Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

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Appointed Constable of the Tower in 1826.

Wellington exerted a major influence: draining the moat, reorganizing the establishment of the Yeomen Warders and overseeing the building of the Waterloo Barracks.

Wellington had definite opinions about the role of the Tower and opposed its development into a museum, preferring the Royal Repository at Woolwich for the prizes from Paris in 1815.

However he insisted that all the guns captured in the Peninsular War and at
Waterloo should be preserved.

The Tower still mounts a battery of Waterloo guns outside the Waterloo Barracks, north of the White Tower.

See also

  • Constables

    From the 11th century the Constable of the Tower was appointed by the monarch as
    their most senior officer at this most important site.

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No rust for the wicked

Wrought iron does not rust as quickly as cast iron. At Fort Nelson the Boxted Bombard, a large medieval cannon made of wrought iron is still in good condition despite being left outdoors and unprotected for hundreds of years.