A Prisoner in the Tower.

I love some of the snippets of family history that my mother unearths from time to time. These range from the tragic to the highly amusing and really bring all the names and dates to life. Below is a quote from one of her recent emails. It will certainly add a new element to a trip to the Tower of London!

Working on some Family History and your 7Xg grandmother Dorothy Walpole (the ghostly "Brown Lady of Raynham"). The boys will be delighted to know that her brother (their 8Xg great-uncle) Robert Walpole (first Prime Minister of England) was actually imprisioned in the Tower of London for 6 months in 1712. This imprisonment was brought about through charges by his political opponents, and only in the end served to make him more famous (like Ned Kelly!)

I also found that he and his mistress Maria Skellet were the inspiration for Polly and MacHeath in the Begger's Opera.

My memories of the Tower of London do not have it as being a very pleasant place to have spent any length of time imprisoned. Far too grim and too many one way tickets if you get my drift!