is another area known as Little Tower Hill and it was here that few executions were carried out; there are records of only three hangings taking place there, but many lesser punishments were carried out, primarily the use of the Pillory, a form of public humiliation in which the unfortunate secured in the pillory by the head and hands, would be pelted with all manner of rubbish by the general populace.

The pillory was last used in England in 1830 and an example of a pillory still exists, preserved as a monument, in Nantwich, Cheshire.

Answer: A Harness

The Royal Armouries museum in the White Tower contains treasures that date from as far back as the 11th century up until modern times. The collection, which was first started during the reign of King Henry VIII, consists of some seventy thousand items, and also includes a number of diplomatic gifts that have been presented to the Kings and Queens of England from the royal houses of Europe, a vast array of medieval edged weapons, crossbows and early firearms as well as an extensive and impressive collection of Asian arms and armour.

The Royal Armouries archives also include a number of works of art with a military theme, a notable example of which is a picture portrait of the Prince of Orange wearing armour that had been previously owned by King Charles I and King Charles II that is still in the Royal Armouries collection.

Answer: St Edward's Crown

The crown used at the coronation of the British monarch is St Edward's Crown. Immediately after the coronation, the monarch, when leaving Westminster Abbey, will replace St Edward's Crown with the Imperial State Crown which is the symbol of the sovereign's authority and is worn at all state occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament.

The current crown, which is constructed of gold, silver and platinum is encrusted with rubies, sapphires and amethysts, lined with velvet and ermine, is the crown that was acquired for the coronation of King Charles II in 1661 after the Restoration and the destruction of its predecessor by the Parliamentarians under Oliver Cromwell.

The other crowns listed are those that were used to crown the Kings of Hungary, in the case of the Crown of St Stephen, the Kings of Siam (Thailand) in the case of the Great Crown of Victory and the Crown of the Philosopher was made for the Hapsburg Emperor Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1602.

Answer: Arbella Stuart

Arbella Stuart was a cousin of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) who, in 1610, married without the King's permission and was placed under house arrest whilst her husband, William Seymour, a nephew of Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Arbella plotted to have her husband released and planned their escape to France.

Unfortunately, the couple missed their rendezvous and unbeknown to each other, Arbella returned to London where she was then imprisoned in the Tower, whilst William managed to escape to France but never saw his wife again.

It was in 1615, during her imprisonment in the comfortable surroundings of the Queen's House that Arbella died in suspicious circumstances, believed to have been murdered. Many female guests who have since stayed in a room known as the 'Lennox Room' have reported being awoken at night with the feeling of someone's hands around their throats.

The Green Lady is a ghost that supposedly haunts Okehampton Castle in Devon, the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street is not a ghost at all but is the name by which the Bank of England is known and fans of Harry Potter will be only too familiar with the spirit of 'Nearly Headless Nick'!