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Year 10
AQA

The site of the White Tower

I can explain why the White Tower's location was chosen.

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New
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Year 10
AQA

The site of the White Tower

I can explain why the White Tower's location was chosen.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The site chosen for the White Tower was a strategically important one.
  2. The site of the White Tower made use of the old Roman walls.
  3. A key role for the White Tower was to control London's population.
  4. Two other castles were also built in London: Baynard's Castle and Montfichet's Tower.
  5. The White Tower was in close connection with both religious and administrative centres in London.

Keywords

  • Strategically - important or essential for achieving a plan or an aim

  • Fortification - any structure designed for defence

  • Legitimacy - having the right to hold power

Common misconception

Students may think that the White Tower was the only castle in Norman London.

In fact, there were two other castles in Norman London: Baynard's Castle and Montfichet's Tower.


To help you plan your year 10 history lesson on: The site of the White Tower, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use illustrations or maps of Norman (or Roman and Saxon) London to help students picture the site.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Complete the sentence: William’s terrifying harrying of the area around London seems to have convinced the English leadership to to him.
Correct Answer: submit
Q2.
Complete the sentence: London was a well-defended and so Harold could have waited for William there, instead he chose to leave on 13th October to face William in the south.
Correct Answer: burh
Q3.
Who did the Anglo-Saxon elite choose as king immediately after the Battle of Hastings?
Correct answer: Edgar the Atheling
Earl Edwin
Earl Morcar
William of Normandy
Q4.
Why did William embark on a strategic march around the southeast of England?
to please his soldiers who wanted revenge on London
Correct answer: to cut off supplies and isolate London
Correct answer: to intimidate London’s population
Correct answer: to reduce the possibility of coordinated resistance
to weaken London as a city in the long-term
Q5.
Why did William choose to have his coronation in Westminster Abbey?
He liked the building's Romanesque architecture.
He wanted to bury Harold there to officially end Anglo-Saxon rule.
Correct answer: He wanted to send a strong message of continuity.
He could host his friends and family easily there as it was so big.
Q6.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Harold left London to fight at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
2 - Harold returned to London victorious.
3 - Harold called up levies from the fyrd in London.
4 - Harold’s mother and brothers tried to persuade him to wait in London.
5 - Harold left London for Hastings with only half of the levies.
6 - William led his army on a strategic march to intimidate London.
7 - William was crowned king of England in London.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes being important or essential for achieving a plan or an aim?
Correct Answer: strategically, strategic
Q2.
Which word describes any structure designed for defence?
Correct Answer: fortification
Q3.
Why was the White Tower built on a bend in the River Thames?
Correct answer: It could serve as a lookout point for approaching threats.
Correct answer: It could control river traffic.
It could be constructed from soil from the river bank.
It could allow residents to get fish from the river easily.
Q4.
How many castles were there in Norman London?
1 - just the White Tower
2 - the White Tower and Baynard's Castle
2 - the White Tower and Montfichet's Tower
Correct answer: 3 - the White Tower, Baynard's Castle and Montfichet's Tower
4 - the White Tower, London Bridge, Baynard's Castle and Montfichet's Tower
Q5.
How tall was the White Tower?
seven metres
17 metres
Correct answer: 27 metres
37 metres
Q6.
Which two other Norman buildings allowed the White Tower to be in close connection with the religious and administrative centres of London?
Correct answer: Westminster Hall
Winchester Treasury
Westminster Cathedral
Correct answer: St Paul’s Cathedral

Additional material

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