The IQ (Lower School Scholars) visited the Tower of London last week on a study trip. Before we went on the trip we got into pairs and researched a person that had been locked in the Tower at some point. I had to research the two princes who were locked in the Tower in the late 1400s. This helped as we all knew background information on several people who we could find out about more at the Tower.
At the Tower, we had time to look around ourselves. The things I found most interesting were the crown jewels and the Bloody Tower where the princes had been kept.
We were given a wonderful guide who took us around the Tower. One of the things that he explained was what the different layers were of the castle were. For example, the inner layer was built by the Normans whereas the most outer wall was added much later and still includes accommodation for the Beefeaters. We also found out that there was a pub and a church included in the tower for the guards to use!
The guide also talked to us about several escape stories. The one I found most interesting was a priest who communicated with another prisoner via hidden writing in orange juice. They coordinated an escape and ended up ‘zip wiring’ out.
There was still enough time left to get an ice cream and walk around the walls of the Tower, getting a great view of London.
Freddie Goodfellow
