Ask a visitor to name a building or monument that defines London, and you will inevitably end up with a shortlist that includes Nelson’s Column, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge… and its namesake, the Tower of London.
This icon of our city is remarkable in so many ways, not least because it is the largest physical symbol of the last time that England was successfully invaded by a foreign power. History tells us about Duke William of Normandy’s conquest in 1066. After his defeat of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in October of that year, William (now King William I or William the Conqueror) quickly sought to overcome the country by constructing a set of newfangled castles in every major town or city.
