The Office Of Ordnance Is In The Tower, With The Several Apartments
Of The Officers That Belong To It, Who Have The Direction Of All The
Arms, Ammunition, Artillery, Magazines, And Stores Of War In The
Kingdom.
The White Tower is a lofty, square stone building, with a turret at
each angle, standing on the declivity
Of the hill, a little below
the armoury, and disengaged from the other buildings, where some
thousand barrels of powder were formerly kept; but great part of the
public magazine of powder is now distributed in the several yards
and storehouses belonging to the government, as at Woolwich,
Chatham, Portsmouth, Plymouth, &c., to prevent accidents, I presume;
for should such a prodigious quantity of powder take fire, it must
be of fatal consequence to the city, as well as the Tower. The main
guard of the Tower, with the lodgings of the officers, are on the
east side of this building.
In the chapel of the White Tower, usually called Caesar's Chapel,
and in a large room adjoining on the east side thereof, sixty-four
feet long, and thirty-one broad, are kept many ancient records, such
as privy-seals in several reigns, bills, answers, and depositions in
chancery, in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth, King James I., and King
Charles I., writs of distringas, supersedeas, de excommunicato
capiendo, and other writs relating to the courts of law; but the
records of the greatest importance are lodged in the Tower called
Wakefield Tower, consisting of statute rolls from the 6th of Edward
I. to the 8th of Edward III.
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