London Diaries: Holy Cow! That’s a Beefeater

Dear friends,

Rest assured, I don’t have a beef to pick with meat eaters versus us vegetarians. Rather, I am seeking to beef up knowledge—for those who don’t know about Beefeaters, because that was me last week in London—about this breed of caretakers of England’s prized historical monument, the eerie Tower of London located center city on the bank of the river Thames. Beefeaters, known more formally as Yeomen Warders, have such a curious history, I had to share.

After all, one of the delights of world travel is precisely to stumble upon that nugget of information previously unknown, and tuck it away in all its glory into our inner annals of knowledge, hoping one day it’ll draw a chuckle or simply warm your heart to make it a perfect—or an imperfectly perfect—moment in time.

Here's a beefeater or a Yeoman Warder for you.

To the left, a Beefeater or a Yeoman Warder with my son at the Tower of London last week. He doubled as a tour guide and gave us a wonderful introduction to the Tower and shared tidbits of his time as a military serviceman. To the right, another fellow Beefeater who, ceremoniously of course, opened the Tower of London for us for the day.

So, who in the world is a Beefeater?

Yeoman Warders or Beefeaters are guards who have stood watch over the stately Tower of London for the past 500 years with a two-fold goal, historically—guarding the prisoners confined within the Tower of which there have been plenty and second, protect England’s prized crown jewels, which total into billions today and include the famous Kohinoor diamond. There are 35 Yeoman Warders employed at the Tower of London today, lending a delectable touch to the lush green lawns, especially in their bright blue and red uniform, incidentally introduced by Queen Victoria in 1850 and known curiously as the “Blue Undress”. 

Back in the 1400s, Henry VIII, the controversial execution-obsessed-polygamist king (see my previous post), created the position of a Beefeater to solidify the security of the Tower of London and conferred the official title of Yeoman of the Guard upon them. Candidates were selected from among the most distinguished and loyal soldiers of the time, many of whom had served in the War of the Roses (no my friends, we are not talking here about flowers exchanged, but a thorny 30-year battle between the Yorks and the Lancastrians, both of who had a rose in their official badge and hence the floral name).

To the left, King Henry VIII who ruled England between 1509 until his death in 1547. To the right are his six wives, some of who he had killed. L-R: 1. Catherine of Aragon · 2. Anne Boleyn · 3. Jane Seymour · 4. Anne of Cleves · 5. Catherine Howard · 6. Catherine Parr

Henry VIII, I believe, paid the Yeomen of the Guard as many pence as the number of wives he took on over his lifetime, namely six. That’s one too many for the king perhaps, and arguably a few too less for the imperial guards to beef up the security of the executioner’s haven that the Tower of London was at the time.

Even today, Yeoman Warders are an exclusive brand of employees recruited from the three branches of the British armed forces and they must have earned the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct for unblemished military service.  The position is hence a matter of prestige.

Ceremonies befitting of Beefeaters

Since there are no more prisoners brought in today to the Tower of London via the Traitor’s Gate, thankfully, and the crown jewels are well protected through modern technology, the Beefeaters’ duties today are mostly ceremonial. The well-groomed men and women (yes!) serve as tour guides and add flourish to the time spent here by the 3 million tourists who visit the Tower each year. They also serve as master of three ceremonies that take place every day at the Tower of London.

For centuries, British prisoners accused of treason had a special, particularly horrifying route by which they were taken into the Tower of London. Such well-known figures as Sir Thomas More, Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth I (before she was queen) entered the tower through Traitors’ Gate. (Picture credit: Atlas Obscura)

For example, our Beefeater opened the gates of the Tower of London (we paid extra to visit the Tower early, before the crowds arrived) along with a military escort, who marched to open the middle Tower and the Byward Tower to let us in, entertaining us all along, with stories of his military days. It was an interesting excursion, I’ll admit.

The most famous ceremony though that the Yeoman Warders perform daily, is the Ceremony of the Keys, which takes place every night, in order to lock up the Tower. The Ceremony of the Keys is believed to have been developed around 1340 upon the orders of King Edward III. King Edward III arrived at the Tower of London one evening and walked straight in unchallenged by anyone. He was furious and set about making a number of changes to the Tower’s security, including the Ceremony of the Keys.  The Ceremony begins when the sentry cries out the following and feels today like right out a Shakespearean drama:

“Halt, who comes there?” 
The Chief Yeoman Warder replies: “The Keys.”
They are questioned: “Whose keys?”
The answer: “King Charles' Keys.” 
The sentry answers: “Pass King Charles's Keys, all is well.”

It has all the bearings of a charming and an antiquated ritual that makes us feel rather warm and fuzzy today but was clearly driven by fear at a time when history was more violent and gruesome.

The Ravenmaster of a Beefeater

Yes, there’s a Yeoman Warder specifically appointed to take care of the seven ravens that call the Tower of London their home: Jubilee, Harris, Poppy, Georgie, Edgar, Branwen, and Rex. We talked about these ravens in my last post and how legend has it, that if a raven should ever leave the Tower of London, the kingdom would fall!

No one wants that, and just this March, Yeoman Warder Michael ‘Barney’ Chandler stepped into the iconic role of Ravenmaster soon after his predecessor, Christopher Skaife, stepped down after 15 years of service.

Barney Chandler is the newly appointed Ravenmaster at The Tower of London. He is responsible for looking after the feathered protectors of the 1,000-year-old fortress. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Apart from managing the ceremonial duties, Ravenmaster Chandler cares dutifully for the Tower's ravens, including feeding each avian raw meat and occasionally, biscuits soaked in blood and raw boiled eggs, buying food at the local market, arranging veterinary checkups, and ensuring that the intelligent corvids stay healthy for the country’s future and the world’s tourists.

The corvids are not really afraid of people and are somewhat used to them, by the looks of how the one on the right is looking straight into the eye of my son, who, however, did not dare look them in the eye!

What’s with the name, Beefeaters?

In short, no one knows why the guards were called “Beefeaters”. One popular theory is that the term “Beefeater” originated from the ration of beef given to the Yeomen Warders as part of their daily pay. In the past, beef was a valuable and expensive commodity, so being given a daily ration of beef was considered a significant perk and an indication of a well-paid position. Perhaps the term originated in Old English for a servant. One of the Beefeaters’ original roles was to attend the monarch at mealtimes so perhaps the name comes from buffetier, Old French for a type of waiter. Who knows? But we won’t beef about that.

So, there you have it—Beefeaters at the Tower of London. What’s the beef with it? None, I’d say, for me. They lend a nice overlay of color and charm to a place that otherwise has a grim and bloody history and make for an imperfectly perfect memory.

Meaningfully yours,
Anu Prabhala