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The English Tower, also known as
St. Catherine's Tower and Lion Tower,
stands at the south-east corner of
the castle looking out over the sea.
Its construction was financed by contributions
solicited in England, at least some
of which were made in response to
a campaign authorized by the Pope
who issued indulgences to the contributors.
A copy of one such Grant of Indulgence
issued in 1414 to Sir William FitzHugh
and his wife Dame Margery is preserved
in the Museum of the Order of St John
in Clerkenwell, London. The tower
is regarded as one of the most important
well-preserved historical monuments
built by the English outside England.
The three-storied tower is built on
solid bedrock. Its lowest floor originally
held dungeons which are now used for
storage, but of the greatest interest
to the visitor is the hall reached
through the northern entrance which
is surmounted with the Royal Arms
of King Henry IV of England, the arms
of six other male members of the Plantagenet
Royal Family and the coats-of-arms
of noble English families, the chief
contributors to the building fund.
Among these are such distinguished
names as Westmoreland, Percy, Stafford,
DeVere and others known in English
history.
 Beyond
this entrance is the refectory beautifully
restored after the depredations of
time and the destruction that the
tower suffered from French bombardment
during the First World War. The medieval
aura of this chamber is enhanced by
hanging banners, arms and armor and
other ornaments that illustrate the
period. Included also are banners
used by land and naval forces of the
Ottoman Turks to whom the castle was
surrendered in 1523, showing the evolution
of the Turkish flag to the present.
This hall, redolent of the romance
of the Middle Ages, is used on special
occasions for banquets at which the
guests are served by castle staff
dressed in medieval garb while listening
to the strains of period music. A
great banner with the arms of Sir
Thomas Docwra, the English knight
who was the Captain of the Castle
in 1498-1499, forms an impressive
background and helps to create the
proper ambience for this living reminder
of the past.
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