LONDON, JAN 11 (ZENIT).- The dungeon in the Tower of London where it is believed that St. Thomas More was imprisoned before being beheaded for refusing to accept Henry VIII as head of the Church in England was opened to the public for the first time Monday, according to reports in the "Telegraph."

    When Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon and married his mistress Anne Boleyn, he defied the Pope and changed the laws of the land. In standing against the King, St. Thomas, Henry's Chancellor and chief political adviser, was sent to the Tower on a charge of high treason. He remained in a cell in the lower part of the Bell Tower until he was beheaded on Tower Hill in 1535.

    The public will be able to see where St. Thomas, who was later canonised, spent his last months, writing letters to his family. Towards the end he was deprived of writing materials and is thought to have used charcoal. The opening coincides with an exhibition of artefacts and mementoes marking his life, including contemporary transcripts of his letters from the British Library. The Diocese of Portsmouth has lent a relic -- a piece of his hairshirt, which he wore in secret even within the Tower, and the Public Record Office has lent several important documents. ZE00011120