On a sultry summer evening in North Oxford members of OHCT were treated to a fascinating talk on the Tower of London by Dr Edward Impey, FSA, a distinguished historian and museum curator. He was a curator of Historic Royal Palaces and, for nine years until 2022, he held the position of Master of the Armouries and Director General of the Royal Armouries (for which, he was resident in the Tower).
Dr Impey took us behind the scenes vividly describing the visitor experience from 1500 to the present day. Insights into the custom and practices adopted by the Custodians of the Tower to manage and control the sheer numbers that visit the Tower – now peaking at 4 million people a year. His account of his experiences as a naïve new curator when proposing change and the responses from the Custodians, deeply immersed in tradition, was both fascinating and humorous.
The Tower has variously been a working store of armaments, then a display of arms intended (though not always succeeding to impress) foreign ambassadors, and also a place to keep and display all manner of wild animals which had been presented to the Crown – a kind of early Zoo. The Crown Jewels have long been stored here, though today’s are of course created since the time of the Commonwealth when the originals were melted down.
The buildings surrounding the central Norman tower have been much changed over the years, not least in the aftermath of explosion and devastating fire, and in the Victorian times to recreate a smart castle to suit the expectations and tastes of the time and that now serves to attract so many sightseers. We learned that an early weekday morning visit in the Autumn was the best time to marvel at what is one of our national treasures.
The talk was followed by a Reception on the banks of the Cherwell where there was more opportunity for questions to the speaker.