From an early stage of its history, one of the functions of the Tower of London has been to act as a prison, though it was not designed as one. The Salt Tower is part of the curtain wall built by Henry III in the late 1230s. It is situated on the south-eastern corner of the Tower of London and overlooks the River Thames. While the ground floor would have been used for storage, its upper chamber would have held the prisoners and many of them left behind graffiti as a memory of their time there.
Prisoners held in the Salt Tower include King John Balliol, set up as a puppet King of Scots by King Edward I, and numerous Jesuits who fell foul of the religious turmoil of the Tudor period, and their carvings of religious symbols can be seen on the walls.
Also amongst the prisoners was one accused of sorcery. Although astrology was still accepted and consulted, it was also believed that such studies could be taken further into acts of harm leading to accusations of witchcraft and sorcery, condemned by the Church.
One man who was imprisoned on this basis was Hew (Hugh) Draper of Bristol. Draper was a wealthy innkeeper or Vintner who enjoyed a good reputation among his neighbours. He had apparently been interested in astrology for some years but claimed he had given it all up.
According to an account of the names of prisoners and the causes of their commitment, delivered by Sir Edward Warner, lieutenant of the Tower, to the lords of the privy council, on the 26th of May, 1561…
“Hugh Draper comitted on the 21st of March 1560.
This man was brought in by the accusation of one John Man, an astronomer, as a suspect of a conjurer or sorcerer, and thereby to practise matter againste Sir William St Lowe and my Ladie.”
Sir William St Lowe (1518–1565) was a 16th-century English soldier, politician and courtier. His ‘Ladie’ referred to above was his wife, Bess of Hardwick, the friend of Elizabeth I and one of the richest women of her time. William owned large West Country estates at Tormarton in Gloucestershire and Chew Magna in Somerset, while his principal residence was at Sutton Court in Stowey. Sir William and his younger brother, Edward, became involved in a property dispute. Edward visited Sir William and Bess in London to resolve the issue but shortly after the visit, Bess fell ill, poisoned. Suspicion fell on Edward and several of Edward’s associates were punished, though Edward was not. This was in 1560, the year of Draper’s imprisonment, though there is no evidence of any connection. Any suggestion of anything being done against William and Bess, however, may have been taken more seriously than at any other time.
According to Hugh’s committal…
“And in his confession it apperithe that before time he hathe ben busie and doinge with suche matters, but he deniethe any matter of weight touchinge Sir William St Lowe or my Ladie, and alsoe affirmethe ye longe since he soe misliked his science, that he burned all his books.
….he semithe to be a man of goode wealthe & kepithe a taverne at Bristowe and is of his neighbours well reported.”
Hugh was locked up for at least two years and like many other prisoners he left his mark behind him in the Tower. His carving, low down in the wall near a window of his cell in the Salt Tower is one of the best known of the 300 surviving examples of prisoners’ graffiti at The Tower of London. Draper’s is remarkable as one of the most elaborate of Elizabethan graffiti. Two carvings are attributed to him; there is possibly a third.
This intricate carving is a zodiac wheel, with a plan of the days of the week and hours of the day and the inscription;
HEW DRAPER OF BRISTOW MADE THIS SPEER [sphere] THE 30 DAYE OF MAYE, 1561.
He claimed that he had renounced his past work and had burned his books but this chart for the casting of horoscopes certainly indicates a deep knowledge and interest. Among the more than 300 graffiti in the Tower, Draper’s work is unusually elaborate compared to others, which mostly consist of simple signatures or short quotations from the Bible.
Draper’s fate isn’t known. His death is not recorded in the Tower annals or anything about a release or any later life. However, the committal record does note that;
“He is verie sicke…”
References
- The Hew Draper graffito tablet
https://www.lassco.co.uk/product/the-hew-draper-bronze-graffito-tablet-55713/ - Bayley, John. The History and Antiquities of the Tower of London: With Memoirs of Royal and Distinguished Persons. Cadell, 1825.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_History_and_Antiquities_of_the_Tower/79lSAAAAcAAJ?gbpv=1 - Jones, Jonathon. ‘Sorceror’ Hew Draper’s Tower of London graffiti: a black art indeed. Guardian 13/4/2010
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/apr/12/hew-draper-tower-of-london-graffiti - William St Loe. Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_St_Loe - Bess of Hardwick. Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bess_of_Hardwick - Connolly, Sharon Bennett. The Many Marriages of Bess of Hardwick
https://historytheinterestingbits.com/tag/william-st-loe/