This section treats of four important government buildings situated in the eastern half of the metropolis.

The Tower of London.—This famous structure, or rather group of structures, is a cluster of houses, towers, barracks, armouries, warehouses, and prison-like edifices, situated on the north bank of the Thames, and separated from the crowded narrow streets of the city by an open space of ground called Tower-hill. The Tower was founded by William the Conqueror, probably on the site of an older fortress, to secure his authority over the inhabitants of London; but the original fort which he established on the spot was greatly extended by subsequent monarchs; and in the twelfth century it was surrounded by a wet ditch, which was improved in the reign of Charles II. This ditch or moat was drained in 1843. Within the outer wall the ground measures upwards of twelve acres. Next the river there is a broad quay; and on this side also there was a channel (now closed) by which boats formerly passed into the main body of the place. This water-entrance is known by the name of Traitors’ Gate, being that by which, in former days, state prisoners were brought in boats after their trial at Westminster. There are three other entrances or postern-gates—Lion Gate, Iron Gate, and Water Gate—only two of which, however, are now used. The interior of the Tower is an irregular assemblage of short streets and courtyards, bounded by various structures. The White Tower, or Keep, is the oldest of these buildings; and the Chapel in it is a fine specimen of a small Norman church. Other towers are the Lion Tower, near the principal entrance; the Middle Tower, the first seen on passing the ditch; the Bell Tower, adjacent to it; the Bloody Tower, nearly opposite Traitors’ Gate; the Salt Tower, near the Iron Gate; Brick Tower, where Lady Jane Grey was confined; Bowyer Tower, where the Duke of Clarence is said to have been Chapel in Tower drowned in the butt of malmsey; and Beauchamp Tower, where Anne Boleyn was imprisoned. These old towers are very curious, but few of them are open to the public. The principal objects of interest are a collection of cannon, being trophies of war; the horse armoury, a most interesting collection of suits of mail on stuffed figures; and the crown and other insignia of royalty. In the Horse Armoury, a long gallery built in 1826, is an extensive collection of armour, arranged by Sir Samuel Meyrick, a great authority on this subject. It comprises whole suits of armour, consisting of hauberks, chausses, surcoats, baldricks, breast-plates, back-plates, chain-mail sleeves and skirts, gauntlets, helmets, frontlets, vamplates, flanchards, and other pieces known to the old armourers. About twenty complete suits of armour are placed upon stuffed figures of men, mostly on stuffed horses. Four of the suits belonged to Henry VIII., Dudley Earl of Leicester, Henry Prince of Wales, and Charles I.; the others are merely intended to illustrate the kinds of armour in vogue at certain periods. One suit, of the time of Richard III., Traitor’s Gate, Chapel White Tower was worn by the Marquis of Waterford at the Eglinton tournament in 1839. The gallery also contains some other curiosities relating to the armour of past days. Queen Elizabeth’s Armoury is in the White Tower, the walls of which are 13 feet thick, and still contain traces of inscriptions by state prisoners in troubled times: the armoury contains many curious old shields, bows, Spanish instruments of torture, petronels, partisans, beheading axe and block, thumb-screws, Lochaber axes, matchlocks, arquebuses, swords, &c. Immediately outside these Armouries, in the open air, are some curious cannon and mortars belonging to different ages and different countries. The new Barracks occupy the site of the Small Arms Armoury, destroyed by fire in 1841, when 280,000 stand of arms were destroyed. The Lions in the Tower were among the sights of the place for nearly 600 years; they were in a building near the present ticket-office, but were given to the Zoological Society in 1834. The Jewel House, a well-guarded room to the east of the Armouries, contains a valuable collection of state jewels. Among them are the following:—St. Edward’s Crown, used at all the coronations from Charles II. to William IV.; the New State Crown, made for the coronation of Queen Victoria, and valued at more than £100,000; the Prince of Wales’s and the Queen Consort’s Crowns (the most recent wearer of the last was Queen Adelaide); the Queen’s Diadem; the Royal Sceptre, Queen’s Sceptre, and Queen’s Ivory Sceptre; the Orb and the Queen’s Orb; St. Edward’s Staff and the Rod of Equity; the Swords of Mercy and of Justice; the Coronation Bracelets and Royal Spurs; the Ampulla for the holy oil, and the Coronation Spoon; the silver-gilt Baptismal Font, used at the christening of royal children; and the famous Koh-i-noor, or ‘Mountain of Light,’ the wonderful diamond once belonging to Runjeet Singh, chief of Lahore, but now the property of Queen Victoria,—it was an object of great interest at the two great Exhibitions in 1851 and 1862. Strangers, on applying at an office at the entrance from Tower-hill, are conducted through a portion of the buildings by warders, who wear a curious costume of Henry VIII.’s time—some years ago rendered incongruous by the substitution of black trousers for scarlet hose. These warders, or beef-eaters (as they are often called), go their rounds with visitors every half-hour from 10 till 4. The word “beef-eaters” was a vulgar corruption of beaufetiers, battle-axe guards, who were first raised by Henry VII. in 1485. They were originally attendants upon the king’s buffet. A fee of 6d. is charged for seeing the Armouries, and 6d. for the Jewel House. From time to time, when foreign politics look threatening, the Tower undergoes alterations and renovations to increase its utility as a fortress; and it is at all times under strict military government.

