White Tower (Tower of London)
The White Tower is a central tower, the old keep, at the Tower of London in England. It was built by William the Conqueror during the early 1080s, and subsequently extended. The White Tower was the castle's strongest point militarily, provided accommodation for the king and his representatives, and housed a chapel. Henry III ordered the tower whitewashed in 1240. Today the Tower of London is a museum and visitor attraction. The White Tower now houses the Royal Armouries collections. History The castle which later became known as the Tower of London was begun by William the Conqueror in 1066 and was built as a timber fortification enclosed by a palisade. In the next decade work began on the White Tower, the great stone keep that still dominates the castle today. The precise date of the White Tower's foundation is unknown, and it is also uncertain how long the construction took. It is traditionally held that construction began in 1078. This is because the Textus Roffensis records that Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, oversaw the building work under instruction from William the Conqueror. Dendrochronological evidence suggests construction of the White Tower began in 1075–1079. The archaeology of the standing building suggests