HM Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London - 1 Quiz

Answer: William The Conqueror

Immediately after William of Normandy had vanquished the English army at Hastings, he despatched a small armed force to subdue the inhabitants of London, which was England's most powerful city at that time. After his coronation in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066, William withdrew to the town of Barking in Essex whilst his builders constructed a number of strongholds within London.

The current White Tower is one of those buildings and stands on the site of an earlier building that was erected in the south-eastern corner of London's Roman walls.

Answer: The White Tower

The White Tower was the first construction of its kind in England. Many earlier military installations, including those built by the Romans, were of a wooden construction, although there were a small number of stone built forts; Colchester Castle in Essex being one such notable exception.

The White Tower is a massively strong building measuring in at one hundred and eighteen feet by one hundred and six feet and, standing on a gentle slope down towards the River Thames, extends to ninety feet in height from the lowest ground level to its highest point.

Answer: 'in Chains'

The term 'Chapel Royal' did not originally apply to a building itself but was, in fact, the name given to an establishment of churchmen and a choir that would cater to the spiritual needs of the sovereign of the time. Over many centuries the term 'Chapel Royal' has come to be used to describe a chapel that is used for religious worship by the sovereign and their family.

The building now known as 'Saint Peter ad Vincula' was, until the expansion in size of the Tower of London, a small parish church which became enclosed by the Tower during the reign of King Henry III.

There are a total of three Queens of England and two catholic saints interred in the crypt under this tiny chapel which is still used today as the place of worship for all those resident within the Tower walls.

There exists a number of 'Chapels Royal' located around the United Kingdom today, however the two that are most often used are located within the Palace of St. James in London, these being 'The Chapel Royal' and 'The Queen's Chapel'.

Answer: False

There is no longer any access to the Tower of London from the River Thames. This original 'water-gate' which later became known as 'Traitors Gate' was bricked up during the 18th century after efforts to prevent it silting up were abandoned. Designed and constructed under St Thomas' Tower upon the orders of King Edward I between 1275 and 1279, it gave access to the Tower of London from the River Thames, and has been known as 'Traitors Gate' for over 400 years.

Many important prisoners of the state have passed through this entrance including the future Queen Elizabeth I, incarcerated there for a period of 8 weeks during 1554 after her sister, Queen Mary or 'Bloody Mary', believed that she was involved in a conspiracy against her. Both wives of King Henry VIII who met their deaths at the executioners block were held there prior to their executions. Anne Boleyn passed through the gate on the 2nd of May 1536 to be executed just over two weeks later on the 19th of May, and the young Catherine Howard entered into the tower on the 10th of February 1542 to await her execution just 3 days later.

Answer: The Ravens of the Tower

The ravens are considered to be the 'guardians of the tower' and should they leave, then it, and eventually the realm, will fall. It was King Charles II who began the tradition which dictates that six ravens must reside within the tower at any given time, however there are always seven birds resident, all of which hail from the United Kingdom, usually the south west of England, Wales and Scotland. Only a single male bird is kept amongst this number as they tend to fight during the breeding season if there is competition for females.

The ravens should not be approached directly by anyone other than their keeper, a warder with the fabulous title of 'Ravenmaster'. Each bird has the primary flight feathers of one wing clipped to prevent them flying off and leaving the tower however, they have been known to escape in the past. One escaped raven aptly named 'Grog' was last seen at a public house in London's east end; an impressive feat getting there safely when you can't fly! The ravens have the freedom of most of the Tower site and visitors are warned not to attempt to feed them as they are, to all intents, still wild birds which may be aggressive and are easily capable of inflicting a nasty wound.

The bird's lodgings are to be found next to the Wakefield Tower and each raven receives 170 grams of raw flesh every day and a quantity of biscuits soaked in blood... Even today the Tower is still steeped in blood!

Answer: The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

Until the 23rd of April, 1968 there were four regiments of Fusiliers within the British army; the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, the Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, when they were amalgamated to form today's Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

The original regiment was raised on the orders of King James II in 1685 and were originally intended to defend artillery units in the field. The regiments were equipped with a short form of musket known as a 'fusil', a weapon from which they take their name.

The building in which the Fusiliers museum and regimental headquarters are now situated was originally constructed to be used as army officers quarters and is still used today as the venue for regimental and formal dinners and for ceremonial occasions.

