The original Chapel of St. Peter's was outside the Tower walls until they were expanded by Henry III. The Chapel has served as the place of worship for th Tower community from that time onward. (The Chapel in the White Tower was only for the sovereign and the court)
The present form of the chapel dates from 1519-1520 and is a rare example of early Tudor church building.
All of those executed on the Tower Green were buried in the Chapel and many executed on Tower Hill were buried here as well. The executed prisoners had their bodies hastily buried without markers. The Chapel was renovated in 1876 during the reign of Queen Victoria. The remains uncovered in the nave of the church (some with still intact coffins) were re-interred in the crypt.
The above reads:
NEAR THIS SPOT LIE THE REMAINS OF
Lord Guildford Dudley 1554 Lady Jane Grey 1554 Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk 1554 Thomas Howard 4th Duke of Norfolk 1572 Philip Earl of Arundel 1595 Robert Devereux Earl of Essex 1601 Sir Thomas Overbury 1613The remains that were uncovered in the chancel were reburied under the marble in front of the altar (see above photo and below). Some of these skeletons were identified: Anne Boleyn and her cousin Kathryn Howard notable among them.
This photo was taken at the Tower on May 19, 1998, which anyone who knows their Tudor history will remember that the 19th of May, 1536 was the day that Anne Boleyn was executed on the Tower Green. Since it was the 462nd anniversary of her death, the Yeomen Warders of the Tower laid a yellow rose on her grave.
