Hi there, I'm Mr. Roberts and thanks for joining me for today's history lesson, where my job will be to guide you through our history resources.

I'll be making sure that by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to securely meet our lesson objective.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to describe the different people who lived in the White Tower.

There are three key terms which we need to make sure we're comfortable with before embarking on our learning journey today.

Noble, refers to a member of the ruling elite.

The castellan is the governor of a castle, and a chapel is a small church or a room used as a church in a larger building.

Our lesson on the residents of the White Tower is separated into three learning phases, and the first part revolves around the royal residents and their court.

The White Tower was built to be lived in and the second floor was designed to be lived in by royalty.

There had to be compromises between luxury and the tower's role as a defensive stronghold.

The small windows of the original Norman White Tower would've meant a gloomy interior.

But the royal residents of the first floor had fireplaces for warmth and garderobes or toilets for royal convenience.

These toilets were all located along the north wall of the tower, so that the south wall, facing the river, and the most on public display would not have become stained by royal waste falling from the garderobes above.

Next, I'd like you to attempt the following true or false question.

True or false? The garderobes were all located along the north wall of the tower, facing away from the river.

Pause the video while you come to a decision on what you think is the correct answer and then press Play to continue.

Welcome back, and well done if you said the answer is True.

Now I'd like you to think about why the answer is True, based upon what we've just been learning about.

Pause the video while you do this and then press Play when you are ready for the justification.

Hello again, and well done if you said that the garderobes were all located along the north wall of the tower, so that the south wall, facing the river and most on public display, would not have become stained by royal waste falling from the garderobes above.

Rich tapestries and rugs would've provided some comfort for the royal residents.

But it's true to say there would not have been much privacy in the White Tower, although possibly screens were used to divide up the space, nor could it have been very comfortable.

Draughts would've blown through the windows and there were not enough fireplaces to heat such a large space.

William II certainly preferred his new palace of Westminster.

The first floor of the White Tower contains a large hall and a slightly smaller chamber.

It's likely that the hall was used for the king and his court to watch entertainment together, eat together, and carry out administrative tasks.

The Normans had a strong tradition of feasting and it's possible that lavish banquets were held here with the king celebrating with his favourites.

The first floor, the access floor also has fireplaces and garderobes, so it was equipped for this role.

However, there was no kitchen in the White Tower.

The basements have no fireplaces, and the ones on the first and second floors were not suitable for cooking on.

It is likely that food was prepared in buildings outside the tower, in the bailey of the castle, and then carried in.

The king and his guests, favourites and family would've been seated on a raised platform at one end of the hall while the rest of the courts would be seated at the trestle tables in the rest of the hall.

After the meal, most of the king's court would've slept on mats on the floor.

And before we move on, it's time for another brief learning check just to ensure we're securing some key information.

I'd like you now to complete the sentences on the screen using two different words.

Pause the video while you have a think, and then press Play when you're ready for the answers to be revealed.

Welcome back, and well done if your sentences sound like this.

It is likely that the hall was used for the king and his court to watch entertainment, eat and carry out administrative tasks.

It is possible that lavish banquets were held here.

Next, for our first written task, I'd like you to consider the following.

Jun has listed some of the features of the White Tower.

Which of these could you use as evidence of the White Tower being designed for royal and noble residents? Pause the video while you complete this task and then press Play when you're done and are ready for some suggestions.

Welcome back.

I asked you to list the features you could use as evidence of the White Tower being designed for royal and noble residents.

Well done if you listed fireplaces, garderobes, rich tapestries and rugs, and a private chapel.

Now using this information, please describe how the White Tower was designed for use by royal and noble residents.

Pause the video while you complete this task and then press Play when you are done and are ready for some feedback in the form of a model answer.

Welcome back.

I asked you to please describe how the White Tower was designed for use by royal and noble residents.

It's worth mentioning at this point that everyone will have written something slightly different in their answer to this task, but well done if you managed to include any of the following in your answer.

The White Tower was built for royal residence on its second floor, balancing luxury with its defensive role.

Despite the small windows creating a gloomy interior, royals and noble residents had fireplaces for warmth and garderobes along the north wall to avoid public display of waste.

Rich tapestries and rugs added some comfort, but privacy was limited, likely managed with screens.

The large space remains draughty and under-heated, making it less comfortable than William II's preferred Palace of Westminster.

The first floor featured a large hall and a smaller chamber, likely used for royal entertainments, administrative tasks, and feasting, a tradition among Norman nobles.

Equipped with fireplaces and garderobes, this floor was designed for hosting these sorts of events, but it lacked a kitchen.

