Prisoners in the Tower of London, 1547-1625

Thesis

This thesis examines the political culture of late-Tudor and early-Stuart England by interrogating the crown’s use of the Tower of London as a prison. In this period of enormous religious and political change, members of the elite frequently found themselves in the Tower. They were not the only prisoners, though. Despite its reputation as a prison only for those of highest status or the most serious state crimes, the Tower housed prisoners across a range of backgrounds and offences. Even within the prison, an individual’s power, influence, and social status were not necessarily lost. To track the experiences of prisoners between 1547 and 1625, this thesis investigates the particularities of Tower incarceration (living conditions, privileges, and access to visitors), and the religious, familial, intellectual, and political opportunities available to the imprisoned. It also examines the role of the Tower’s use as a prison in the early modern public sphere by considering the public’s interaction with the Tower - in print, in passing, in attendance at religious services within its walls, and in metropolitan life. By evaluating how the social structures of early modern England imposed themselves on the experiences of prisoners there, this thesis argues that the Tower’s flexibility and amorphous structure allowed for political negotiation and manoeuvring, both on the part of the state and the prisoners themselves. Unless Tower authorities were attempting to force conformity or gain information, prisoners were often able to live with relatively little oversight, either because the state lacked the infrastructure to police behaviour or because the authorities’ primary interest was in the physical custody of prisoners. In all but a few dozen exceptional cases, the Tower was essentially a site of house arrest centralised in England’s capital.

Authors: Jenkinson, CMW

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-era7zpx89
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: statecraft; early modern; Tower of London; religion; political culture; incarceration
• Subjects: England; Imprisonment; Sixteenth century; Seventeenth century