THE BLOODY TOWER
Owing to serious signs of weakness in the upper portions of the walls of the Bloody Tower, it was considered an absolute necessity to carefully renew the Kentish Rag facing in various places. The work has been thoroughly well executed stone by stone, all the old stones that were sound being re-used, and the whole of the walls have been greatly strengthened by what is technically known as “tying in.” It was found that the Tower had been repaired in this same manner about the time of Henry VIII., and probably on more than one occasion. The heart of the walling is in excellent preservation, and is the original Norman Transitional masonry with a liberal proportion of chalk. The parapet has been restored to its original embattlemented character. A brick wall, which had closed the historical entrance to Raleigh’s Walk for the last hundred years, has been cleared away, leaving the passage open as in the days of Cranmer and Raleigh; this wall was built to prevent the south-west angle of the Tower falling down, and was an economical vandalism on the part of the authorities of the time. Another act of vandalism was committed by some former occupant of the Tower, who had cut out a cupboard for blacking brushes in the solid masonry immediately behind the springing of the large arch over the portcullis, thereby seriously jeopardising the stability of the arch; happily this has been remedied by the recent restoration. A fine arch over the northern portcullis that had completely disappeared, has been replaced, and early English Gothic windows of stone with lead lights have been fixed throughout the Tower, in the room of the Georgian windows with common double-hung deal sashes. Stone chimney-stacks have also taken the place of the incongruous chimney-stacks of brick, and a very interesting octagonal stone turret, which had been patched with brick, has been restored to its original condition. This turret is circular inside, and is about five feet in diameter; a curious internal window was found about a foot higher than Raleigh’s Walk, and as it answers no purpose, it is supposed that it was used for supervising the prisoners. In a jamb of the recess immediately over the northern portcullis several inscriptions were brought to light, but of these only the letters R. D. were legible, which, seeing the acquaintance that both Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, or Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, had with the Tower, has not unnaturally led to the conclusion that the initials belong to one or other of these royal favourites.
The Bloody Tower is of the Norman Transitional period, but the groining as well as the gates on the south side—those on the north side have been removed—are Tudor. The massive bottom rails of these gates were destroyed to allow of an injudicious raising of the road surface many years ago. It is said that the road was raised from two to three feet, probably to overcome some difficulty of draining, but whatever the reason, the fine gates suffered both in effect and materially. On the west front of the Tower there is an early English doorway which has been “Tudorised,” its outer arch being modern Norman Transitional.
The original freestone used in the building of the Bloody Tower was procured from the neighbourhood of Red Hill, and in the old records is called “Rygate” stone. It is known at the present time as Gatton, but the quarries are no longer worked. The fine old arches over the main entrance are still in this “Rygate” stone, an interesting survival, since the whole of the external stone dressings in this material on the Tower were superseded by Caen stone from Normandy in the reign of Henry VIII. This was a deplorable error of judgment, for notwithstanding the enormous amount of Caen stone used throughout the Tower in this reign, scarcely a trace of it now remains. The modern restorations to the interior have been carried out in the “pinny bed of Chilmark,” a stone closely resembling the Rygate or Gatton stone, but much more durable, whilst Kelton stone from the neighbourhood of Rutland has been employed for the battlements and other external dressings. All the main walling was carried out in Kentish Rag stone, which was procured from the contractor who built the new guard buildings for the War Department. In the records of Henry VIII.’s time, this Kentish Rag is called the “hard stone of Kent.” The stone used in those days was undoubtedly superior to that used by Salvin over fifty years ago, as is shown by the comparison between the restored Beauchamp Tower and the White Tower. Soft stones, such as Caen or Bath, absorb a great deal of moisture, and their injudicious use consequently hastens the decay of any building in which they are used. Much of the mischief in the Bloody Tower was doubtless caused by the decay of the Caen stone, and also the neglect in pointing the joints. It is generally thought amongst those most concerned, that the restoration of the Bloody Tower is the most careful and complete of any of the works of preservation carried out in the old fortress, and it is now judged to be safe from all fear of collapse.
APPENDIX VI
STAINED GLASS IN THE TOWER
A quantity of stained glass panels were found in the crypt of St John’s Chapel, in which some interesting and valuable fragments, mostly incomplete in themselves, of heraldic glass of the sixteenth century and of small pictorial subjects, were mixed with modern and valueless glass of subordinate design. The whole was carefully examined by Messrs John Hardman, who separated the ancient from the modern glass, and using delicate leads to repair the numerous fractures of the former, and setting the various fragments in lozenges of plain glass, filled the eight windows of the Chapel with the following subjects:—
The first window in the south front, entering from the west.—A coat of arms with the words “Honi soit qui mal y pense” around it on the upper portion; a sepia painting in the centre representing the Deity and two angels appearing to a priest, with flames rising from an altar. In the lower portion is another sepia painting with the Deity depicted with outstretched arms, one hand on the sun, the other on the moon, and the earth rolling in clouds at the feet. This is generally supposed to be emblematical of the Creation, but has been suggested as representative of the Saviour as the Light of the World.
The second window has a head and bust near the top, with a peculiar cap and crown. The centre is a sepia representing the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and the guardian angel. At the bottom there is another sepia depicting a village upon a hill, probably a distant view of Harrow.
The third window has at the top a figure of Charles I. in sepia; in the centre a knight in armour, skirmishing, and at the bottom what appears to be a holly bush with the letters H. R.