So much is written about the city of London, but how many people write about their experiences as guests lodging in the Tower of London? 

A few years back my husband was working for US Airways.  He was invited to sit on the board of the British American council, and shortly thereafter, as a new flight to London commenced out of Pittsburgh, my husband hosted several yeoman warders.  He befriended one of these dashing gents, and so it was that we found ourselves invited to stay in the Tower of London where the yeoman warder and his family had lodgings.

Now yeoman warders are supposed to be the guards of the Tower of London.  Also known as beefeaters, my only knowledge of them came from seeing them on the labels of gin bottles and from visits to the Tower in which I would drool over the crown jewels.

Our host, Allan, was a retiree from the Armed Forces of the British Commonwealth, as indeed are all the warders.  He drove us about in his sparkling black Mercedes (courtesy of stint in retail) and we found ourselves having barbeque on top of the tower, American-style, burgers and all.

Yes, that’s exactly what I said, a barbeque atop the Tower of London.  Centuries ago somebody was probably bleeding to death in the spot that we used for our impromptu picnic. 

I had not known that the warders lived inside the Tower itself, so I was considerably surprised when we entered the fortress, climbed up ancient, stone paved stairs, and stopped before a thick, reinforced old door.  It opened to a very modern, very comfortable flat.  I looked around in astonishment - it would be our home for the next several nights. (The bathroom inside Allan’s flat was particularly interesting to me.  It was state of the art, with a very amusingly shaped glass door.)

Allan, his wife and son were incredibly gracious as they fit us into their schedules. The duties of the yeoman warder are varied, and the work hours correspond accordingly.  Some of these, like the Ceremony of the Keys is by invitation only, often requiring ticket requests 3-4 months in advance. 

After the nightly, quintessential and 700 year old Ceremony of the Keys, they would take us to the Warders Club (private pub for the warders) where everybody would tell tales of glory days in the army, of past scandals related to the Tower, or sing a ditty or two.  There was a lot of talk of history and of the many ghosts and ghouls that reside in the White Tower, but to be frank, the details elude me now.

We stayed for a few days, and came away utterly entranced by the experience.  Once a palace, a jail, and the residence of some very odd people, the Tower of London remains a fascinating, fascinating spot. 

HKV