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Remembering Jeremy: Exploring the legacy of the Tower of London’s photographer (1967–1996)

This exhibition explores the unique photographic legacy of Jeremy Hall, Photographer for the Tower of London from 1967–1996.

Bridget Clifford, former Keeper of Tower Armouries, fondly remembers her colleague and leads us through his images which documented the collection and the everyday goings on at the Tower of London.

Jeremy Hall Gallery

Three shots of the cleaning of the Tower’s outer wall’s south face. — Spring cleaning
Recording the cleaning and conserving of the Tower’s outer southern wall in January – March 1983 was not one of Jeremy’s more glamorous briefs. However, his images provide a useful reference for mapping the impact of modern pollution and challenge our expectations of castle presentation.

View across the Thames from the Southbank to the Wharf, with White Tower emerging from trees. — The Conqueror’s Castle
Jeremy Hall took both black and white and colour versions of this shot from across the river. Black and white highlights the sky and has a sense of timelessness missed by colour. As London grows ever taller, it is increasingly difficult to appreciate the Tower’s original dominance of the north-bank skyline.

Mural passage in the Western wall, top floor White Tower. — A passage through time
View of the western mural passage along the top floor of the White Tower taken in 1996. At the time, the building was being stripped and investigated with much of its contents moving to a new site. Jeremy has captured a reflective moment amidst the change.

A snowy vista from Tower Green across the south -western corner of the White Tower towards the Lanthorn tower and New Armouries building. — In the deep midwinter
Jeremy loved the challenge of capturing the changing views and moods of the site. Proper snow at the Tower is always spectacular, and Jeremy has caught January 1982’s icy beauty brilliantly suspending it in time. It still packs a chill.

Resurfacing the outer ward roadway adjacent to the Wakefield Tower, looking West along Water Lane towards the Byward Tower. — Resurfacing Water Lane
Many of Jeremy’s photographs would be equally at home framed in an art gallery. However, he also recorded everyday maintenance work at the Tower conserving and preserving the site. Here Water Lane is being reset some 700 years after it was first reclaimed from the Thames.

Top floor east of the White tower, looking south and showing the original Norman roof line. — Walls have secrets
The 1996 clearance stripped away the cased displays revealing the White Tower’s interior. Once again the sooty outline of original Norman roofline emerged. The top floor and raised roof date from the 1490s, installed to facilitate gunpowder storage.

Wooden staircase to the White Tower main Norman entrance, rebuilt 1973. — Restoring William’s original vision
This wooden staircase was erected in 1973 returning the south entrance to use for the first time in centuries – a reminder that the Tower remains a living site. Sadly, Jeremy wasn’t here to photograph its replacement in January 2015.

Honourable Artillery company firing a gun salute from the Wharf, Tower Bridge behind. — Birthday greetings with a bang
Jeremy recorded the Tower’s rich pageantry from Church parades to royal visits. Among the most spectacular and regular are the gun salutes fired from the Wharf. In this case the Honourable Artillery Company mark the Queen’s 57 birthday in April 1983.

Ceremony of installation of the Constable on Tower Green, with the Yeoman Body in State Dress, garrison and military band. — Installation of Field Marshal Sir Roland Gibbs, GCB, CBE, DSO, MC, DL as Constable HM Tower of London, 10 October 1985
Jeremy with his formal hat on. The Constable’s installation is one of the more intimate Tower community occasions. The site closes to the public and the ceremony takes place on Tower Green before an audience of invited guests, the Yeoman Body and military band.

Framed by an arch, the Tower postman and Yeoman Warder exchange greetings with the White Tower in the distance. — Snow time at the Tower
Jeremy’s genius lay in producing images encapsulating the moment but that linger in the imagination. A beautifully framed shot of the Tower postman and Yeoman Warder chatting in picture post card snow with the White Tower looking on.

Ravenmaster and raven with south face of the White Tower as backdrop. — A bird in the hand
Ravenmaster John Wilmington photographed by Jeremy in April 1982. Jeremy’s image combines the Tower’s main icons - Yeoman Warders, often mistakenly called Beefeaters, ravens and the White Tower. Mr Wilmington’s firm grasp of his charge reminds us that the ravens remain wild and pack a formidable peck.

