Nestled in the medieval Tower of London, the Keys bar continues to be a private sanctuary for the distinguished Yeoman Warders and their families. Savor a drink with the people who protect this 900-year-old fortification and take in its aura.
Over three million people visit the 900-year-old Tower of London each year, drawn by its fabled ravens, unique “Beefeater” Yeoman Warder guards, and ancient passageways. The Tower is home to the regal Crown Jewels. They are blind to one important detail, though London’s most prestigious bar.
The Keys looks like your favorite well-known British pub, complete with rectangular hardwood tables, leather banquettes, and a carpet with a patterned pattern. But its inside is enhanced by unique royal features, such cases displaying Yeoman Warder outfits and a ceremonial axe dating back to the sixteenth century.
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Befitting their customary daily meat ration, the Yeomen Warders, sometimes referred to as “Beefeaters,” are the managers of the tavern located at Tower 35. The tavern is only open to them and the people they have invited. The Tower offers its residents a village-like environment with lodgings for resident Beefeaters and their families, a medical center, and a church. As a place to celebrate and unwind after a hard day, the bar is essential to the community.
Chief of the Yeoman body Robin Fuller says, “The Tower is a community center, but we also use it to support charities by hosting groups of colleagues and friends.” We raise, on average, around £500 (around $635), and this is important to us since it allows us to support several obscure organizations for which even a modest donation may have a big impact.
Fuller, a native of northwest London, enlisted in the Yeoman Guards in 2011 after serving 34 years in the Royal Navy. “I was fortunate enough to receive a response from the Tower after taking a chance and sending my CV there,” he remembers. “After a second interview with the Tower’s Constable, I was selected to serve as the 393rd Yeoman Warder since 1827.”
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Over 13 years, Fuller started as a Yeoman Warder and worked his way up to chief. He has served as a sergeant, chief, and jailer—the old word for the person in command of a jail or prison and the second-in-command of the Yeoman body.
According to Fuller, one of the pub’s best-loved characteristics is its special beverages. The bar has a long-standing deal with UK brewery Marstons that lets them sell its beverages under names including Treason, Beefeater Bitter, and Yeoman 1485—a homage to the year Yeoman Warders were born. were established.
Many pubs have existed in the Tower of London throughout the years, and The Keys has carried on many of the ancient customs of its forebears. A custom like this is the Yeoman toast, which goes, “May you never die a Yeoman Warder.” Former Tower guards may sell their posts for around 250 guineas when they retire (a guinea was valued somewhat more than a pound). If a guard passed away before retirement, the constable would sell the post, leaving the guard’s family without anything.
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The toast is still used, although the Duke of Wellington outlawed the practice of purchasing and selling warships in 1826. Rather, he imposed new standards on Yeoman Warders, mandating that they be all respectable former soldiers.
The “Yeoman Warder of His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign’s Body Guard of the Yeomen Guard Extraordinary,” a different title for the position, has taken on several meanings over the years. Nowadays, Yeomen primarily engage with tourists and pose for pictures, but in the past, their duties included defending the Tower, its belongings, and convict supervision.
Some of its customs, such as the participation of Yeomen in different royal festivities like the crowning of the sovereign, the annual Lord Mayor’s Show in London, and other state and charitable events, have not yet been modernized.
Beefeaters are expected to attend state functions dressed in their ceremonial garb, known as “reds,” by ancient Tudor traditions. A crimson and gold tunic, red stockings, a white Tudor ruff, and black shoes make up this ensemble.
The ‘Blue Undress’ uniform, which consists of a Tudor headgear, black shoes, and a tunic and trousers in shades of red and dark blue emblazoned with the current monarch’s cipher, is recognizable to most visitors to the Tower of London.
The name of the tavern comes from Fuller’s nightly performance of the Ceremony of the Keys, which he performs while donning a classic red watch cloak and Tudor cap. As part of the almost 740-year-old custom of “locking up” the Tower, a ceremony is held atop the battlements of the Tower of London in the dark, precisely seven minutes before 10 p.m.
Apart from the customary rituals, antiquated beliefs have a substantial impact on the upkeep of the stronghold in the present times. Six ravens are housed on the grounds of the Tower by royal edict, which is thought to have come from King Charles II in the 17th century. There are seven at the moment, with names like Georgie, Poppy, and Rex.
Yeoman Ravenmaster Chris Skaife recounts a tradition that says the Tower of London would fall to pieces and the realm would suffer much if the ravens left.
Skaife has been taking care of these hallowed birds, also referred to as the Tower’s protectors, for 17 years. Apart from his normal obligations as a Yeoman Warder, he also does extra tasks including cleaning the ravens’ cages and feeding them the best meal available, which includes mice, sirloin, and chicks.