Oddities at The Tower of London

This continues from my posts about the animals at the Royal Menagerie and horses and armour in The White Tower.
There are lots of other interesting things in and around the complex. I really liked the life-size metal sculptures of soldiers/guards protecting the high walls and the lovely relevant detailing on the metal posts that hold the ropes and chains.

One of my favourite artefacts on display is a gorgeous little 13th Century portable altarpiece intricately carved from ivory. It's a hinged triptych only about 15cm wide when open and shows scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary.

I spent quite a lot of time looking at the carved graffiti in the outer towers. Much of it is very beautifully carved; lovely letterforms and detailed religious and astrological references. Read this post by The Gentle Author for some great pics and information. 

And now for some oddities:

A grille protective around nothing (I think there used to be an old downpipe here).
A very strange man-beastwho is depicted with his spine facing forward – he looks comical and uncomfortable.
Heart shaped shit on the window.
Tudor fire extinguishers.

I like the way layers of history and renovation can still be seen as in the underside of a spiral staircase.
Something is missing on the pavement.
Stairs to nowhere
A 20th Century box downpipe

Pavement patterns.
By Tradition Henry V1 died here (May 21st 1471)
The contemporary glass and metal memorial thing for the execution site is bloody awful(!). It's an appalling bit of design on many levels and the cushion on the top (which I assume is a ref to catching one of the three severed heads that were lopped off there) fills with rain, leaves and all sorts of muck.
A Tudor safe. 

The Royal Menagerie animals at The Tower of London

Did you know they used to keep animals at The Tower of London?
As you queue to pay at the kiosks you will notice animal stickers on the glass.
Then as you go toward the entrance gate there are three lions made from chicken wire by Kendra Haste. There are more or her animals inside, all cleverly located.

Over the centuries, lions, an elephant, a polar bear and apes have been kept at the zoo.
An exhibition about the animals at the Royal Menagerie includes an image of Pompey the lion who looks like a pussy cat, and a clay pipe-smoking Dog-Faced Baboon.

More animals... On the lower floor of the White Tower there is a room containing cannons. In there I spotted a few crazy lions.  

Customs House foreshore

Every now and then I like to go on an organised foreshore forage led by an archaeologist. Last month I visited the Customs House section with a group from London Cultureseekers.

Our guide Nathalie, from the Thames Discovery Programme, was a mine of information. She told us about all sorts of things, including boat wrecks, Medieval pottery and Elizabethan pins.
And I found out something else... if you look at the middle pic in the top row, above, you will notice the chains on the river walls. These continue all along the Thames and I have photographed them in the locks at St Katharine Docks. I'd always assumed that these were for boat docking purposes. But no, it transpires they were attached in the 90s as a safety measure after the Marchioness disaster.
After Nathalie had assessed everyone's finds we needed to go somewhere warm as it was particularly cold that day. I'd hoped we were heading to All Hallows By The Tower but our group leader took us to one of those Starf*cks places. Having never been in one I was not about to break my duck so I immediately turned tail and left before I got sucked in.
Phew... that was close!
Instead, I took a brisk walk around the Tower. Nice.
What a good morning.

Poppies at The Tower of London – ends 11th November

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

Just a reminder if you haven't been to see the expanding flood of poppies yet, they will very soon fill the whole moat and subsequently be removed forever.
Tuesday 11th November (Remembrance Day) will be last day to see the poppies in situ. Viewing is free as they can be seen from outside the Tower of London.

I have to admit that none of the pics above are mine. 

Even though I will being going to see them over the next few days myself, I wanted to get this blog post live sooner rather than later. The top row are mostly are pinched from the official site; the rest I have stolen from Maggie Jones and Malcolm Edwards

Post-event the poppies will be available to buy at £25.00+VAT each which I think is great value considering every one is hand made and therefore unique. I know one of the poppy-makers, though she isn't in this film about the making of them. 

Book your tickets for the Tower of London here.

And read more about the installation of the poppies here.