For more 700 years, the Gentleman Porter or (in more recent times) the Chief Yeoman Warder has locked the Tower's heavy wooden gates each night with a set of heavy keys. Originally the Tower was locked from dusk till dawn; in 1826, when the Duke of Wellington became Constable of the Tower, he ordered the start time changed to 9:53 p.m. so the garrison could enjoy some time on the town. That time still stands, with the seven-minute ceremony being complete (and the wooden gates locked for the night) at 10:00 p.m. It has taken place in some form or another since the 14th century. Nothing stops the ceremony going ahead.
When arriving you're asked to assemble at the main gates to the Tower of London. At 9.30pm the gates to the Tower are opened by a Yeomen Warders, or as they are popularly known 'Beefeaters.' The Yeoman Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London.
Yeoman Warders began guarding the Tower in 1485; following on from the Gentleman Porters. Today there are 35 Yeomen Warders and one Chief Yeoman Warder. All warders are retired from the British Armed Forces and must be former senior non-commissioned officers with at least 22 years of service. They must also hold the Long service and Good conduct medals. NCOs from the Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are eligible to apply, but members of the Royal Navy are not, because while members of the other services take oaths to the Crown, members of the Navy take an oath to the Admiralty. The first female Yeoman Warder, Warrant Officer Class 2 Moira Cameron, was appointed this year.
We arrived a little early and were told by the Yeoman to wait until 9.30pm. The Tower of London is always stunning at night but in Winter it looks amazing; there's an ice skating rink set up, the trees are decorated with icy blue lights, there are Christmas trees and the River Thames is lit up.
We gathered with the other attendees around the gate. There were approximately 12 of us plus a couple of children. The Warder made sure that the children were in front to get a good viewing.
Once inside the main gates to the Tower these were closed behind us and we were led through the first two proper gates within the Tower of London. These are the gates that are closed during the ceremony. We assembled by Traitor's Gates. As the name suggests this was the entrance used to transport to the Tower, by river, those accused of treason against the Crown, where many of them met their ultimate fate.
A number of prisoners accused of treason such as Queen Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More passed through it.
The Warder in charge of us was the Yeoman Warder 'Watchman'. He gave us a potted history of the Ceremony of the Keys. It's quite strange standing in the cobbled lane looking around at all the different buildings within the Tower, of different periods. The lane tunnels the wind and is quite cold, particularly with the River Thames directly behind you.
And even though lit with modern electric lighting it is still fairly gloomy. I can imagine it was quite scary lit just by torches or even gas light.
At 9:53 p.m. the Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed in Tudor Watchcoat, will approach with the Keys of the Tower in one hand and a brass lantern in the other. He meets the Military Escort, made up of members of the Tower of London Guard.
There are four members of the Military Escort (the present Regiment in the Tower are the Gunners *my father's old Regiment). Three member of the Escort are armed and the fourth takes the lantern from the Chief Yeoman Warder. The lantern holder calls out the orders.
Together, the Chief Yeoman Warder and the Yeoman Warder 'Watchman' secure the main gates of the Tower. Upon their return down Water Lane, the party is halted by the armed sentry and challenged to identify themselves:
Sentry: Who comes there?
Chief Yeoman Warder: The keys.
Sentry: Whose keys?
Chief Yeoman Warder: Queen Elizabeth's keys. (identifying the keys as being those of the British monarch as of 2007)
Sentry: Pass Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All is well.
Following this, the party makes its way through the Bloody Tower Archway into the fortress, where they halt at the bottom of the Broadwalk Steps. On the top of the Stairs, under the command of their Officer, the Tower guard present arms and the Chief YeomanWarder raises his hat, proclaiming:
Chief Yeoman Warder: God preserve Queen Elizabeth.
Sentry and all assembled: Amen!
He then takes the keys to the Queen's House for safekeeping. As the bell chimes 10.00pm the Last Post is played, and the guard dismissed.
We then made our way back through the outer sections of the Tower to the small wicket gate and so back to the outside world.
As with many events of ceremony in the United Kingdom, it takes some significant outside influence to interrupt the Ceremony of the Keys. The one time when the ceremony was interrupted was during the Second World War, when there was an air raid on London, and a number of incendiary bombs fell on the old Victorian guardroom just as the Chief Yeoman Warder and the escort were coming through the Bloody Tower archway. The shock and the noise of the bombs falling blew over the escort and the Chief Yeoman Warder, but they stood up, dusted themselves down, and carried on. The Tower holds a letter from the Officer of the Guard apologising to King George VI that the ceremony was late, along a reply from the King which says that the Officer is not to be punished as the delay was due to enemy action.
It's worth noting that the Ceremony of the Key isn't just for show: As the Tower's press office points out, "The importance of securing this fortress for the night is still very relevant, because although the monarch no longer resides at this royal Palace, her crown jewels do!"
Here is a link to some sneaky pics
http://www.trooping-the-colour.co.uk/keys/home.htm
