UK - London - The Tower of London: Henry III's Torture Display - The Rack
Originally uploaded by wallyg.
The lower chamber of the Wakefield Tower contained a guard room where the soliders who guarded the old Henry III Watergate were stationed. This overlooked the river through a series of arrow slits, until about 1820 when the foreshore was built up to form the new Outer Ward. Today, the lower chamber contains replicas of three torture instruments, known to have been used in the Tower of London in the past.
The Rack was the the Tower of London's most infamous instrument of torture. It was a large iron frame containing three wooden rollers. One warder could operate it by turning the central roller with a lever. Ropes ran to the other rollers at the head and foot of the rack, making them turn in opposite directions. The central roller also had an iron ratchet and teeth, holding it in position and keeping the victim stretched. This replica is based on a diagram showing what remained of the rack in the 18th century, when it was found in storage. It has since been lost.
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