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Do not fill this in! ===White Tower=== {{Main|White Tower (Tower of London)}} The White Tower is a [[keep]] (also known as a donjon), which was often the strongest structure in a medieval castle, and contained lodgings suitable for the lord β in this case, the king or his representative.<ref>{{harvnb|Friar|2003|p=163}}</ref> According to military historian Allen Brown, "The great tower [White Tower] was also, by virtue of its strength, majesty and lordly accommodation, the donjon ''par excellence''".<ref>{{harvnb|Allen Brown|1976|p=15}}</ref> As one of the largest keeps in the [[Christendom|Christian world]],<ref name="Allen Brown 1976 44" /> the White Tower has been described as "the most complete eleventh-century palace in Europe".<ref name="I&P 16">{{harvnb|Impey|Parnell|2000|p=16}}</ref> [[File:Whitetowerlondon.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The original entrance to the White Tower was at first-floor level]] The White Tower, not including its projecting corner towers, measures {{convert|36|by|32|m}} at the base, and is {{convert|27|m|-1|abbr=on}} high at the southern battlements. The structure was originally three storeys high, comprising a basement floor, an entrance level, and an upper floor. The entrance, as is usual in [[Norman architecture|Norman]] keeps, was above ground, in this case on the south face, and accessed via a wooden staircase which could be removed in the event of an attack. It was probably during [[Henry II of England|Henry II]]'s reign (1154β1189) that a forebuilding was added to the south side of the tower to provide extra defences to the entrance, but it has not survived. Each floor was divided into three chambers, the largest in the west, a smaller room in the north-east, and the chapel taking up the entrance and upper floors of the south-east.<ref name="Parnell 1993 20-21">{{harvnb|Parnell|1993|pp=19β23}}</ref> At the western corners of the building are square towers, while to the north-east a round tower houses a spiral staircase. At the south-east corner there is a larger semi-circular projection which accommodates the [[apse]] of the chapel. As the building was intended to be a comfortable residence as well as a stronghold, latrines were built into the walls, and four fireplaces provided warmth.<ref name="I&P 16" /> The main building material is [[Kent]]ish [[Rag-stone|ragstone]], although some local [[mudstone]] was also used. [[Caen stone]] was imported from northern France to provide details in the Tower's facing, although little of the original material survives as it was replaced with [[Portland stone]] in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref name="Parnell 1993 22" /> [[Reigate Stone|Reigate stone]] was also used as ashlar and for carved details. Its location, in the lower courses of the building and at higher levels corresponding to a building break, suggest it was readily available and may have been used when access to Caen stone was restricted.<ref>{{harvnb|Michette|Viles|Vlachou|Angus|2020}}</ref> As most of the Tower's windows were enlarged in the 18th century, only two original β albeit restored β examples remain, in the south wall at the gallery level.<ref name="Parnell 1993 22">{{harvnb|Parnell|1993|p=22}}</ref> The tower was terraced into the side of a mound, so the northern side of the basement is partially below ground level.<ref name="Parnell 20">{{harvnb|Parnell|1993|p=20}}</ref> As was typical of most keeps,<ref>{{harvnb|Friar|2003|p=164}}</ref> the bottom floor was an [[undercroft]] used for storage. One of the rooms contained a well. Although the layout has remained the same since the tower's construction, the interior of the basement dates mostly from the 18th century when the floor was lowered and the pre-existing timber [[vault (architecture)|vaults]] were replaced with brick counterparts.<ref name="Parnell 20" /> The basement is lit through small slits.<ref name="I&P 16" /> [[File:Wakefield Tower Chapel - Tower of London.jpg|thumb|St John's Chapel, inside the White Tower]] The entrance floor was probably intended for the use of the [[Constable of the Tower]], [[Lieutenant of the Tower of London]] and other important officials. The south entrance was blocked during the 17th century, and not reopened until 1973. Those heading to the upper floor had to pass through a smaller chamber to the east, also connected to the entrance floor. The [[crypt]] of [[St John's Chapel, London|St John's Chapel]] occupied the south-east corner and was accessible only from the eastern chamber. There is a recess in the north wall of the crypt; according to Geoffrey Parnell, Keeper of the Tower History at the Royal Armouries, "the windowless form and restricted access, suggest that it was designed as a strong-room for safekeeping of royal treasures and important documents".<ref name="Parnell 20" /> The upper floor contained a grand hall in the west and residential chamber in the east{{spaced ndash}}both originally open to the roof and surrounded by a gallery built into the wall{{spaced ndash}}and St John's Chapel in the south-east. The top floor was added in the 15th century, along with the present roof.<ref name="Parnell 1993 20-21" /><ref>{{harvnb|Impey|Parnell|2000|p=17}}</ref> St John's Chapel was not part of the White Tower's original design, as the apsidal projection was built after the basement walls.<ref name="Parnell 20" /> Due to changes in function and design since the tower's construction, except for the chapel little is left of the original interior.<ref name="ABC 12" /> The chapel's current bare and unadorned appearance is reminiscent of how it would have been in the Norman period. In the 13th century, during Henry III's reign, the chapel was decorated with such ornamentation as a gold-painted cross, and [[stained glass]] windows that depicted the [[Virgin Mary]] and the [[Holy Trinity]].<ref>{{harvnb|Parnell|1993|p=32}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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