The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England. 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 I, 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 also 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 Norman ruling class. It was founded toward the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London.

Tower of london moat