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The Tower of London was constructed by William of Normandy, who was not even English. He was the cousin of England's King Edward. It all started because William became outraged when Edward backed down on his promise to give the throne to William and ended up giving the throne to his English brother-in-law, Harold. William sailed his army across the English Channel to conquer England on October 14th, 1066; he met Harold at Hastings and conquered him. On Christmas day that year, William, now called William the Conquerer was now crowned king of England. Immediately after William took over as king, he built forts everywhere. One stood in the southeastern corner of London near an old Roman wall on the north bank of the Thames River. William ordered that this fort be removed in 1078 to be replaced by a huge stone stronghold.
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The tower was finished 20 years later, rising nearly 100 feet high with its walls 15 feet thick in some places. Inside was a chapel, apartments, guard rooms and crypts. The tower was protected by a wide ditch, a new stone wall, the old Roman wall, and the river. This was done to protect the tower so no prisoners could escape.
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I used foam core, basic acryilic paint, and tin foil. When painting the tower I used "the sponge effect" with many different shades of brown. To make this model you will need tape and an exacto knife. Make sure you get a good exacto knife, because without a good one it could slip and warp the foam core. I experienced this problem, and it made it very difficult to put the sides together.
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