On a typically gray English day, the Monkey peers over the waters of the Thames at the famed Tower of London, a 900-year-old fortress that figures prominently in British history. Construction on the Tower began around 1066 under William, the Norman conqueror of the Anglo-Saxons, who sought to bolster his control over London with a mighty castle. The fort incorporated earlier Roman walls, but its signature four-cornered White Tower began to rise in the 1070s and must have been quite an intimidating sight to the locals. Though primarily a place of military power, the Tower also served frequently as a residence for the kings and queens of England, from William the Conqueror up until Henry VIII in 1533, who dramatically increased the use of the Tower as a prison and execution site.

The Monkey gets a look into the great moat of the Tower of London from atop an old wall. In the distance is the distinctive rise of the Tower Bridge. The Tower of London's double walls and moat were improvements called for by Henry III and Edward I in the 13th Century, and made it one of the premier military structures of medieval Europe. When the moats were drained in 1843, various human bones were discovered, probably remnants of execution victims.

During World War II, the drained moat you see in this photo was used to grow crops for hungry locals. The Tower suffered serious bomb damage, but was renovated in the postwar period. Home to the ostentatious display of the Royal jewelry collection, the Tudor-garbed Beefeaters, and the mythology of beheaded queens and other royal intrigues, the Tower has become one of London's favored tourist attractions. Some 2.5 million people visiting it each year!

The Monkey sits at one end of the span of London Bridge. Well, the latest incarnation anyhow. This modern bridge went up in 1973, replacing the 1831 London Bridge that was disassembled, transported, and reassembled in Lake Havasu, Arizona, United States (it was bought by a U.S. oil baron after London's government decided to sell the bridge to fund construction of a more modern version). Before that there was a medieval bridge, and earlier wooden ones dating as far back as the 10th Century. Thus, this site has been the main Thames River crossing point between North and South London for centuries. The Monkey is pleased to report that during his visit he saw no evidence to back up the oft-repeated assertion that London Bridge is falling down.

The view from the south bank of the Thames across to the Tower of London, which was under renovation when the Monkey stopped by in 1995.

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