The Tower of London: 1066-1554 Significant Moments and Events in the Fortress’S History

Fact sheet for teachers

The Tower of London: 1066-1554 Significant moments and events in the fortress’s history

1066 1540 William the Conqueror orders the construction of Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves. The marriage is Norman castles in London. annulled. Thomas Cromwell is imprisoned in the Tower, and then executed on Tower Hill. Henry VIII marries Catherine Howard. 1080s Work begins on the White Tower. 1541 Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, is executed in 13th century the Tower. Henry III and Edward I build the Medieval Palace and new walls and towers around the White Tower. 1542 Catherine Howard is executed in the Tower. 1485 Henry VII becomes king. 1543 Henry VIII marries his sixth wife Kateryn Parr. 1491 Henry VIII is born. 1545 Protestant Anne Askew is tortured at the Tower. 1509 Henry VII dies. Henry VIII becomes king and marries Katherine of Aragon. 1546 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and his father Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, are imprisoned in the Tower. Surrey 1533 is executed the following year on Tower Hill. Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn. Royal lodgings are built for her at the Tower. 1547 Henry VIII dies at Whitehall Palace. Kateryn Parr secretly 1534 marries Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour’s brother. The Act of Supremacy is declared, recognising Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. 1548 Thomas Seymour is imprisoned in the Tower, and 1535 then beheaded on Tower Hill. Thomas More and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, are imprisoned in the Tower and then executed on Tower Hill. 1553 Thomas Parr, brother of Kateryn Parr, is imprisoned in 1536 the Tower. Anne Boleyn is imprisoned, tried and executed in the Tower. Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour. 1554 Princess Elizabeth, the future Elizabeth I, is imprisoned 1537 in the Tower. The popular rising the Pilgrimage of Grace takes place in York in protest against the dissolution of the monasteries and England’s break with Rome. Jane Semour gives birth to Prince Edward (the future King Edward VI) and dies soon after.