All language subtitles for Unearthed Series 8 Terror in the Torture Tower 1080p

Narrator: At the heart of
England's capital city soars

A mega castle with a dark
and mysterious past --

The tower of london.

These remains are related
to one of

The most enduring gruesome
mysteries of the tower.

Narrator: Today,
investigators race to reveal

Who builds
this mighty fortress

And discover
why it transforms

From a defensive
engineering marvel

To an infamous prison
steeped in legend.

This culture of fear
is imbued

Within the very walls
of the building.

Narrator:
Throughout the centuries,

The tower of london is a place
of execution and torture,

A royal palace, an armory,

And home to the kings'
and queens' crown jewels.

It's not just
the enormous diamonds,

The huge amount of gold --

It's the power
that they represent.

Narrator: To solve the mysteries
of this iconic castle,

We digitally deconstruct

Its engineering secrets.

We reveal how,
for almost 1,000 years,

This fortress
remains impenetrable

For those
trying to get in

And uncover beheaded skeletons
hidden for centuries

To unearth the secrets of
the bloody torture tower.

♪♪

The tower of london,

An extraordinary and mysterious
stone castle built

In the heart of England's
capital city.

This engineering marvel
stands tall on

The banks of the river thames.

Today, skyscrapers surround
this medieval fortress,

But for almost 1,000 years,
the tower is an enduring icon.

We've got the modern city of
london surrounding us

With a variety of
very tall buildings.

But when this was built,

This would have been the only
tall building on the skyline.

Narrator: The tower of london
is a fortified citadel.

At its heart is a colossal
solid stone keep,

The stronghold of the castle.

Nearby, a high security
barracks houses

The crown jewels, worth
an estimated $5 billion.

Around it, 16 defensive towers
and two rings of

25-foot-thick walls
form the castle's

Impenetrable perimeter.

The tower is one of

The most secure mega
structures in the world.

Who builds this mighty
fortress and why?

♪♪

The tower of london
contains over

30 different buildings
within the castle walls,

With hundreds of rooms
and halls throughout.

Jane sidell

Is on a mission to unlock
the origins of this vast castle.

She searches for clues
to its creation

In the oldest and largest of
these buildings,

The keep at the center
known as the white tower.

Sidell: The white tower is
absolutely massive.

When compared to the buildings
that would have been around it,

It's on an altogether different
order of magnitude.

Narrator:
The walls of the keep are

Built using two types of
english stones.

But a third stone, the bright
white limestone that gives

The tower its distinctive look,

Is not native.

Jane believes that this third
type of stone is

Key to working out
the origin of the tower.

Sidell: The exciting thing about
the third type of stone is that

Not only does it come
from abroad,

It comes from France.

More specifically,
it comes from normandy,

And so this gives us a great
clue as to the builders of

The white tower.

Narrator: Importing huge amounts
of white limestone

From normandy and France is
extremely expensive.

Jane believes only one person
is rich

And powerful enough to pay for
such a costly construction.

Sidell:
This is expensive material.

It's been imported
from abroad.

It's a massive building
project -- that leaves us with

William the conqueror as
the originator of this material.

Narrator: The french army
invades England in 1066

And kills the saxon
king harold

At the battle of hastings.

Their leader, william
the conqueror, duke of normandy,

Becomes the new king
of England.

He ships in tens of thousands
of blocks of white limestone

From normandy and starts to
construct a mighty castle in

England's capital.

Why does he build it?

William arrives with around
7,000 men.

England is a country of around
two million people.

After gaining the crown,

William must act decisively
to prevent an uprising.

Jane believes this is
why he builds the tower.

Sidell: He needed to dominate
the english,

And though he had quite
a small army, he was fast,

He was efficient,
and so

He created a fortress
extremely quickly.

Narrator: 15-foot-thick stone
walls and a front door

Raised 20 feet off the ground
keep attackers out.

The basement is
a 7,000-square-foot store room

That can hold food supplies
for around two months,

And the floor above provides

Living space
for high-ranking soldiers.

On the second floor is
the chapel of st. John

The evangelist.

It is built into the fabric of

The castle so that god may
protect those inside,

While its curved outer walls
deflect enemy missiles.

But can william
hold his grip

On England with this mighty
fortress alone?

Richard nevell heads
26 miles southeast of

The tower of london
to hunt for clues.

