Henry III Orders More Construction
When Henry III came to the throne after John's contentious reign in 1216, he was only nine and faced with a group of rebels who supported Louis, the French rival to the crown. Henry triumphed quickly, but the experience is said to have impressed upon him a need for strong, loyal fortifications and he spent more money improving the Tower of London than on any other defence except Windsor Castle.The Wakefield and Lanthorn towers, two grand structures with adjoining royal chambers, were begun in 1220 along the river wall; the young Henry's regents probably commissioned them. The Wakefield tower was associated with the king and Lanthorn with the queen, effectively splitting the royal household into two halves. We also know how the Queen's rooms were decorated: "Eleanor of Provence had the walls of her chamber whitewashed and painted with false ashlar (imitation stone) and flowers." (Parnell and Lapper, The Tower of London, Osprey, 2000, pg. 24) The Great Hall, which stood between the new towers, was rebuilt in the 1230s. At some point a new water gate was added along the western moat and this was swiftly extended into a gatehouse nicknamed, by the seventeenth century, The Bloody tower.
The King Retreats Behind the Tower's Walls
By the late 1230's the royal family was again facing opposition from its vassals and the king took refuge at the Tower in 1236 and 1238. He evidently wasn't happy with what he found and doubled the castle's area by building huge new defensive walls to the north and east - replacing and enclosing Longchamp's empty moat, the Norman north wall and whatever romano-norman hybrid the repaired Roman east wall had become - whilst upgrading the existing western wall to match. Nine towers were built along the walls and a new moat was dug outside them; this time, the advice of a Flemish expert was used to flood them properly.The church of St. Peter ad Vincula found itself within the enlarged boundary and Henry had this expanded too; it became the burial place for the Tower's executed prisoners. Henry also whitewashed William's tower, prompting a name - 'The White Tower' – that remains today. Local residents were often far from supportive of these huge building works and not just because of the disruption still associated with massive migrations of labourers. People resented any tightening of the royal government's grip and Henry III's improvements were greeted with deep suspicion. The Tower was also in regular use as a prison holding, amongst others, the former Chief Justiciar of England there from 1232.
Edward Builds Even More
Henry was followed in 1272 by Edward I, arguably England's greatest castle builder; the Tower did not want for attention. Between 1275 and 1285 Edward spent over £21,000 on additions, more than Henry had spent on the Tower in his entire reign. Given that a medium size castle would cost around £1000 in this era, the importance of the Tower complex to the king is clear, as is the scale of works. Henry III's moat was filled in and a new curtain wall, separated from Henry III's walls by a narrow strip, was added on all four sides. Because land had been reclaimed and walled on the south side a new river gate was needed – the old had been blocked – so Edward built St. Thomas' Tower, a mixture of grand apartments, strong defences and gated dock.A new 50 meter wide moat was dug around the north, east and west walls. The main land entrance – along the western wall - was upgraded to comprise an inner gatehouse (Byward Tower), an outer gatehouse which stuck far into the moat (Middle Tower) and a barbican which pushed out even further (Lion Tower), all connected by drawbridges and narrow causeways. The royal lodgings were also improved.
Edward's changes established the maximum geographical limits of the Tower Complex, leaving it substantially larger than the enclosed acre and a quarter William had initially commissioned. They also returned the 'Tower', by now a byword for an entire castle, to being one of England's premier strongholds, with glorious accommodation for the king and a fortress to match.
