“He was a part-time butcher, a part-time executioner and a part-time drunk and at this particular execution all his talents came together. After 5 attempts he still had not beheaded the traitor and needed to whip out his carving knife to hack away and finish the job.”
This was just one of many colorful stories told by the Yeoman who lead our tour through the Tower of London.
The guards are called Yeoman Warders. They are all former officers and sergeants of the British Services. Their nickname is Beefeater. The name is likely to have originated from the time when they were paid part of their salary with chunks of beef.
Highlights of the tour included:
The torture displays --- the ‘rack’, manacles, and a compression device that squeezed one to death.
The House of Jewels, that contained one sparkly crown after another mingled with tiaras and an enormous solid gold punch bowl (William and Kate could use it for their reception, regardless of the size of their guest list). No photographs were allowed, unfortunately.
And caged ravens -- for according to legend, at least six ravens must remain lest both Tower and Monarchy fall.
There are seven ravens at the Tower today (the required six plus one spare).
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