Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula

Historic Royal Palaces describes the chapel as the Tower’s parish church for more than five centuries. Earlier chapels stood on or near the site: one was replaced in 1128 during Henry I’s reign and again in 1287 under Edward I; the building was lost in a fire in 1512. The present chapel was built in 1519–20 during Henry VIII’s reign under the supervision of Sir Richard Cholmondeley. Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey were laid to rest here. In 1876, restoration work uncovered the supposed remains of Anne Boleyn in the chancel; they were reburied near the altar beneath a memorial pavement. The chapel also contains a prominent monument to Cholmondeley and his wife Elizabeth, although neither was buried there. Its organ, built in 1699 for the Banqueting House at Whitehall, was moved to the chapel in the 1890s.

The audio tour records a story that the Spanish chestnut ceiling was chosen so Katherine of Aragon could pray beneath trees reminiscent of her homeland. The source phrases this as something said; it should be treated as a reported story, not verified fact.