The Tower of London proper is the iconic White Tower, with its white-colored Kentish rag stone finish. This was begun during the reign of William the Conqueror in 1067, though it would be augmented by other kings after him. While today the Tower is infamous as a prison, in fact the complex has served several uses over the years. Built to overawe and control the Saxon capitol of London, and fortify the Thames waterway, the Tower was a military base, a royal residence, an arsenal, a safe-deposit for coin, jewels and valuables, and a prison. Richard continued William's ambitious building program, by adding a moat, and creating a wall now known as the Inner Ward. The Inner Ward has a wall studded with several towers which were constructed to provide covering fire of arrows against anyone who tried to attack it. These towers were, Bell, Beauchamp, Devereux, Flint, Bowyer, Brick, Martin, Constable, Broad Arrow, Salt, Lanthorn, Wakefield, and the Bloody Tower. Some of these towers had specific purposes. The Bell Tower was a belfry. The Bowyer tower was used for storage and repair of bows and arrows. The Salt Tower held reserves of salt, an important preservative of the age. Lanthorn is an archaic word for lantern, meaning that this was a signal tower. The Bloody Tower received its name only in Tudor times, after it had gained an infamous reputation as being the final dwelling and possible murder-site of the last two Plantagenet princes/kings, Edward V and his brother Richard of York.
Henry III continued working on the Tower, expanding the walls to include a local church, St. Peter ad Vincula. Ad vincula is a Latin word for "in chains" commemorating the Apostle Peter as a martyr in the later part of his life. Thus, St. Peter in Chains became the parish church of the tower, including as a place of final worship and later burial for those unfortunate enough to be imprisoned and executed, either on Tower Green or Tower Hill. Edward would add the walls known as the Outer Ward, including the now infamous Traitors Gate, or the Water Gate, as it was known at the time, as well as a series of docks and wharves along the Thames. Originally just a means of access from the Thames River, Traitors Gate gained its reputation in the centuries after the Tudor era, when so many famous prisoners passed through it from their barges on the Thames, and never left again.
Nor were humans the only prisoners in the Tower. Henry III began the royal menagerie, which remained until early Victorian times. Lions, tigers, elephants, ostriches and other exotic animals were kept here, often in miserable conditions, meant as showpieces for the Kings and their guests, and later for Londoners who were allowed to view them from time to time. From Henry III, too, dates the custom of keeping a Jewel House at the Tower, to house the Crown Jewels and other valuable items, including precious metals, jewels, jewelry, objets d'art, gold and silver plate. These items could be used during ceremonies such as coronations. But they were also collateral, used to secure loans during times of war. They formed an important part of the credit of the realm.
The White Tower held a royal residence, but it was never a main royal residence of any of the Kings. There was only so many ways of making a fortification comfortable as a royal palace. Tradition dictated that Kings and Queens would spend the night at the Tower prior to their coronations. Generally, when a royal personage came to the tower for a long-term stay, it would be as a prisoner. Edward II, Richard II, Henry VI and Edward V all did time in the Tower of London at the whim of their own family members and subjects. Henry VI and Edward V would ultimately die here, in circumstances that have never been resolved or explained.
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