Historic Royal Palaces Podcast
The Beginnings of the Tower of London – William I's Norman Castle
William the Conqueror may have invaded England in 1066, but he needed castles to truly conquer England. Castles became the physical embodiment of the Norman Conquest. These were described by many post-Conquest sources as unnatural, alien structures. But they could not be ignored. The English were forced to help build them, then the castles became the source of their subjugation. Of those first-generation Norman castles, none are more famous than the White Tower at the Tower of London. How and why did William build a castle in London? How was it used? And what does it tell us about Norman rule in England?