Food was probably prepared in the castle's bailey and brought in.

The king and his close associates would dine on a raised platform while others sat at trestle tables, with most of the court sleeping on mats on the hall floor after meals.

Really well done there, and with that task done, we're ready to move on to the second part of our lesson today, where we'll be learning about the keeper of the White Tower.

For most of the time, no royal residents were present in the White Tower.

The most important resident then was the keeper, the cacastellan of the White Tower, later known as the Constable of the Tower of London.

While some Norman castellans were women who took charge of a castle in the absence of their husband, this did not happen at the White Tower.

The first keeper of the White Tower was Geoffrey de Mandeville, who was appointed to the role by William I.

De Mandeville and Norman was one of William's most important tenants in chief and one of the 10 richest men in Norman England with estates in Essex, as well as the first keeper of the White Tower, he also served as the first Norman Sheriff of London.

This all underlines the importance to William of having someone he could fully trust in charge of the White Tower while he was away.

Now please complete the sentences on the screen using two keywords.

Pause the video while you do this and then press Play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back, and well done if your sentences now read like this.

The most important resident when the king was not staying at the tower was the keeper or castellan of the White Tower.

And the first keeper of the White Tower was Geoffrey de Mandeville, a wealthy Norman noble.

The responsibilities of the keeper included the maintenance of the tower's defences, paying the garrison of soldiers who guarded the tower and making sure they were carrying out their duties, and also when prisoners began to be kept in the tower at first in its basement, guarding these prisoners.

The keeper also had a key role in collecting taxes from the area under the White Tower's control, which included shipping along the Thames.

This was personally profitable for the keeper too, who got to keep a percentage of the taxes for himself.

Over time, this developed into a long list of privileges, including the rights to all animals that fell off London Bridge, one shilling from every boat carrying herring to London, and two pence from every pilgrim coming to London to worship at the shrine of St.

James.

Before we move on, it's time for another brief learning check to make sure we're securing that key information we need moving forward.

Which three of the options on the screen with a main duties of the keeper of the castle? A, maintenance of the tower's defences, b, overseeing the garrison who guarded the tower, c, personally cleaning the castle so it was ready for William, or d, collecting taxes from the area under the tower's control.

Once again, pause this video while you pick the three correct answers and press Play when you are ready to continue.

Welcome back, and well done if you said the correct answers were a, b, and d.

And for our second written task today, I'd like you, using your learning so far, to explain the role of the keeper of the White Tower.

Try to include the following in your answer, castellan, Geoffrey de Mandeville, garrison of soldiers, maintaining defences, collecting taxes, and privileges.

Pause the video while you complete this task and then press Play for some feedback once again in the form of a model answer.

Welcome back.

I asked you to explain the role of the keeper of the White Tower.

Once again, everyone's answer will look slightly different, but well done if your answer looked anything like this.

The keeper of the White Tower, originally known as the castellan and later as the Constable of the Tower of London, played a crucial role in the administration and security of the tower.

Appointed by William I, the first keeper was Geoffrey de Mandeville, a trusted Norman tenant-in-chief and one of the wealthiest men in Norman England.

The keeper's responsibilities included maintaining the tower's defences, overseeing the garrison of soldiers, and guarding prisoners held in the tower's basement.

Additionally, the keeper was tasked with collecting taxes from the surrounding area and Thames shipping, a role that was financially beneficial as the keeper retained a percentage of the collected taxes.

This role expanded over time to include various privileges, such as rights to animals falling from London Bridge and fees from boats carrying herring and pilgrims visiting the shrine of St James.

The position highlighted the importance of having a reliable and influential figure in charge of the tower in the king's absence.

Really well done there, and with that task done, we're ready to move on to the third part of our lesson today, where we'll be learning about the ordinary residents of the White Tower.

A garrison of troops would always have been in place at the White Tower.

It's not known exactly how large this garrison would've been during the Norman period, but there could have been between 50 and 200 soldiers during peacetime, with the capacity to increase this during wartime or when an attack threatened.

The feudal system delivered knights to the Norman king from his tenants in chief, and knights would've been part of the White Tower's garrison.

Knights were trained to fight on horseback, but also on foot, and their feudal duties included guarding royal properties as well as actually fighting for the king in wars.

Next, I'd like you to have a go at the multiple choice question on the screen.

As part of William's feudal system, what would his knight's feudal duties have included? A, guarding royal properties, b, personally farming the land around a castle, or c, fighting for the king in wars? Pause the video while you choose your answers and just press Play to check the accuracy of your selections.