The Mint.—This structure, situated a little north-east of the Tower, is the establishment in which the coinage is in great part made, and wholly regulated. The rooms, the machinery, and the processes for coining, are all full of interest. The assaying of the gold and silver for coinage; the alloying and melting; the casting into ingots; the flattening, rolling, and laminating of the ingots to the proper thickness; the cutting into strips, and the strips into circular blanks; the stamping of those blanks on both surfaces; and the testing to ascertain that every coin is of the proper weight—are all processes in which very beautiful and perfect apparatus is needed. Copper and bronze coins are mostly made for the government at Birmingham. From a statement made in parliament, in August, 1869, by the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, we gathered that 98 millions of sovereigns had been coined in the Mint since 1850. But of these no fewer than 44 millions had been lost to our coinage, because many of the sovereigns, being overweight, had been sent to the Continent to be melted down as bullion! There are nearly 500 millions of copper coin in circulation; and of silver coin, from crown pieces down to threepenny pieces, something like the astounding number of 286,220,000. Permission to view this interesting establishment could at one time only be obtained by special application to the Master of the Mint, who has an official residence at the spot; but since the death of the late Master, Dr. Graham, that office will not in future be filled up. A letter to the Deputy Master will probably obtain the required order to view. We should add that the removal of the Mint to Somerset House is now seriously contemplated. It is urged that the price of its present site, if sold, would readily defray cost of removal.

Custom House.—This important building, situated on the north bank of the Thames, between London Bridge and the Tower, occupies a site on which other and smaller custom houses had previously stood. The east and west ends of the present structure were finished in 1817 by Mr. Laing; but the central portion was rebuilt afterwards from the designs of Sir Robert Smirke. The river front is extensive, and although not architecturally fine, the general appearance is effective. One of the few broad terraces on the banks of the Thames is that in front of the Custom House; it is a good position from whence strangers can view the shipping in the river. The ‘Long Room’ in this building is 190 feet long by 66 broad. By way of illustrating the enormous amount of business done here, we may mention, that in the years 1867–68, the amount of Customs’ receipts collected in the port of London was more than Billingsgate, Coal Exchange, and Custom House. (Fenchurch Station, behind at the right.) that of all the other ports of Great Britain taken together, and five times that of the whole of Ireland. In 1867, the port of London gross receipts were £10,819,711; and in 1868, £10,694,494. The vast Customs’ duties for the port of London, amounting to nearly half of those for the whole United Kingdom, are managed here.

General Post Office, &c. (Tower, Monument, and London Bridge in the distance.)

General Poet Office.—This large building, at the corner of Cheapside and St. Martin’s-le-Grand, was finished in 1829, from the designs of Sir Robert Smirke. It is in the Ionic style, with a lofty central portico; beneath which is the entrance to the spacious hall (80 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 53 feet high), having also an entrance at the opposite extremity; but the central Hall is now entirely enclosed, owing to the recent great extension of the Postal business. A Money-order Office has been built on the opposite side of the street; and the Post Office has been added to in various ways, to make room for increased business. The main building, which contains a vast number of rooms, is enclosed by a railing; and at the north end is a courtyard, in which mail-vans range up and depart with their load of bags, at certain hours in the morning and evening, for the several railway termini. At other portions of the building the foreign, colonial, and India mails are despatched. From six to seven o’clock in the evening a prodigious bustle prevails in putting letters into the Post Office; and on Saturday evening, when the Sunday newspapers are posted, the excitement is still further increased—especially just before six, by which hour the newspapers must be posted. The establishment, some four years ago, employed 20,000 clerks, sorters, and letter-carriers in the various parts of the United Kingdom; and since the Post Office took over the business of the Telegraph Companies, the number of its employÉs is greatly increased. The postage charged on foreign and colonial letters is too small to pay for the mail-packets and other expenses; profit is derived only from the inland letters. There are now in London and the suburbs about 730 pillar-boxes and wall-boxes; without counting receiving houses. Newspapers and book packets must not be put in town pillar-boxes. A very useful novelty, Post Office Savings’ Banks, was introduced in 1861. In the year 1840, in which the uniform rate of one penny per letter of half an ounce weight, &c., commenced, the revenue of the Post Office was only £471,000. Its revenue received during the year 1871–72 was no less than £6,102,900, and every year the receipts are increasing. New postal buildings of great extent have been erected on the opposite side of the street.