THE TOWER’S FIRST PRISONER WAS ALSO ITS FIRST ESCAPEE
13th August 2026 by | Uncategorized
THE TOWER’S FIRST PRISONER WAS ALSO ITS FIRST ESCAPEE
Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham and a deeply unpopular royal official, was imprisoned in the White Tower by Henry I in 1100.
Yet confinement did not prevent him from entertaining his guards. On 2 February 1101, a rope was smuggled into his chamber in a container of wine. Flambard encouraged his guards to drink; once they were sufficiently befuddled, he fastened the rope and climbed through a window of the White Tower.
The rope was said to be too short. He fell the final distance, but escaped, reached Normandy and later recovered his position as Bishop of Durham.
It is difficult to improve upon the irony: the Tower’s earliest recorded prisoner also engineered its earliest recorded escape.
Do you think the wine was cunning planning—or simply confidence that his guards could be bought?
Gemma
Founder, The Princes in the Tower Society
Member of The Norfolk Archaeological Trust
www.murderinthetower.london
#TowerOfLondon #NormanHistory #MedievalEngland #LondonHistory #HistoryFacts
Source: https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/tower-of-london-prison/