2. The Tower of London

The Tower of London is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The fortress consists of several buildings around a central tower . It is situated on the northern bank of the River Thames .

For many centuries, the Tower of London served as a prison . Among the most famous prisoners were the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh and Anne Boleyn, one of Henry VIII's wives, who was beheaded there.

Today visitors are able to see the Crown Jewels of England, which were originally protected by Beefeaters and the Tower's ravens .

Tower of London
Image: © Hilarmont (Kempten), CC BY-SA 3.0 DE,
via Wikimedia Commons


Words

  • bank = side of a river
  • behead = to cut off someone's head
  • consists of = to be made up of
  • explorer = person who travels to unknown places in order to find out more about them
  • fortress = a large, strong building that is used for defending an important place
  • prison = place where you keep someone because they have done something wrong
  • protect = guard, keep safe
  • raven = a shiny, black bird
  • serve = to have a function