Perched on the banks of

The river medway in kent lies
rochester castle.

This is another fortress
established by william.

It's strikingly similar
to the tower.

Nevell: The castle was founded
by william the conqueror in

The mid 11th century as
part of his process of

Conquering England.

Narrator: Richard believes
rochester castle

And the tower of london have
a surprising connection.

He analyzes
the architectural blueprints

Of the two castles for clues.

Here we have the white tower.

We can see that it's based

On this rectangular shape
with pilaster buttresses.

And if we look at a plan
for rochester,

We can see something similar.

Narrator: Both castles are built
from the same template.

They're constructed
on high ground.

And like the tower of london,

Rochester castle boasts
imposing lookout towers

With turrets
and arrow slits.

But above all else,
rochester castle's location on

The banks of the river medway

Proves a key connection
to the tower of london.

Nevell: The castle was built
right next to a river,

Which gives really good access.

It would allow them to bring in

The building stone and
potentially soldiers, as well.

You can see that,
at the tower

Of london, it's built
right on the riverfront.

Narrator: Richard thinks william
establishes castles at both

Locations as part of
a wider strategy.

He builds eight strongholds
surrounding london.

Their proximity to each other
means that william's army can

Use them like stepping stones
in the event of an uprising.

The tower of london lies
at the center of

This castle network.

Each of these was about a day

In terms of travel
from the city,

So they could reinforce very
quickly, and they guarded major

Transport routes
towards the capital.

So all of which is
about controlling

Who can reach london
and keeping people out.

Narrator:
Each stronghold

William builds is around
a day's March from the capital,

So he can move troops quickly
and snuff out any uprisings.

But could the tower have
another purpose besides

Defending his army from any
would-be attackers?

Jane believes the height of
the castle holds a clue.

She measures
the elevation from

The ground
to the upper battlements.

Sidell: The tower is
approximately 90 feet to the top

Of the crenellations,
with some additional height

With the towers
on the corners.

It would have been
hugely impressive.

Narrator: It's one of
the tallest fortresses in europe

At the time it's built.

From the top of the tower,
the purpose becomes clear.

Sidell: The white tower
would have been absolutely

Awe-inspiring
when it was first built.

It would have been to
people that lived in london then

As the shard is
to us now.

Narrator: Jane thinks that
this visibility is key

To william's plan for
controlling his new subjects.

Sidell: William wanted to make
his presence felt.

He wanted to subjugate
londoners and the english,

And what better way to do it

Than to build
an enormous fortress

In a new architectural style
that loomed over everyone's

Houses,
everywhere they lived,

And also their seats of power.

Narrator: William builds
this mega fortress as

A symbol of supremacy over
the people of England.

The tower soars above
the buildings around it.

The freshly cut stone
stands in stark

Contrast to the timber houses
of medieval london.

William's castle network
shows strategic

Planning in his subjugation
of England.

But the majority of
his other castles

That circle london are
dilapidated and destroyed.

Has the tower always been

The impenetrable fortress
we find today?

And can clues within the tower
reveal its gruesome hidden past?

Narrator:
The tower of london --

The iconic fortress
stands tall as

The defensive cornerstone of
london for almost 1,000 years.

How does it survive
so long?

Jane sidell believes
a strange discovery

In the tower's moat
may solve this mystery.

Sidell: This is the moat
of the tower of london,

And at the moment,
it's a dry ditch,

A green empty space.

A series of exploratory
excavations were undertaken,

And masonry and timber
structures were uncovered,

Which came as quite
a surprise.

Narrator:
Hidden beneath the ground,

Archaeologists discover
11 large oak timber beams,

Some up to 30 feet long.

The beams surround a giant
carved stonework structure.

Jane believes these are
the foundations

Of an old gatehouse.

Why is it buried in the moat?

Tree ring analysis of
the beams

Reveals the gatehouse dates
from 1240,

200 years after william
the conqueror builds the tower.

This means the gatehouse
and moat

Are not part of
the original building.

All of the evidence collected
from the excavations in

The tower from
these structures, from

The evidence of the moat, shows
that there was a significant

Program of expansion
at this date.

Narrator:
In 1238, william's white tower

Stands alone on the river bank,

But a new king,
henry iii, orders

A 30-foot-tall wall
to surround it

With eight towers
that house garrisons

Of archers to defend
the castle.

