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Article ;~ ; • I' ¦ " • ¦ LONDON AND MIDDLESEX A... ← Page 2 of 6 →
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;~ ; • I' ¦ " • ¦ London And Middlesex A...
narrow loophole windows , so dark that the eye must get accustomed to the darkness before it can discern the form of the building . Externally the form of this tower is circular , internally octagonal ; the walls are about thirteen feet thick , and in them are eight recesses , the arches of which are semicircular . This crypt is supposed to have been used as a prison for the captives taken at the Battle of
Wakefield , fought between Margaret , the Queen of Henry VI ., and the Duke of York , in which the latter was killed , and hence its name . On the ground under one of the windows are some stone cannon balls , found during the repairs of the various parts of the fortress . The upper story is of later date , probably about the thirteenth century , and like the lower story , octagonal , and it is reported that King Henry VI . was murdered in this chamber . It is now fitted up with presses which recently contained the records of the kingdom and Court of Chancery , but were
on the occasion of the Society ' s visit quite empty , the records having been lately taken to the Rolls Building , in Chancery Lane , for better security and easier access . In this chamber was stationed Mr , Deputy Lott , of the City of London , who in the kindest manner read a short paper on the tower , and gave a slight account of the rolls most noted which had been deposited there . No accurate date can be given when the Tower was first used as a receptacle for these State Papers . Neither can the particular building be pointed out in which they were stored . "But , "
says Mr . Bayley , " there can be little doubt of records having been kept there in the early Norman times . " In the reign of Edward I . mention is made of the Scotch rolls , which were in safe-keeping in the Tower of London . Queen Elizabeth was the first sovereign that adopted measures to render the records useful to the public , and from a private letter from that sovereign to her
Parliament we glean that these documents , or , as she terms them . " lawyers ' books , were kept in wired cases , " for the prevention of the erasure , falsification , or embezzlement of the same : " we quote the words of the Queen ' s letter , " ar my wordes like lowiers bokes which now-a-days go to the wire drawers to make subtill doing more plain . " * Mr . Haydn , in his Dictionary of Dates , says , the Tower contained the Parliament Rolls from Edward II . to Edward IV . 1483 ; Statute
Bolls from Edward I . to Edward IV . ; Writs of Summons and returns to Parliament , Edward I . to Edward IV . ; Patent Eolls from John to Edward IV . 14 S 3 ; the Charter Polls , John to Edward IV . ; the Gascon Rolls , the Norman Rolls , the French Rolls , the Scotch Rolls , the Welsh Rolls , the Carta ? Antiquae , Papal Bulls and Letters , from William I . to Henry VI . ; Roman Rolls , Edward I . to Edward IV . Besides these there were also the grand series of the Chancery Rolls ,
the Almain Rolls , the Close Rolls , the Conventiones Pacis , Coronation Rolls , the Extracta Donationum , the Fine Rolls , the Liberate Rolls , the Perambulation Rolls , the Redisseisin Rolls , and Treaties and Truces , & c , & c . These , however , were not all kept in this , the Wakefield Tower , many of them having been in the Chapel of St . John , sometimes called the Rolls Chapel , situated in the centre
of the keep or White Tower . This keep , as before stated , was built by Gundulph , Bishop of Rochester , during the reign of the Conqueror ; it took its name of the White Tower , from an ancient custom of whitening over its exterior walls , as is evident , says the Tower historian , from a curious mandate issued by Henry III .,
* Indorsed on a Parliamentary paper relating to a proposed marriage . Harl MSS ., Nov . U , 1506 .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
;~ ; • I' ¦ " • ¦ London And Middlesex A...
narrow loophole windows , so dark that the eye must get accustomed to the darkness before it can discern the form of the building . Externally the form of this tower is circular , internally octagonal ; the walls are about thirteen feet thick , and in them are eight recesses , the arches of which are semicircular . This crypt is supposed to have been used as a prison for the captives taken at the Battle of
Wakefield , fought between Margaret , the Queen of Henry VI ., and the Duke of York , in which the latter was killed , and hence its name . On the ground under one of the windows are some stone cannon balls , found during the repairs of the various parts of the fortress . The upper story is of later date , probably about the thirteenth century , and like the lower story , octagonal , and it is reported that King Henry VI . was murdered in this chamber . It is now fitted up with presses which recently contained the records of the kingdom and Court of Chancery , but were
on the occasion of the Society ' s visit quite empty , the records having been lately taken to the Rolls Building , in Chancery Lane , for better security and easier access . In this chamber was stationed Mr , Deputy Lott , of the City of London , who in the kindest manner read a short paper on the tower , and gave a slight account of the rolls most noted which had been deposited there . No accurate date can be given when the Tower was first used as a receptacle for these State Papers . Neither can the particular building be pointed out in which they were stored . "But , "
says Mr . Bayley , " there can be little doubt of records having been kept there in the early Norman times . " In the reign of Edward I . mention is made of the Scotch rolls , which were in safe-keeping in the Tower of London . Queen Elizabeth was the first sovereign that adopted measures to render the records useful to the public , and from a private letter from that sovereign to her
Parliament we glean that these documents , or , as she terms them . " lawyers ' books , were kept in wired cases , " for the prevention of the erasure , falsification , or embezzlement of the same : " we quote the words of the Queen ' s letter , " ar my wordes like lowiers bokes which now-a-days go to the wire drawers to make subtill doing more plain . " * Mr . Haydn , in his Dictionary of Dates , says , the Tower contained the Parliament Rolls from Edward II . to Edward IV . 1483 ; Statute
Bolls from Edward I . to Edward IV . ; Writs of Summons and returns to Parliament , Edward I . to Edward IV . ; Patent Eolls from John to Edward IV . 14 S 3 ; the Charter Polls , John to Edward IV . ; the Gascon Rolls , the Norman Rolls , the French Rolls , the Scotch Rolls , the Welsh Rolls , the Carta ? Antiquae , Papal Bulls and Letters , from William I . to Henry VI . ; Roman Rolls , Edward I . to Edward IV . Besides these there were also the grand series of the Chancery Rolls ,
the Almain Rolls , the Close Rolls , the Conventiones Pacis , Coronation Rolls , the Extracta Donationum , the Fine Rolls , the Liberate Rolls , the Perambulation Rolls , the Redisseisin Rolls , and Treaties and Truces , & c , & c . These , however , were not all kept in this , the Wakefield Tower , many of them having been in the Chapel of St . John , sometimes called the Rolls Chapel , situated in the centre
of the keep or White Tower . This keep , as before stated , was built by Gundulph , Bishop of Rochester , during the reign of the Conqueror ; it took its name of the White Tower , from an ancient custom of whitening over its exterior walls , as is evident , says the Tower historian , from a curious mandate issued by Henry III .,
* Indorsed on a Parliamentary paper relating to a proposed marriage . Harl MSS ., Nov . U , 1506 .