Liberties of the Tower of London, Former jurisdictional area near Tower of London, United Kingdom
The Liberties of the Tower of London was an autonomous administrative zone surrounding the Tower with defined boundaries and self-governing structures. The territory encompassed areas immediately adjacent to the fortress and operated independently from the City of London's direct control.
The territory emerged after 1200 as a defensive buffer protecting the Tower and its strategic importance in medieval London. Its formal dissolution came in 1894, ending over 6 centuries of separate administrative status.
The area maintains a link to the ancient ritual of beating the bounds, carried out periodically by local Yeomen Warders to mark territorial lines. This practice reflects how medieval communities once organized their space and marked their independence from the City proper.
The former zone lies east of the Tower and is now integrated into regular London neighborhoods easily explored on foot. Historic boundaries are not marked on the ground, so visitors benefit from reading about the extent beforehand to understand the historic area's layout.
Residents held an exclusive right to claim any animals or swans that fell and were found beneath London Bridge. This unusual privilege set them apart from other London communities and revealed the breadth of authority granted to this independent zone.
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