The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-12
LOCKING LONDON TOWER.
Ceremony Now to Be Changed After
Six Hundred Years.

Ceremony Now to Be Changed After
Six Hundred Years.
Alterations in the tower of London
It sounds like sacrilege at the very
least. Yet it has been done. Masons
and carpenters have been lately at work
within the grim old walls. The altera-
tons are to the guardhouse, hard by
the Bloody Tower. The old main guard
served its purpose for a long time, but
1t was small and inconvenient, and in
the end the authorities determined to
| pull 1t down and build a larger one in
its place
But the alteration implies something
more serious than a Encouragement OF
Dicks and mortar 1t has led to a
change in the ancient ceremony of the
Keys. Time out of mind the main
guard has turned out every night be-
| side the Bloody Tower to salute her ma
Jestys keys. Now that that guard
mouse has gone, the main guard has
removed to the spur guard, and the
ceremony of the keys has gone with
1.-THE first variation it has known for
hundreds of years.
Nobody knows when the ceremony
began. 1t is certainly six hundred
years old, and probably a great deal
Older. The first reference to il in the
archives is dated 134O
In King Edward HIS time" runs
the entry, there was one John of Lon
don. an handycraft's man and armour
er, that had the custody of the keys,
portcullises and drawbridges of the
tower, with the wages of iiijd per diem.
and I'D for varlet to car
ry the keys for him. He
had the same clothes, and rugg
gown, and halbert allowed him as the
rest Of the yeomen had"
From the time of that forgotten John
of London there has always been a yeo-
man that had the custody of the
gates" He has always had his clothes
and his "rugg gown" and his nightly
ceremony of locking the gates has not
varied or been omitted for a single
night. The present change of back
ground is probably the worst violence
it has ever suffered.
At few minutes before II the chief
warder takes his keys and, accompani-
ed by his assistant, marches to the
guardhouse. There he applies to the
sergeant for the escort for the keys
The sergeant acquaints the officers, and
the officer, placing the guard under
arms, furnishes a sergeant and four
men. Two of the men are unarmed.
Their duty is to assist in closing the
gates, and to carry the ancient Ian
thorn, which has a tallow candle.
A procession is formed The yeoman
porter, carrying the keys in his hand,
places himself in the midst of the es-
cort, and goes the round of the gates.
The sentries present arms. Everybody
must salute the queens keys, even the
constable himself.
On a dark night with the lanthorn
casting dim light on the scarlet coats,
the saluting warders and the yeoman
porter locking the gates, the sight is
quaint and impressive. One forgets
that he is in the midst of a modern city,
with tram cars, and nervous COM
plants and electric lights. The mind
goes back to the days Of barons and
night alarms, when fortresses meant
something and the keeping Of gates
was matter Of some Importance.
When all the gates are locked the
warder returns with his keys to the
main guard-or, at present, to the spur
guard The Gentry challenges.
Halt! Who goes there?"
The keys" replies the warder.
Whose keys?"
Queen Victoria's keys"
Advance, Queen Victoria's keys"
says the sentry, and the .yeoman porter
and his escort face the guard, who are
drawn up in line.
At the command of the officer the
guard presents arms. The officer sa-
lutes the keys. Then says the yeoman
porter, sin an audible voice" God
preserve Queen Victoria!" and the
guard, from the officer to the drummer.
reply amen" The keys are returned
to the queens house, Ahere they re-
main until o'clock in the morning,
when the gates are unlocked There is
again an escort, but no ceremony.
The wickets remain open until mid
night After this hour nobody can en-
ter the precincts of the tower unless he
has the countersign. This, after the
manner Of fortresses, is selected daily,
and may be changed at any moment It
is generally the name of a river. a
county, or a town.-London Mail.