伦敦塔（Tower of London）是伦敦的地标性建筑之一，她的官方名称是“女王陛下的宫殿与城堡，伦敦塔(Her Majesty's Palace and Fortress,The Tower of London)”。坐落在泰晤士河北岸，看上去是一座非常坚固的堡垒。伦敦塔从过去到现在可以算是一座“多功能”建筑，它几个世纪以来，既是王室的行宫、兵器库、战略要塞、也是监狱和藏宝楼。

The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

In the late 15th century the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence, and despite attempts to refortify and repair the castle its defences lagged behind developments to deal with artillery.

The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures who had fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen, were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower". Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death, popularised by 16th-century religious