The Tower of London with the Grand Storehouse

ENGLISH SCHOOL EARLY 19^TH CENTURY 

in the Manner of JOHANNES SPILBERG THE YOUNGER 

The Tower of London with the Grand Storehouse 

Oil on canvas 

33 x 46cms

13 x 181/8 inches

Overall framed dimensions 44 x 56 cms

                                            173/8 x 22 ins

This painting shows the Tower of London complex from the Thames with figures loading cargo on to moored barges in the foreground.

Prominent is the Norman White Tower, built probably between 1075 and 1079. Looking from left to right, facing the Thames are: the Middle Tower, Byward Tower, Bell Tower, Traitor's Gate, St Thomas's Tower, Henry IIIs Water Gate, Wakefield Tower and part of Tower Wharf.

The large building to the north of the Tower is the Grand Storehouse which was built between 1688 and 1692 by Thomas and John Ffitch. Almost 360 feet long by 60 feet wide, this was the largest building ever erected within the Tower walls and was constructed of brick with Portland stone dressings replacing the range of Tudor storehouses which were in a dilapidated condition. The ground floor was the Artillery Room which contained the great guns of the army, the first floor housed the Small Armoury while the roof was a store, principally taken up with tents.

The building that stands on that site today is Waterloo Barracks. The Grand Storehouse was destroyed by fire in 1841 (a popular event for artists to record as there is an oil painting in the Royal Armouries Museum collection, a watercolour by John Christian Schetky as well as several prints including one lithograph by J L Marks and another by William Oliver among others). The Duke of Wellington laid the foundation stone in 1845 and the structure now houses the Crown Jewels.