Welcome back, and well done if you selected a and c.

Arches would also have been part of the garrison, essential for the effective defence of the castle.

A special passageway was built into the upper story of the White Tower to allow them to move from place to place along the tower's defences while staying under cover.

Where the garrison lived is not clear, though it seems likely that they lived in wooden barracks and huts in the bailey of the castle, which would also have housed servants, horses, and specialists such as blacksmiths and fletchers, makers of arrows.

Perhaps in times when the king and his court were absent, some or all of the garrison would stay in the first floor hall.

Next, I'd like you to attempt the following true or false question.

True or false? The White Tower had no features that were designed to help protect the castle's garrison.

Pause the video while you come to a decision on what you think is the correct answer and then press Play to continue.

Welcome back, and well done if you said the answer is False.

Now I'd like you to think about why the answer is False based upon what we've just been learning about.

Pause the video while you do this, and then press Play when you are ready for the justification.

Hello again, and well done if you said that a special passageway was built into the upper story of the White Tower, to allow arches from the garrison to move from place to place along the tower's defences while staying under cover.

At times when the king and his court were in residence, the White Tower would've needed a large team of servants.

Cooks and scullions would've been employed to prepare food and feasts.

Scullions helped the cooks and did all the menial tasks.

Laundresses would've cleaned the clothes of the royal family and their court.

A steward, part of the royal court would've overseen all servants and organise their work, while the king and his family would've had personal servants to address them and make sure their chambers were properly prepared.

The Chapel of St John would also have employed a chaplain to carry out services, a member of the clergy that was often appointed to this role by the king himself.

So another true or false question now.

True or false? As royal residents rarely stayed in the White Tower, there was no need for craftspeople to live there.

Pause the video while you have a thing and then press Play when you're ready for the answer.

Welcome back, and well done if you said the answer is False.

Now I'd like you to think once again about why that answer is False based on what we've been talking about.

Pause the video while you do this and then press Play when you are ready to hear the justification.

Welcome back, and well done if you said, the craftspeople like blacksmiths and fletchers were needed to make and repair weapons, armour, and to shoe horses for the White Tower's garrison.

Now let's have a go at a final multiple choice question.

Which of the following would not have been a resident of the Norman White Tower? A, a beefeater, b, a chaplain, or c, a fletcher? Pause this video while you pick the correct answer and then press Play when you are ready to continue.

Hello again, and well done if you said that the right answer was a, a beefeater.

And for our final written task today, I'd like you to consider the following statement.

The White Tower was not designed with the comforts of its noble residents in mind.

Complete the table on the screen by adding counter arguments based on your learning so far.

Pause the video while you complete this task and then press Play when you are ready for some suggestions.

Welcome back, and well done if you included any of the following counter arguments.

The first floor royal guests had fireplaces.

There were rich tapestries and rugs which helped to avoid draughts.

All of the food and drink would've been carried in by servants despite the lack of a kitchen, and the North wall garderobes aided convenience and privacy.

Next, please write one paragraph to disagree with this now familiar statement.

The White Tower was not designed with the comfort of its noble residents in mind.

You can use your completed table to help you.

Pause the video and press Play when you're ready for a model answer.

Welcome back, and well done if you managed to include any of the following in your answer.

The White Tower, although primarily designed for defence, did have some comforts and qualities, allowing it also to be used as a royal residence.

For example, the noble residents of the first floor had fireplaces for warmth and garderobes for royal convenience.

Furthermore, the garderobes were located along the north wall of the tower for added privacy from the street.

Additionally, despite limited fireplaces, the tower was decorated with rich tapestries and rugs to help avoid draughts.

Finally, despite a lack of kitchen, nobles would not have wanted for anything as all food and drink would've been carried to them in the hall by servants.

Therefore, despite its primary defence function, there were some royal comforts available in the tower.

Really well done there, and with that task complete, we've arrived at the end of our lesson today.

And all that's left for us to do is to summarise the key learning points, and it will be great if you could remember these going forward.

Firstly, although designed primarily for defence, the White Tower was able to accommodate royal residents and other noble residents, such as the keeper of the tower.

Secondly, the keeper was the most important resident of the tower when the king was not visiting and their role as castellan included maintaining the castle garrison.

And lastly, a wide range of other people lived in the White Tower too, including craftspeople, servants, and a chaplain who worked in St John's Chapel.

Thank you so much for joining me for our lesson today.

It's been an absolute pleasure to guide you through our learning resources on The residents of the White Tower.

I look forward to seeing you again in the future, where we'll be learning all about St John's Chapel.