Answer: This sentry never turns his back on the public

This sentry has a responsibility to 'patrol' the area immediately to the front of the barracks and to dissuade visitors from inadvertently entering the barrack accommodation itself. It is traditional that a ceremonial sentry will never turn his face from his 'front' and the drill movements at this post have been adapted to ensure that this does not happen... I can assure you from first hand experience that performing drill movements whilst at this post concentrates the mind like nothing else, especially when you may have an audience of many hundreds of visitors from all over the world who are all watching your every move for errors! I have also mentioned that drill movements can be carried out silently.

There is another particular sentry post at the Tower where silent drill movements are expected and that is the sentry post immediately outside the 'Queens House'.

As this building is the residence of the Constable of the Tower and his family, noisy drill movements are discouraged. The sentry here tries to keep the drill as quiet as he possibly can... Something that sounds a lot easier to do than it actually is!

Answer: No

Founded in 1485 to protect King Henry VII, the 'Yeomen of the Guard' is a Corps consisting of two distinct divisions, these being 'The Yeomen of the Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard' and the 'Yeomen Warders of the Yeomen of the Guard' or 'Tower Warders'. Both corps are constituted exclusively of former officers and Senior NCOs of the three armed services; all members having served for at least 22 years and attained the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (LS&GC). Retirement at the age of 70 years is compulsory.

The distinction between these two divisions dates back to the year 1509. King Henry VIII left a dozen elderly and infirm members of his personal bodyguard at the Tower of London to save them the exertions of travelling abroad whilst the larger part of his bodyguard accompanied him overseas.

It was this small group of men that went on to become the Yeoman Warders of the Yeomen of the Guard. The Yeoman Warders, that visitors are escorted and entertained by whilst touring the Tower of London, are salaried and, as a condition of their post, must live in accommodation within the Tower of London, giving these lucky souls one of the most exclusive addresses and postal codes in the entire country! During their normal working day at the Tower of London, the Yeoman Warders are identifiable by their dark blue Tudor tunics and bonnets. On ceremonial occasions the Tower Warders wear a similar scarlet red and gold uniform as the 'Yeomen of the Queen's Body Guard' but without the ornate shoulder strap worn across the body. Commonly known across the world as 'Beefeaters' it is believed that this name is a corruption of 'Bouffetieres' who were the body guard to the kings of France and until the 19th century a proportion of their salaries were 'paid' in beef!

Answer: The Constable of the Tower of London

The position of 'Constable of the Tower' is one of the very, very few that still permit direct access to the sovereign. The first Constable, who was Geoffrey of Mandeville, was appointed to the position by King William I during the latter years of the 11th century and for the past 225 years or so the officer appointed as Constable has been a senior military officer.

There were many benefits that came with the post, a few of these being that everything growing on Tower Hill was owned by him; any cart that fell into the moats became his property and all vessels passing up the River Thames were instructed to moor at the Tower and a portion of its cargo would be 'donated' for the benefit of the Constable.

This tradition continues today with the 'Ceremony of the Constable's Dues' in which a Royal Navy ship delivers a barrel of rum to Tower Green as the 'Constable's Dues'

Answer: The Ceremony of the Keys

It has been my honour and privilege to have been both the sentry for this ceremony on two occasions and as a member of the escort to the keys on more.
Having taken place every single night at exactly the same time, since 1340 and possibly for hundreds of years prior to this date, the Ceremony of the Keys begins at exactly seven minutes to ten starting at the Byward Tower. There has only been a single occasion upon which the ceremony was held later than usual and King George VI granted the Commander of the Guard on that occasion immunity from punishment as the delay had been put down to 'enemy action'... the Tower having taken a direct hit by a German bomb that night during the Blitz. What follows is a summary of what takes place during this ancient ceremony:

Sentry: "Halt! Who comes there?"
Chief Yeoman Warder: "The Keys!"
Sentry: "Who's Keys?"
Chief Yeoman Warder: "Queen Elizabeth's Keys!"
The Chief Yeoman Warder and the Escort to the Keys advance and halt a few paces from the sentry.
Sentry: "Pass Queen Elizabeth's Keys and all's well!"
The sentry presents arms as the Chief Yeoman Warder, the keys and escort pass through gate and halt at the base of the steps that lead from the Bloody Tower to the Inner Ward.
The Commander of the Guard will then call the guard to attention, and order that the guard present their arms.
The Chief Yeoman Warder will then take two steps forward, remove his Tudor bonnet and cheer "God preserve Queen Elizabeth!" To which the guard respond 'Amen!'
Last Post is then played by duty bugler or piper.
The Chief Yeoman Warder falls out and returns the keys to the Queen's House before retiring for the night whilst the guard are dismissed and return to the Wellington block.