There is nothing quite like a tour of the Tower of London given by the Beefeaters. We were fortunate enough to have one by the name of Phil, who provided us with a compelling travel through centuries of time at the Tower. He could recount accurately the number who had lost their heads, and those who had managed to keep them. Yet, if you were to allow your imagination to dally too long in the past, he'd jerk you back to present day reality by saying, "See that tower up there - the one with the single window?"
"Why yes," we'd reply.
"Well, that's been my home for the last 47 years." And then he rattled off it's precise address. "But," he said, "Try ordering a pizza"
Phil went on to explain that the moat around the Tower, had been dug 150 feet wide, to a certain depth that an ancient Dutch engineer had proclaimed would be a marvel. The idea was that the River Thames would fill it up at high tide, and then when the tide receded, it would "flush" out the moat, and make it forever sweet-smelling and fresh.
But, alas, it wasn't to be. . .It seems the Dutchman was off his calculations a bit on the depth of the moat. And instead of flushing out during tide, it pretty much just sat there, causing the moat to become the largest cess pool in all of London. It stayed that way several centuries, until someone with a crown powerful enough, granted that it could be filled in. Grass is growing there now.
There are approximately 150 people that live within the walls to the Tower. They are the Beefeaters themselves, and their families.
