Tales from the Tower (2001) Reviews

• An odd collection of rather gory tales...

  newtownduch2015-07-03

  This 3-part documentary series about the history of the Tower of London is remarkable for its exclusion of perhaps the Tower's two most notorious chapters - the disappearance of King Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York (better known as "The Princes in the Tower") in around 1483 and the imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn in 1536. A possible explanation may stem from the detail that HRH Prince Edward, the Duke of Wessex was an Executive Producer on the project. Interested students may recall that the present Royal family vetoed proposed DNA testing intended to establish the identity of remains found within the Tower precincts as those of the missing King and Duke. Nevertheless, the rather haphazard series of vignettes presented over the course of the series do include several well-dramatised and interesting stories about one-time residents of the Tower and those whose history is bound up with the structure. Most, of course, met a sticky end and this is not a series for the faint-hearted history buff. Examples include the portly Ranulf Flambard, duplicitous Geoffrey de Mandeville, Peasants' Revolt leader Wat Tyler, ill-fated Lady Jane Grey, Sir Anthony Babington and his fellow plotters, Protestant Pretender James Scott (the first Duke of Monmouth), fortunate rogue Colonel James Blood, the tyrannical Judge Jefferies, Henry Laurens, the only American ever imprisoned in the Tower and the hapless German dentist turned spy, Josef Jakobs, who was the last person executed at the Tower, on 15 August 1941.

• Good On Historical Content

  anthony-7272010-02-23

  I saw this documentary when it first aired on the BBC. I love history and thought this was as good and well constructed production as there had been. I don't know why it's never been placed on DVD and available throughout the education system. The re-enact for example in the Watt Tyler section were really well done despite the fact that they didn't have enough money to have a city of marauding hordes. One sequence that amused me was where Tyler is screaming in a barn or something inciting the rabble to march on the Tower... The actor gave it a large portion of effort, the guys in the crowed could have done with the same enthusiasm. Over all this is all content and fascinating and would love to get a copy of this.