Task 1. Read the text. The Tower of London is London’s oldest landmark

The Tower of London is London’s oldest landmark. It consists of a group of structures built around the central White Tower in the 11^th century. It was begun by William the Conqueror in 1078. The Tower of London served as a fortress, a palace,a zoo, a royal mint and a prison. Today it is a national monument and museum.

Many people have been locked in the Tower. In 1483 the boy-king Edward V and his brother, the Duke of York, were imprisoned and finally disappeared. English statesman and humanist scholar Sir Tho­ mas More /1478-1535/ was imprisoned in 1534 when he refused to conform to the Act of Supremacy. He was found guilty of treason and beheaded. He was canonized in 1935 as St. Thomas More.

Famous prisoners have included Anna Boleyn /1507-1536/, the second wife of Henry VIII /1491-1547/, Elizabeth I /1533-1603/, when a Princess, and Sir Walter Raleigh /1552-1618/, the favourite of Elizabeth I. Spies were imprisoned here during the wars.

Some prisoners could live in comfortable rooms and receive visitors. Others were locked in freez­ing cells and tortured. There have been successful escapes from the Tower. The first to escape in 1101 was Ranulf Flambard. He climbed down using a rope, which had been smuggled, to him inside a wine barrel. Many prisoners were publicly executed on Tower Hill, and privately on Tower Green. In the Tower Ar­mory there is a block and axe used for a beheading in 1747.

In 1671 an attempt was made to steal the Crown Jewels by Captain Blood who was later pardoned by Charles II. Some think the King organized the raid to raise money.

The Crown Jewels are kept in the Jewell House at the Tower. The collection includes Saint Edward’s Crown, used for the coronation ceremony, the Imperial State Crown, containing 3000 jewels, and the biggest cut diamond in the world, the “Star of Africa”.!

The Beefeaters guard the Tower. They used to be the monarch’s private bodyguard. “Beefeater” was a nickname for well-fed servants. They wear a Tudor-style uniform of blue or red. Every night at 9.53 p.m. the Chief Warder of Beefeaters lights a candle lantern and makes his way towards the Bloody Tower. He locks the gates and then goes with his Escort to the Tower. At the Bloody Tower Archway they are halted by the sentry. “Halt!” – he commands. “Who goes there?” The Chief Warder answers: “The keys”. The sentry demands: “Whose keys?” “Queen Elizabeth’s keys" – replies the Chief Warder. “Advance, Queen’s Elizabeth’s keys; all’s well”, – commands the sentry. The ceremony of the key dates back 700 years. In 1941 despite the bomb blast the duty was completed.

The Tower of London includes some towers. The White Tower, the keep of the Tower of London, stands as an outstanding example of Norman Military architecture. It was begun in 1078, and built partly of Caen stone imported from France. The White Tower has three small square towers and one round one, called Maud’s Tower after a lady imprisoned there in the 1200’s. On display there are four suits of Henry VIII.

In the Bloody Tower 13-years old Edward V /1470-1483/ and his brother Richard were imprisoned. Protector of Edward V, his Uncle Richard /1452-1485/ became King Richard III /1483-1485/, and the young princes were murdered shortly afterwards. Henry Tudor invaded England and killed Richard III. In 1600-s the bones of the boys, thought to be the princes were discovered under a Tower staircase and reburied in Westminster Abbey.

The Queen’s House is a wooden framed Tudor building. It was named after the wife of Henry VIII, Anna Boleyn, who was imprisoned for a short time and then beheaded. The Gunpowder Plot Conspirators were interrogated there before being executed. Now it is the private home of the Governor of the Tower.

In the Salt Tower one can see a complicated astronomical clock carved on the wall in the 16^th cen­tury by a prisoner accused of black magic.

A group of ravens live at the Tower. The tradition goes that if they disappear the building will col­lapse. For centuries a Royal Zoo was kept in the grounds. It once included a polar bear, who fished and swam in the moat, now drained.

The Inns of court are Britain’s center for the study and practice of law. They consist of four groups of buildings just west of the City. Each group houses one of the four Inns of Court: Gray’s inn, Lin­coln’s inn, the Inner Temple, and the Middle Temple. Some places of interest lie outside central London. The borough of Greenwich has a famous group of buildings designed by Christopher Wren. They now house the Royal Naval College.

Task 2. Discussion. Answer the questions.

1. What is the oldest landmark of London?

2. Who are the Beefeaters?

3. Who are “Queen Elisabeth’s keys”?

CEREMONIES IN LONDON

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