In the 1800’s many changes were seen at the Tower of London.  The Royal Mint moved out in 1810. In 1835 the Royal Menagerie moved to new accommodation in Regents Park and became London Zoo.  The Tower of London still remained the Armoury of England, housing as it did the Office of Ordnance as well as, until 1857, the Repository for all Records pertaining the Monarch.  This went on to be the basis of the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane.  The Crown Jewels were still here to be visited along with the Armouries but up until 1837, only 100 visitors were allowed inside the Tower walls at any one time.

This was all to change, as the admission price of two shillings was reduced to 1 shilling in 1838 and again reduced to sixpence in 1839. This allowed for all who could afford it to visit the tower, previously the realm of the rich and famous. The reduction in price of entry meant that the numbers to be admitted had to be increased and it can be seen that from 1837 until 1841 the numbers admitted rocketed. This put a tremendous strain on the Yeoman Warders who were not only responsible for the security of the Tower but also had to guide these visitors through the White Tower and ensure that the Crown Jewels were adequately protected.

To visit the Tower someone would wait at the front gate, a Yeoman Warder would collect a group and take the around the Tower, this led to enormous queues.  The Metropolitan Police had a detachment, which would deal with the security of the Tower, the Police Station was the North Byward. In 1880. Queen Victoria gave her approval to an experiment whereby the public were to be admitted to the Tower by continuous ingress, unaccompanied by Her Majesty’s Yeoman Warders.

A Committee was set up to monitor this experiment decide how best to conduct it and report back to the Queen. The experiment began on 11th October 1880 and continued on a daily basis, watched closely by the Committee Members.  The Committee decided that 20 Yeoman Warders would be on duty at any one time, located at various places around the Tower.  On 29th November 1906 the Departmental Committee recommended a reduction in the Force of Metropolitan Police employed here and, on 31st December 1906, the Police Force was reduced by nine Constables.  An additional six Yeoman Warders were employed in their stead making 26 Yeoman Warders on duty at any one time.  A Constable was withdrawn from the Entrance to the Jewel House (by now located in the Wakefield Tower) but was reposted again on the 2nd April 1909 after consultation between representatives of the Lord Chamberlain’s Department and Sir Edward Henry.  Chief Commissioner of Police, this Constable was withdrawn during the period 4th January 1910 to 1st November 1910 due to the closure of the Jewel House.

Previously Constables were employed as follows: 7 in the White Tower, 1 near the Beauchamp Tower and 1 near the Jewel House, making 9 in total.  The Metropolitan Police Force were withdrawn totally on 1st January 1924, ‘From this day inclusive the Gate duties and other necessary work hitherto done by the Police will be carried out by the Yeoman Warders’.

I believe this to signify the beginning of the appointment of Yeoman Warders as Special Constables.  Yeoman Warders were appointed to the Body and sworn in as Special Constables up until 2nd July 1991. This was after a review following the transfer for the security of the Tower of London from the Ministry of Defence to the Department of the Environment. The review was carried out by the Provost Marshal (Army) into the Special Constable status of the Yeoman Warders.

The review considered the following facts:

1. Section 3 of the Special Constables Act 1923, as amended, authorised the Defence Council which was responsible for the Tower, to nominate Yeoman Warders to be appointed Special Constables.

2. In 1987 the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) Act formally established the MDP as the Force responsible to the Secretary of State for the policing of MOD establishments. The Act also authorised the Chief Constable MDP to nominate persons to be appointed os Special
Constables within his Force. The Defence Council however continued to nominate Yeoman Warders despite the fact that they had no relationship with the MDP.

3. Finally, the responsibility for the Tower including all aspects of security passed from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to the Department of the Environment (DOE) in 1989 and the authority and responsibility of the Defence Council to nominate Yeoman Warders at the Tower to be appointed Special Constables lapsed.

The review concluded that the appointment of Yeoman Warders as Special Constables nominated by the Defence Council was no longer valid.  All Yeoman Warders therefore ceased to be Special Constables on 2nd July 1991.

This throws up another question when did the Metropolitan Police Force start active service in the tower, the above tells you when the Metropolitan Police Force left the Tower of London and going from the date shown in the review of the Special Constables Act 1923 , we can determine when, more or less, Yeoman Warders became Special Constables and when they ceased to be Special Constables but it doesn’t tell you when the Metropolitan Police began their duty within the Tower.

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