Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Tower Hamlets, Royal chapel in Tower of London, England
The Church of St Peter ad Vincula is a chapel inside the Tower of London that serves as a royal house of prayer for the fortress community. The building shows a western tower with a bell housing, a nave and a northern aisle with Tudor-style window openings lacking ornamental stonework.
A fire destroyed the earlier church building in 1512, after which Henry VIII commissioned the construction of the present structure. The work ended in 1520 and created a space that would receive execution victims from the following centuries.
The name refers to the legend of Peter in chains, while the building continues to serve daily worship for the community within the fortress walls. Regimental members of the Fusiliers mark special ceremonies here and maintain the link between military tradition and religious life.
The chapel sits inside the fortress walls and can only be entered as part of a visit to the entire site. A marble floor from 1876 marks burial places of those executed, including Anne Boleyn.
Officers of the Royal Fusiliers may celebrate their weddings here, a rare privilege in a royal peculiar chapel with such a past. The right is still exercised today by some couples who become part of a long ceremonial tradition.
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