COURTYARD, GRANGE CITY HOTEL , COOPER'S ROW

This impressive remnant stands as a testament to the importance for the defence of the Tower and follows on from the previous Tower Hill wall. It is unlike any other part of the remains of the wall and provides a flavour of the middle ages and a foothold into Shakespeare's world ; it can be touched - a literal touchstone to the past.

Touchstone was actually a character in Shakespeare's As You Like It and was described as a "wise fool". In As You Like It Touchstone was a jester but a jester with a difference. He was a smart fool. Shakespeare used Touchstone as a reference point or guide throughout the play and the significance lies in the metaphor - Alchemy.

Turning base metals into gold was a medieval preoccupation. Alchemy was art. And it was this preoccupation that led to the modern world of chemistry. A touchstone is :

a small tablet of dark stone such as fieldstone, slate or lydite, used for assaying precious metal alloys. It has a finely grained surface on which soft metals leave a visible trace.

from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchstone#_note-0

Or in other words a practical way of measuring the authenticity of a valuble commodity. The use of a touchstone was to revolutionise the concept of money....

But more importantly, as a metaphor it had a deeper significance for the new psychological age.

The search for personal truth - the birth of individuality and identity :

We had to find the light against the darkness of our interpretations or expectations of life. We had to look within ourselves for truth and in so doing make sense of the new world.

How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is!
O brave new world,
That has such people in it!

The Tempest Act 5 sc1

This is what Shakespeare has handed down to us....

The dimensions are as Tower Hill. But what marks this section out are the medieval openings that were designed for patrolling sentry archers to fire their arrows upon an attacking foe.

Archery in Elizabethan England was both a sport and a skill to be used in battle and was practiced then as we practice football now. It was expensive to kit out the soldiery with armour and swords and consequently since the most numerous men in battle were commoners it was they who were the predominant users of the bow. Since bows were made of wood with a small amount of iron at the head they were cheap to produce and regular practice was encouraged. The importance of the English archer was exemplified by Shakespeare in Henry V. It was at Agincourt on 25 October 1415 ( St Crispins Day ) that the English army outnumbered by some three to one overcame the French. Around 5000 longbowmen and 200 archers were used.

See : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt

Socket holes for a wooden sentry platform can be seen as well as a v shape in the wall which is a double access staircase to the timber walkway.