and
narrow to admit any such a lift with a large boat upon it, nor does it
contain the slightest trace of anything of the kind, or of the machinery
necessary for its working. Although prior to the restoration in 1867
there were side openings to Traitors' Gate as well as that from the
river, not only were they too low and narrow to admit a boat, but they
were fitted with sluice gates for the retention of the water in the moat
when the tide was out, which were used until, in 1841, the moat itself
was drained and levelled, and the Thames excluded by a permanent dam.
The Cradle tower was, as already stated, a postern, leading from the
wharf to the Royal Palace, and derived its name from its cradle or
drawbridge that here spanned the waters of the moat.

When, in the time of Henry VIII. and his successors, the water gate,
"I," ceased to be a general entrance, and was only used as a
landing-place for State prisoners on their way to and from trial at
Westminster, it first received the less pleasing appellation it still
bears of "Traitors' Gate."

The procedure when the Queen or any distinguished person visited the
Tower by water was as follows: They alighted from the State barge at the
Queen's stairs, "Q," on the river face of the quay, "O," and
traversing this on foot or in a litter, entered the Tower by the Cradle
tower postern, "K," which afforded the readiest and most direct access
to the Palace in the inner ward, while it was entirely devoid of any
sinister associations.

In conclusion, it only remains for me to express my thanks to the Major
of the Tower, Lieutenant-General Sir George Bryan Milman, K.C.B., for
the permission so courteously accorded to visit and examine portions of
the fortress closed to the general public, and to the officials of the
Tower for facilities kindly afforded me to do so on several occasions.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The _Saxon Chronicle_ (Thorpe), vol. i., pp. 156, 157. (Subsequently
cited as "_Sax. Chron._").

[2] _Ibid._, vol. i., pp. 240, 241, 262, 263, 280, 281.

[3] _Archaeologia_, vol. lii., p. 615.

[4] See dotted line on plan.

[5] "The Conqueror's Footsteps in Domesday." _English Historical
Review_, vol. xiii., p. 17.

[6] _Sax. Chron._, vol. i., p. 339.

[7] Orderic Vitalis, _History of England and Normandy_, book iv., chap. i.

[8] _Norman Conquest_ (Freeman), vol. v., Appendix N., "Castles and
Destruction in the Towns."

[9] _Introduction to Domesday Book_ (Ellis), vol. i