Tower Green

Tower Green lies within the Tower of London, a royal fortress beside the Thames in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is an open space south of the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, where nobles once met private ends away from public view. A small granite plot in the centre marks the scaffold site, though its exact position remains debated. Queen Victoria ordered the paving after asking for the precise spot, but later evidence suggests the scaffold may have stood on the parade ground nearby. The green itself was once a burial ground, and beneath the 19th-century stones archaeologists found traces of an old guardhouse. This building served the Yeoman Warders’ predecessors before it was demolished and rebuilt twice in the 17th century. The site witnessed the beheading of three queens and several nobles over two centuries. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, wives of Henry VIII, were executed here in 1536 and 1542. Lady Jane Grey, the nine-days queen, met the same fate in 1554. Other notables include William Hastings in 1483 and Robert Devereux in 1601. The bodies were buried in the chapel, where their names appear on the walls. A later memorial lists three Scottish soldiers from the Black Watch, shot in 1743 for mutiny. Their final moments were marked by comrades forming the firing squad. Visitors find a quiet rectangle of grass surrounded by ancient walls. The granite memorial stands at the centre, its dark stones contrasting with the pale paving. The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula overlooks the green from the north, its simple exterior belying the royal burials within. Beyond the chapel, the White Tower rises, its massive bulk framing the scene. The Waterloo Block, built in the 19th century, closes the view to the west. The air carries the weight of centuries, though the green itself feels calm and open, a place where history is felt rather than shouted.