2017 England Highlights
Pictures of London (9 days) and Paris (1 day) captured with both my iPhone 6 Plus and Sony RX100M3.
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Pipe organ in the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula in London Tower.
Pipe organ in the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula in London Tower.
![The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. 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. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. 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. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard) until 1952 (Kray twins),[3] although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London">Wikipedia</a>)](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/England2017RoughCut/i-GpBPMQc/1/5228fccf/Ti/20150704485-Ti.jpg)
![The White Tower is a keep (also known as a donjon), which was often the strongest structure in a medieval castle, and contained lodgings suitable for the lord – in this case the king or his representative.[10] According to military historian Allen Brown, "The great tower [White Tower] was also, by virtue of its strength, majesty and lordly accommodation, the donjon par excellence".[11] As one of the largest keeps in the Christian world,[12] the White Tower has been described as "the most complete eleventh-century palace in Europe". (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London">Wikipedia</a>)](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/England2017RoughCut/i-v8xZNVL/0/e57392f5/Ti/20150704495-Ti.jpg)
![Left: White Tower. Right: The inner ward.<br><br>
The inner ward was created during Richard the Lionheart's reign, when a moat was dug to the west of the innermost ward, effectively doubling the castle's size.[28][29] Henry III created the ward's east and north walls, and the ward's dimensions remain to this day.[7] Most of Henry's work survives, and only two of the nine towers he constructed have been completely rebuilt.[30] Between the Wakefield and Lanthorn Towers, the innermost ward's wall also serves as a curtain wall for the inner ward.[31] The main entrance to the inner ward would have been through a gatehouse, most likely in the west wall on the site of what is now Beauchamp Tower. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London">Wikipedia</a>)](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/England2017RoughCut/i-xcBwS8C/0/23ed90a0/Ti/20150704528-Ti.jpg)
![Olney (ol-nee)[2] is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes, South East England, United Kingdom.[3] It is also part of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, with a population of around 6,500 people.[4] It is a popular tourist destination, perhaps best known for the Olney Pancake Race[2] and for the Olney Hymns by William Cowper and John Newton. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olney,_Buckinghamshire">Wikipedia</a>)<br><br>
The Olney Hymns were first published in February 1779 and are the combined work of curate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newton">John Newton</a> (1725–1807) and his poet friend, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cowper">William Cowper</a> (1731–1800). The hymns were written for use in Newton's rural parish, which was made up of relatively poor and uneducated followers. The Olney Hymns are an illustration of the potent ideologies of the Evangelical movement, to which both men belonged, present in many communities in England at the time. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olney_Hymns">Wikipedia</a>)<br><br>
Where is Olney? <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Olney,+UK/@52.1648569,-0.8538231,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x4877a831601f8713:0xf5581f1810955233!8m2!3d52.154738!4d-0.7013779">map</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/England2017RoughCut/i-CZCMcFx/0/90a179e8/Ti/Pixlr-Onley-collage-Ti.jpg)
