From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, a procession would be led from the Tower to Westminster Abbey on the coronation of a monarch. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. It was besieged several times and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard) until 1952 (Kray twins), although that was not its primary purpose. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. They were closed in 1910 because not enough people used them, but were reopened in 1982.Unmissable things to see and do at the Tower. These walkways allow people to still cross the river, even when the bridge is raised. The pedestrian walkways are 143 feet (44 m) above the river at high tide. The two side-spans are suspension bridges, each 270 feet (82 m) long, with the suspension rods anchored both at the abutments and through rods contained within the bridge's upper walkways. The bridge is made from more than 11,000 tons of steel, and covered with Cornish granite and Portland stone. In 1976 these were replaced by oil and electricity. The bascules are raised by huge hydraulic pumps which were first powered by steam engines. The bascules, weighing over 1,100 tons each, are counterbalanced to minimize the force required and allow raising in five minutes. The central span of 200 ft (61 m) between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 83 o to allow river traffic to pass. The bridge is 800 ft (244 m) in length with two towers, each 213 ft (65 m) high, built on piers. In June 2012, the bridge was highlighted on the route of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames. Workers began to build the Tower Bridge in April 1886 and the bridge was opened on 30 June 1894. Over 50 designs were entered, and in 1884 Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry's design was chosen. The City of London Corporation held a competition for the design in 1876. The bridge's decks (bascules) can be raised to 83 o from the horizontal. The "bascules" are the surfaces raised to allow tall ships to pass through: this happens about 900 times per year. This gives one of the best vantage points in London. It has its own exhibition centre in the horizontal walkway. Many tourists go to London to see the Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is far more visible than London Bridge, which people often mistake it for. The north side of the bridge is Tower Hill, and the south side of the bridge comes down into Bermondsey, an area in Southwark. It allows ships through the bridge deck when is raised at an angle in the centre. It crosses the River Thames near the Tower of London.
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