Next, his son edward I
builds a second curtain wall

And digs out a 160-foot-wide

Channel all the way around
the outer wall.

He floods it with water
to create a moat

To keep the enemy
from the gates.

Why do king henry
and king edward

Spend so lavishly
on new defenses?

Alfred hawkins believes
they invest so much

Because the threat of war
looms over them.

Henry iii and edward I
are fighting

Constant wars against
the welsh and the scots,

And the threat of french
invasion is ever present.

So this fortress really
is the grip on london,

And it's somewhere
to fall back to

If it's ever needed.

Narrator:
The kings fear the danger

Posed by new siege weaponry.

Hawkins: Henry iii
and edward I's

Defenses are
really a reaction to

The changes in medieval
warfare that you can see during

That period.

Narrator:
The 13th century sees

The rise of powerful
counterweight trebuchets.

These medieval catapults
can throw

A large rock around 1,000 feet.

Troops can attack a fortress

And keep out of range of
defenders' arrows.

Hawkins: The development of
the trebuchets

Completely revolutionized

Siege warfare, so while
the tower was a formidable

Fortress in terms of
what had come before,

It was largely seen as
out of date by the 1200s.

Narrator: Edward is a warring
king and fights in bloody

Sieges firsthand.

He knows how new weaponry

Can topple even
the toughest fortresses.

Attackers can also scale
castle walls with

Enormous siege towers

So they can fight
the defenders hand to hand.

Tunneling beneath
a fortress and burning

The support beams can cause
the walls above to collapse.

Or the enemy can simply
surround a castle

For months and starve out
the people inside.

Edward designs his new
defenses at the tower

Of london to protect against
these dangers.

Alfred believes that
the second outer wall plays

A key role.

Hawkins: The innermost wall
built by henry iii created

A certain level of defense,

But it wasn't deemed enough
by his son edward I,

Who then built
these huge fortifications

Around his father's work.

These outer walls
are at a lower height,

Which enables the defenders to
have two vantage points from

Which to repel an attack.

Narrator: The second defensive
wall is an extra barrier

For attackers trying to storm
the inner castle compound.

It also puts the inner walls
out of a trebuchet's range,

While the 160-foot moat would
flood any attackers'

Attempts to tunnel underneath.

The defensive fortifications
are key to the tower's

900-year success.

This is still one of the most
impenetrable castles in europe,

Defended by massive walls
and great towers.

Narrator: In its near
thousand-year history,

The tower is rarely threatened.

Would-be attackers are
scared away

By its intimidating defenses.

But could new evidence
reveal that after hundreds of

Years of keeping people out,

The tower begins to trap
people in?

Narrator:
The tower of london.

Its impregnable walls keep
enemies out for centuries,

But does a gruesome discovery
reveal these walls

Are used to imprison
those inside?

In 1674, workers make
a macabre discovery.

From 10 feet below
the castle foundations,

They pull up
a plain wooden box,

And inside,
they find two skeletons.

There are no inscriptions
or clues to their identities.

Who are they?

And why are they buried here

In the shadow of
the white tower?

This remains one of the most
enduring mysteries of

The tower.

Narrator: Alfred hawkins is
on a mission to find out.

He believes the dimensions of
the skeletons inside

The box offer a clue
to their identity.

Within that box were
the remains of two children,

And the reason they knew

That they were children was
mostly due to the size of these

Skeletal remains.

While we know that many
children lived at the tower

With their families,

These are the only two
children who have such intrigue

And mystery surrounding
their deaths.

Narrator:
Alfred believes the discovery

Of the skeletons
is a vital clue

To one of the biggest unsolved
murder cases in english history,

The famous story of
the princes in the tower.

When king edward iv
dies in 1483,

His eldest son, prince edward,
is heir to the throne,

But he is just 12 years old.

The young prince
and his brother

Are taken to the tower
of london

To be under the protection of
their uncle, richard.

But three months later,
richard himself is

Crowned king,

And the boys are never
seen again.

While we really don't know
what happened to these princes,

The evidence of

Their slow disappearance,
combined with the discovery of

These two collections of
skeletal remains,

Really lead us to think that
these two children were

Probably murdered in
a political game.

