He had various customs and profits. From every boat coming to London
laden with rushes, such a quantity as could be held between a man’s
arms was to be laid for him on the Tower Wharf; from every oyster boat
“one maund” (hand-basket full); from every ship laden with wine, one
flagon before and one from behind the mast; swans coming under London
Bridge towards or from the sea belonged to the Constable; horses,
cows, pigs, sheep falling from the bridge into the Thames were the
Constable’s if he could rescue them; and for every foot of such animals
feeding within the ditches of the Tower, he was entitled to one penny.
Then there were tenements on Tower Hill of which the rents were his, as
well as those for herbage growing on Tower Hill; herring boats from
Yarmouth paid him twelve pence. Then prisoners had to pay heavy fees—a
duke paid twenty pounds, an earl twenty marks, a knight a hundred
shillings. And there was an annual fee of fifty to a hundred pounds,
and allowances of wax, wine, and other necessaries for the use of
the household. It is needless to add that though these particular
privileges have gone, the Constable of the Tower has always been a very
important personage, holding his appointment by Royal Letters Patent
under the Great Seal. He has the honour of the privilege of audience
of, and direct communication with the King. On his installation the
keys are delivered to him by the Lord Chamberlain. He, always a man,
therefore, of high rank, appointed a Lieutenant, to whom he allowed
£20 a year, with such savings as could be made in furniture and food.
In the reign of Henry VIII, the Lieutenant, who had now become the
actual prison warder, had a new house built for his accommodation, in
a courtly quarter, under the Belfry. This is now “the King’s House,”
the residence of the present Major of the Tower, General Milman, who
is, _ex officio_, a Justice of the Peace for the Tower Liberties,
and a Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets. The Tower Commitment
Book, containing the date of all prisoners as far back as 1666, is
in his custody. By him the Yeoman. Warders are sworn in as special
constables, their duties being confined to the limits of the Tower.
They are described in the official regulations as “Honorary members of
the King’s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard.” They are selected
from warrant officers and noncommissioned officers of the army, and
are on the same footing as serjeant-majors of the army. The “Yeoman
Gaoler” who carries the curious old axe (figured in the Tower trophy
of arms) on state occasions is responsible for the general maintenance
of order. The “Yeoman Porter” is chief warder; has charge of the gates
and drawbridges; also has the care of the Warders’ Uniforms. He asserts
the right of the Tower authorities over Postern Row and George Street,
by closing the iron bars across these thoroughfares on the first
working day in August. Every night at 11 o’clock, when the Tower gates
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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