The Tower Taverns

Deciding where my central family could live and work within the Tower was relatively easy as there has long been a history of drinking establishments inside its walls.

 In Medieval times such places were called alehouses, taverns or inns. Denoted by the ale-stake, a long pole with bushes at the end, the humble alehouse is how my Stone Kitchen begins. Historically an alehouse was run by women known as alewives and beer/ale was brewed on a daily basis to be consumed as quickly as possible. The average alehouse sold small beer for men, women and children as part of their diet, and strong beer for labourers or for recreation. Where ale was served in such places as the Tower it could form part of a labourer’s pay. For example, twenty gallons of ale was dispensed to masons working on London Bridge. Often good and bad ale was mixed together for poorer folk but best ale could cost a 4d a gallon which was roughly a third of a day’s pay for craftsmen or two-thirds for a labourer. 

Barley, wheat, oats or millet were steeped in water to germinate then dried, ground and finally infused until fermentation took place. Spices such as long peppers were added for taste and to preserve the liquor. Herbs could also be added to enhance the drinking experience. There were penny ales, pudding ales, spiced ale, and posset ale which was made from hot milk. Hot pokers were often plunged into a pot of ale to heat it on a cold day. Typically, no food was served in an alehouse.

As an historical note, a law was passed in London in 1189 which ordered that all alehouses had to be constructed in stone because of the fire hazard posed by brewing. Alehouses were therefore unusual in London especially permanent ones but the Stone Kitchen in my novel is of course made of stone and I have granted it a special licence!

A tavern could serve food as well as alcohol such as wine and as my novel progresses changes are made to the alehouse and its sister alehouse, The Golden Chain, reflecting the changing times. An inn could also provide accommodation but there is no instance of any of the Tower taverns also being inns – there was lodging enough inside the stone walls!

David Coleman, Yeoman Warder and former archivist of the Tower, provided me with invaluable information on what was known about the taverns from 16th century to 19th century. He writes that as you walk into the Tower today on your left (no.1 Casemates) you would have found the Stone Kitchen, and then roughly opposite to the audio guide shop and attached to the Bell Tower would have been The Bunch of Grapes. He also mentions The Tiger Tavern which was situated outside the walls which provided food and drink for the Tower since 1500. There is a story that when Princess Elizabeth was imprisoned within the Bell Tower by her half-sister Mary I in 1554 she had her meals provided by The Tiger and legend has it that one night she even sneaked out for a night in the tavern…

The Stone Kitchen was described by Sir John Peyton in 1597 as a ‘common Brewhouse and Backhouse to bee kept within ye mint’ confirming it was indeed situated near the Mint. I first came across it in the official The Tower of London book (I refer to this in my blog Characters in Search of a Minstrel).

By 1683, there were forty Yeoman Warders of which seventeen lived in the Tower and by 1715 there were thirty-seven of which fifteen lived in. The taverns were now known as suttlings – a military term for taverns – and joining the Stone Kitchen and the Bunch of Grapes (now called the Warders Hall) was the Golden Chain situated not far from where we find the New Armouries Café and a fourth unnamed near the King’s House although this might have been purely for the Lieutenant of the Tower and his officers.

David Coleman notes that as we move into 19th Century there are, according to the Rates Book and Census, only three taverns: The Stone Kitchen owned by Y.W. Gaoler Lund; The Golden Chain owned by Y.W. Sutcliffe; and one belonging to George Tidy – his unnamed tavern probably found near today’s Raven Café. In 1845 the Constable of the Tower, the Duke of Wellington, closed all the taverns and opened a central canteen for the feeding of the garrison. This was to have disastrous consequences for George Tidy and his family.

On December 5th, 1846, the West Kent Guardian reported on an ‘extraordinary suicide’ at 4pm on Sunday. George Tidy, losing his home and livelihood, had been exhibiting ‘symptoms of great mental distress and frequently said he would never be taken out of the house alive, he cut his throat in his bedroom afflicting a most frightful gash.’ A sad end to the history of the Tower’s taverns it would seem.

However, today the Yeoman Warders of the Tower run their own establishment called The Keys tucked in a corner away from tourists eyes. It continues to serve the Tower’s inhabitants, staff and guests in pleasant surroundings with of course beefeater gin. I have been fortunate enough to drink in there a fair few times at staff nights; as a guest; and memorably Y.W Christopher Skaife ( former Ravenmaster) hosted an ‘after party’ there for me and my guests on the occasion of my 50th birthday after we had all enjoyed a more formal event in the White Tower. He also hosted another fabulous evening for me to celebrate my PhD. He is indeed a wonderful, generous friend.

The Tower’s taverns therefore hold a special place in my life and now I am weaving them into the heart of my Tower books.