Yeoman of the Guard
On the evening of 8 February we had a chance to get a special tour (through the US embassy – it pays to have Kathi working there) of the Tower of London. As you probably know, the Tower isn’t really a “tower” – though it does have several towers in it. It’s a castle and fortress and is still, officially, a Royal Palace – though not a Royal Residence. As is true of many castles, there is a moat (no longer filled with water) an outer wall, an inner wall and a “castle keep” – the most central, fortified part which was to be used as the last ditch defense.
It was built on the order of William I of England – William the Conqueror, the Norman, in 1078 – how’s that for “old”? The original part, the Norman “keep”, took 20 years to complete, and by the time it was habitable William had died and his son was the first king to occupy the site. It was a Royal residence of the kings and queens of England for 500 years.
The Tower is a major tourist attraction because it is in very good condition compared to many ruined castles, is right in central London and is the home of the crown jewels, as well as a large museum showing armor and weapons from many centuries. However, tourists are only accommodated during the day. Our tour, as mentioned, was at night – there were about 40 of us in the group. We were there to witness the “ceremony of the keys”.
The outer, main gates, are closed each night at 10 pm. This is done in an elaborate ceremony which involves several of the Yeoman Warders (the red-clad “beefeaters”) and about a dozen soldiers. Imagine in the dark of the Tower green a lantern with a single candle, a large ring of jangling keys, armed soldiers to “protect” the keys and their carrier, shouting of orders, stamping of feet and marching to and fro – capped off by a bugler playing The Last Post (the British equivalent of “Taps”). It was all very well done, with a high level of the ceremonial precision and panache for which the British are justly famous. By the way the ceremony may not be photographed.
In the two hours before the actual ceremony we were treated to a very detailed tour of the interior of the Tower – remember it’s really a castle. In the center, there is a “village green” surrounded by houses, many dating back as far as the 16th century. About 40 of the Yeoman Warders who act as tour guides and the caretakers of the Tower live there with their families; some in very nice houses. There is a chapel, filled, of course, with memorials and many other areas not seen by the average tourist visitor. There is even a private pub just for the Yeoman Warders and their families – and we were permitted to have a drink there before the keys ceremony and to return there afterward for another. It was all very convivial and very impressive – and we felt we really got to see the Tower of London for the first time (even though most of us had been there before as daytime tourists). We felt privileged to witness it all, as the opportunity to do so is highly sought after and tickets are usually made available only through various forms of lotteries or drawings.
As we left the pub, we realized we had witnessed the locking of the gates from the INSIDE – and wondered how we would get out. Our guide Yeoman Warder, though, because we had been generous in purchasing raffle tickets while in the pub (with the profits going to charities chosen by the Warders), showed us a small gate we could use to leave. As we exited this “wicker gate”, as he called it, we were transported from the 16th century to the 21st and were surrounded again by the sights and sounds of central London which are not even noticeable when inside the walls.
It was built on the order of William I of England – William the Conqueror, the Norman, in 1078 – how’s that for “old”? The original part, the Norman “keep”, took 20 years to complete, and by the time it was habitable William had died and his son was the first king to occupy the site. It was a Royal residence of the kings and queens of England for 500 years.
The Tower is a major tourist attraction because it is in very good condition compared to many ruined castles, is right in central London and is the home of the crown jewels, as well as a large museum showing armor and weapons from many centuries. However, tourists are only accommodated during the day. Our tour, as mentioned, was at night – there were about 40 of us in the group. We were there to witness the “ceremony of the keys”.
The outer, main gates, are closed each night at 10 pm. This is done in an elaborate ceremony which involves several of the Yeoman Warders (the red-clad “beefeaters”) and about a dozen soldiers. Imagine in the dark of the Tower green a lantern with a single candle, a large ring of jangling keys, armed soldiers to “protect” the keys and their carrier, shouting of orders, stamping of feet and marching to and fro – capped off by a bugler playing The Last Post (the British equivalent of “Taps”). It was all very well done, with a high level of the ceremonial precision and panache for which the British are justly famous. By the way the ceremony may not be photographed.
In the two hours before the actual ceremony we were treated to a very detailed tour of the interior of the Tower – remember it’s really a castle. In the center, there is a “village green” surrounded by houses, many dating back as far as the 16th century. About 40 of the Yeoman Warders who act as tour guides and the caretakers of the Tower live there with their families; some in very nice houses. There is a chapel, filled, of course, with memorials and many other areas not seen by the average tourist visitor. There is even a private pub just for the Yeoman Warders and their families – and we were permitted to have a drink there before the keys ceremony and to return there afterward for another. It was all very convivial and very impressive – and we felt we really got to see the Tower of London for the first time (even though most of us had been there before as daytime tourists). We felt privileged to witness it all, as the opportunity to do so is highly sought after and tickets are usually made available only through various forms of lotteries or drawings.
As we left the pub, we realized we had witnessed the locking of the gates from the INSIDE – and wondered how we would get out. Our guide Yeoman Warder, though, because we had been generous in purchasing raffle tickets while in the pub (with the profits going to charities chosen by the Warders), showed us a small gate we could use to leave. As we exited this “wicker gate”, as he called it, we were transported from the 16th century to the 21st and were surrounded again by the sights and sounds of central London which are not even noticeable when inside the walls.
posted by Chuck and Kathi Calvano @ 9:15 PM
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