Jewel Tower
Encyclopedia
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
is one of only two surviving sections of the medieval royal Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, the other being Westminster Hall. It was built in 1365-1366 to house the private treasures of Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
and its alternative name was the "King's Privy Wardrobe". In the early 17th-century it became a records office for the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. From 1869 until 1936 it was the home of the Board's Standards Department. The Jewel Tower is not to be confused with The Jewel House at The Tower of London and is not the home of the Crown Jewels
Crown jewels
Crown jewels are jewels or artifacts of the reigning royal family of their respective country. They belong to monarchs and are passed to the next sovereign to symbolize the right to rule. They may include crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, rings, and other objects...
.
The tower is a three storey building constructed mainly of Kentish Ragstone
Kentish Ragstone
Kentish ragstone is a hard grey limestone in Kent, England, drawn from the geological formation known as the Hythe Beds of the Lower Greensand. For centuries it has been quarried for use both locally and farther afield.-Geology:...
, and stands across the road from the current Palace of Westminster, home of the British Parliament. It was located at the far southern end of the old palace complex, and was built into the defensive walls but was detached from the main buildings, which explains its survival of the great fire of 1834 which destroyed most of the palace.
The tower sat in a corner of the royal gardens and was protected by high walls and a moat. The unusual L-shape design of the building can be attributed to the fact that King Edward ordered that the tower should not take up any space in his garden. To fulfill this brief the builders were forced to encroach onto land belonging to Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. For this the monks were never properly compensated and they were forced to construct a new wall to mark the boundary between the palace and the abbey. This wall is still standing and now forms part of Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
.
The Jewel Tower was designed by the master mason Henry Yevele
Henry Yevele
Henry Yevele was the most prolific and successful master mason active in late medieval England. The first document relating to him is dated 3 December 1353, when he purchased the freedom of London...
, who was also responsible for a number of other royal building projects in the late 14th-century, such as the nave of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
and the remodelling of Westminster Hall. At the same time as the Jewel Tower's construction, another tower was built at the palace. This was a clock tower that was home to a 4-ton bell dubbed "The Edward", a forerunner to Big Ben. This clock tower (demolished in 1698) stood on the north side of New Palace Yard
New Palace Yard
New Palace Yard is to the northwest of the Houses of Parliament , in Westminster, London, England. It is to the east of Parliament Square, to the west of Big Ben, and to the north of Westminster Hall...
, a little to the west of where the present clock tower now stands.
The tower is managed by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
and contains an exhibition on the first floor called "Parliament Past and Present". Another exhibition on the second floor details the history of this small but important building. On the ground floor an original ribbed-vault ceiling can be seen, including sixteen unusual bosses of animals, human faces and green men. Until 1834 the historic records of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
were stored here; they are now in the Victoria Tower
Victoria Tower
The Victoria Tower is the square tower at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster in London, facing south and west onto Black Rod's Garden and Old Palace Yard. At , it is slightly taller than the more famous Clock Tower at the north end of the Palace . It houses the Parliamentary Archives...
and managed by the Parliamentary Archives
Parliamentary Archives
The Parliamentary Archives of the United Kingdom preserves and makes available to public the records of the House of Lords and House of Commons back to 1497, as well as some 200 other collections of Parliamentary interest...
.