Three quarter length portrait of Chief Yeoman Warder Russell in State Dress. — All hail the Chief
As Tower photographer, Jeremy was responsible for photographing the site’s officers. Meet Mr Russell, Chief Yeoman Warder (1982 – 1985), resplendent in full State Dress and with official mace. The mace has been carried by his predecessors since the late 1870s.

The elephant armour being re-displayed with attendant conservators — Putting the final touches to a public favourite
The elephant armour is one of the collection’s most popular pieces – and largest. Jeremy documented the new elephant arriving in October 1976, and subsequent display with conservators Ted Smith and Arthur Davies attending. Brought to the Tower for conservation in 1949, the armour was presented to the museum in 1962.

Henry VIII’s armour assembled for foot combat and made in his royal workshops at Greenwich in 1540 — Henry VIII in all his majesty
This harness is one of 4 of Henry VIII’s personal armours in the Armouries collection. This image taken by Jeremy was reproduced on postcards and in Guidebooks – Henry was very much the poster boy! Copyright: The Board of Trustees of the Armouries Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds LS10 1LT TR.162 Transparency (4x5) Imacon Flextight Precision II

Behind the scenes — Armour pieces on wooden shelving in Brick Tower store
Much of Jeremy’s time was spent producing the first systematic photographic record of the objects in the Royal Armouries Collections. Here the Brick Tower plays temporary host to some of Dr Richard William's collection on its arrival at the Tower in 1974.

A section of the 4th century Roman riverside wall uncovered again in 1976. — Classical foundations
If there were discoveries unearthed on site, Jeremy was there to record them. This section of late 4th century Roman riverside wall south of the White Tower was liberated from Victorian concealment in November 1976. The archaeologist looking on is Geoffrey Parnell, later Royal Armouries’ Keeper of Tower History.

HM Queen Elizabeth accompanied by the Yeoman body, Constable and Resident Governor process towards the Queen’s Gate past the RRF block. — Eyes left!
The opening of the Wall Walk in May was a major event in the Tower’s 1983 calendar. It gave the public a new perspective over the site, and the Tower a Royal visit. But, even on a formal occasion, Jeremy caught the human face of the Tower.

A quirky image of the tower tiolets with an incorrect sign — Bog standard
Jeremy had a quiet, but keen sense of humour, and the Tower offered plenty of eccentricities to feed it. These facilities set into the curtain wall between the Brick and Martin Towers, next to the Jewel house exit, await conversion into a storeroom in winter 1975.

The White Tower and cloudy sky — Keepsake
William the Conqueror’s iconic keep, the White Tower, still dominates at the heart of the castle. Photographed in May 1979, this is very much a Jeremy Hall signature shot with its glorious, busy sky.

The Londond skyline obsucred by mist with the tower in the foreground — Tower in wider setting
Jeremy’s photographs place the Tower in its wider setting - here looking across Tower Hill to the City on a misty morning in June 1969. His studio included a darkroom, and he took great pains to produce the exact print he wanted long before photoshop assistance.

Looking south along the east side of the White Tower over the outer wall, Wakefield and Bloody Towers to Tower Bridge. — A Tower May morning
The Tower out of hours has a great sense of serenity, perfectly captured here by Jeremy. The scene is not as ageless as it appears - Tower Bridge opened in 1894, while the outer wall with its arches only re-emerged from beneath Ordnance stores and office buildings in 1888.

A raven perches on a ruined stone wall — Tower Raven
No account of the Tower would be complete without the inclusion of its most famous residents – the ravens. Despite controversy as to the length of their tenure, Jeremy’s image perfectly captures their magical relationship with the site.

Mid- 17th C pikeman’s armour in the foreground, looking towards Jeremy Hall, half-plate camera and studio-light. — A studio selfie
Jeremy chose to include what could be described as a ‘run of the mill’ armour in his self-portrait. Perhaps he was hinting at the mundanity of his work despite people’s impressions, or perhaps he was hinting at the beauty he found that exists in the everyday.

Evening falls over the white tower with the outline of the keep — Looking West towards setting sun past the southwest turret of the White Tower
Like so many true photographers Jeremy was never quite satisfied with his images. However, for his colleagues, he illuminated both our collection and workplace. This shot looking past the White Tower’s southwest turret as a September day in 1982 ends seems a fitting celebration of Jeremy’s work.

Bridget Clifford

Bridget Clifford is former Keeper of Tower Armouries for the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London.

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