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Feature by Lizzie Guilfoyle
ANNE Boleyn, Guy Fawkes, Thomas More, Princess Elizabeth, Lady
Jane Grey and Walter Raleigh are just some of the names associated
with The Tower of London.
But did you know that Rudolf Hess was also a prisoner in this
royal fortress on the Thames?
To find out more about Hess - you can actually see papers containing
his signature - as well as many other interesting and intriguing
prisoners, visit the Prisoners of the Tower Exhibition,
which runs until September 5, 2004, at the Tower of London.
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Among the exhibits are personal possessions,
the Prayer Books belonging to Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey,
for example; artefacts, such as the Episcopal Staff and Ring of
Bishop Flambard, the Tower's very first prisoner; and furniture,
like the chair in which Josef Jakobs, the last prisoner to be
executed there, was shot.
All that, plus rare documents, clothing, works of art, 3D models
and film footage.
The exhibition also tells the stories of lesser-known prisoners
- from the first, as long ago as the year 1100, who, incidentally,
were the first ever to escape, right up to the 20th Century and
the Germans accused of espionage.
Visitors can also learn how prisoners of state were kept in relative
luxury; what reasons warranted being 'sent to the Tower'; and
what punishments and ultimate fates awaited those unfortunate
souls.
The Tower's virtual one thousand- year history of imprisonment
is illustrated alongside its other key roles as fortress, armoury,
treasury, Royal Mint and menagerie.
Tickets are bookable in advance, on 0870 756 7070, or via the
weblink in the right-hand column of this page.
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