The story of Little Ease begins with an escape from the prison in the Tower of London. In 1534, a man and a woman hurried past a row of cottages standing on land around the Tower. They were almost at the gate to Tower Hill, just outside the city of London, when a group of night watchmen crossed their path.

In response, the young couple turned to face each other, which looked like hugs of lovers. However, the man caught the attention of one of the guards with something. He picked up the lantern and recognized the couple within seconds. The man was his colleague John Bawd and the woman was Alice Tankerville, a convicted thief and prisoner.

Cell without the possibility of movement

Thus ended the first known attempt to escape a woman from the fort. Alice's accomplice and admirer, guard John Bawd, was also destined to enter the historical records of the Tower: He is the first known inhabitant of the infamous cell used during the reigns of the Tudors and early Stuarts.

The windowless cell measured 1,2 square meters and bore a slightly primitive name Little Ease. Its effect was simple. The prisoner could not stand, sit or lie in it, but was forced to remain crouched and wait in growing agony until he was freed from this suffocating and dark space.

In 1215 England it forbade these grim practices by signing the Magna Cote, except with the royal order. The first king who reluctantly agreed to them was Edward II. He succumbed to the intense pressure of the pope and thus followed the French king in an effort to destroy the Order of the Knights Templar, which had been established and operated during the Crusades.

King Philip IV of France, who was jealous of the wealth and power of the Templars, accused them of heresy, obscene rituals, idolatry and other offenses. The French knights denied everything and were severely tortured. Some who collapsed and "confessed" were released; all others who denied the alleged offenses were burned at the stake.

As soon as Edward II ordered the arrest of members of the English chapter, French monks arrived in London with their dreaded instruments. In 1311, the Knights Templar were "interrogated and investigated in the presence of notaries while suffering prison prison torture" at the Tower of London and at Aldgate, Ludgate, Newgate and Bishopsgate Prisons, as reported in The History of the Knights Templar, the Temple Church, and the Temple by Charles G. Addison. And so the fortress - until then mainly a royal residence, a military fortress, an armory and a menagerie - was baptized in pain.

Even after the liquidation of the Knights Templar, the cell was still used

Are there any tools left after the liquidation of the Knights Templar so that they could be used on other prisoners? We cannot be sure, as there are no records of this. Another mention of the torturers in the fort is frightening - the introduction was to be enforced by one repulsive nobleman, who persuaded the Tower Commander to install them John Holland, the third Duke of Exeter, arranged to place the clamp in the fort. It is not known whether the men were drawn on him or whether he was used only to intimidate him. In any case, this clamp is known in history as the "daughter of the Duke of Exeter."

V In the 16th century, prisoners in the Tower of London were undoubtedly tortured. The royal family seldom used the Thames Fortress as their seat, and its stone buildings were inhabited by more and more prisoners. And while it seems to us today that the Tudor rulers are only glistening with their successes, they were plagued by a number of uncertainties in their day: uprisings, conspiracies, and other domestic and foreign threats. The highest ruling powers were willing to ignore the laws in order to achieve certain goals. This created the perfect conditions for torture.

"Torture reached its peak in the Tudor era," LA historian Parry wrote in his 1933 book The History of Torture in England. “Under Henry VIII, it was used frequently; only in a fraction of cases during the reign of Edward VI. and Marie. When Elizabeth sat on the throne, torture was used more than in any other historical period. "

Zeman superintendent John Bawd admitted that he had planned the escape of Alice Tankerville "for the love and affection he had for her." However, the fort commander threw Bawd into Little Ease without remorse, where he must have suffered greatly in a crouched position.

The lovers were sentenced to a terrible end for trying to escape. According to Lord Lisle's text in the State Papers, written on March 28, Alice Tankerville was "suspended in chains above the river Thames on Tuesday. John Bawd is imprisoned in Little Ease's cell and is to be tortured and eventually hanged. "

Where exactly was the cell?

Today, no one knows exactly where Little Ease's cell was. One of the theories says that she was in the dungeon of the White Tower. Another states that in the basement of the old Flint Tower. No visitor will see her today; was long ago torn down or walled up. In addition to Little Ease, the most used devices were a clamp, shackles, and a scary tool called Scavenger's Daughter. For many prisoners, however, solitude, repeated interrogations and threat of physical painto tell their torturers everything they wanted to know.

The victims often ended up in the tower for religious reasons. Anne Askew was here for her Protestant faith; Edmund Campion then because of the Catholic faith. But the crimes were different. "Most of the prisoners were charged with high treason, but the crimes included homicide, robbery, embezzlement of royal property and insult to state power," Parry wrote.

The monarch did not have to sign this kind of request, although he sometimes did. Elizabeth I personally ordered that the torture be used on members of Babington's conspiracy, a group that planned to dethrone her and replace her with Queen Mary of Scotland. These initiatives usually passed the approval of the secret council or the jurisdiction of the Star Chamber court was used. It is assumed that in some cases no permit was required at all.

Over and over again, the names of those convicted of Little Ease appeared in official documents:

"May 3, 1555: Stephen Happes is sentenced to two or three days in Little Ease's cell for his obscene demeanor and stubbornness, after which he will be further investigated."

„10. January 1591: Richard Topcliffe participates in the Tower investigation of George Beesley, a seminary and Robert Humberson, his companion. And if you see that they stubbornly refuse to tell the truth about things that will be part of the indictment on behalf of Her Majesty, then on behalf of the above authority convict them and throw them into a prison called Little Ease or another place suitable for such punishment, which is customary in these cases. use."

Guy Fawkes

After the departure of Queen Elizabeth and the arrival of James I, Guy Fawkes became the most famous prisoner of all ever held in Little Ease. Fawkes, who was accused of conspiring to overthrow the king and parliament, was subjected to shackles and torture on a clamp to reveal his religion and the names of his companions. After telling his interviewers everything they asked, Fawkes was still handcuffed in Little Ease and left there, although no one knows how long.

And after this last outburst of cruelty, Little Ease ceased to serve its purpose. That same year after Fawkes' death, the House Committee announced that the room had been "closed." In 1640, during the reign of Charles I, this practice was abolished forever; the prisoners were no longer forced to crouch for days in dark rooms without air, no more clamps or hanging in chains. And so one of the darkest chapters in history was mercifully closed England.

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