These are two very young
and very vulnerable children,

And so their removal
could make way

For somebody else
to take power.

Narrator: If the famous princes
are murdered,

There's an obvious suspect --
their uncle, richard.

Richard stood
to gain the power

Of the english monarchy
through

The removal of
these two young princes.

Narrator: While this remains
a compelling story,

At the time of the discovery,

The evidence that links
the children's remains to

The famous princes is
only circumstantial.

The skeletons are laid to rest
in westminster abbey.

And with them,

Their mystery remains
buried, too.

Hawkins: Despite later
attempts to identify

The skeletal remains,

There has been no definitive
proof that these are the bones

Of the two young princes.

And so, while we can speculate
and guess at what happened

During their disappearance,

We really will never know.

Narrator: The true fate of the
famous princes remains unknown.

But could their incarceration
herald the start of

The tower of london becoming
the most infamous prison

In England?

Alfred believes
sinister clues may lie

In the tower of london's
west wing,

In a building called
beauchamp tower.

Hawkins: Behind me
is the beauchamp tower,

Which was constructed by
edward I into the defensive

Fortification we know it
as today, however, inside,

There is a lot of evidence to
say that the use of this

Building actually changed
quite dramatically.

Narrator:
Inside the beauchamp tower,

Mysterious graffiti covers
the inner walls.

Who makes these inscriptions?

And what do they reveal about

The purpose of
this imposing fortress?

Alfred inspects the graffiti
to decode its hidden meaning.

You can see that has been very
delicately carved into

The walls with a lot of care

Over what is probably
a great period of time.

And if we look
a little bit closer,

You can make out
the words arundel,

And through this, we know that
this graffiti is attributed to

Philip howard,
the earl of arundel,

Who was imprisoned
in the tower by

Elizabeth I around 1589.

Narrator: Elizabeth,
a protestant queen,

Sees the catholic philip
howard as a threat to

National security

And imprisons him
in the tower.

Other graffiti hints at
similar incarcerations,

But of all the different
carvings within

The beauchamp tower,
one stands out.

Hawkins: We can see that they
very delicately carved the word

"jane" and the grey family crest
into this war.

It is attributed to
a supporter of lady jane grey,

And although we don't know
who made this carving,

It is one of the most tragic
stories at the tower.

Narrator: Lady jane grey,
aged just 15,

Is declared queen
by plotters in 1553.

But she is imprisoned in
the tower by the eventual queen,

Mary I,

Her rival to the throne
of England.

She is evidence of
the tower's new role

As a bloody state prison.

We can see from this evidence
that the purpose

Of the tower changed from

Trying to keep people out
to actually trying

To keep people in.

Narrator: In its near
thousand-year history,

The tower of london is home to
potentially thousands

Of prisoners.

Can a new discovery
reveal that

These inmates face
the ultimate gruesome fate?

Narrator: England's kings
spend lavishly to

Update the tower of
london's defenses

And turn it into
an inescapable prison,

But a discovery
in the tower's chapel of

St. Peter ad vincula could
reveal another more

Sinister role.

Hawkins: Underneath the floor
of this chapel,

There is evidence of
a very dark past.

Narrator: In 1877,
builders renovating the chapel

Make a shocking find.

Beneath the altar,

They unearth the skeletons
of at least 15 people.

They are men and women,
buried simply,

And many are missing
their skulls.

But one is the complete
skeleton of a young woman

Buried with
her severed head.

Who is the beheaded woman,

And what can her grisly fate
reveal about the tower?

Hawkins: This chapel that is
home to some of the most

Wonderful events at the tower

But also some of our darkest
moments in the history.

Narrator: Alfred hawkins
believes the date of

The chapel's construction
may hold a clue

To this dark chapter.

St. Peter ad vincula is
constructed in the tower of

London by henry viii
in 1520.

Narrator: Henry viii
of the tudor dynasty

Is one of England's most
famous rulers.

It's likely the decapitated
woman is killed

During his reign.

Hawkins: Using evidence
from the tudor period

And through looking
at the bones

And observing their slender
and perfect proportions

And well-formed jaw lines,

All of these things culminated
in the conclusion

That these were the bones of
queen anne boleyn.

Narrator: Anne boleyn
is henry's second wife.

Hawkins: They were married as
part of great ceremony in 1533,

Although the relationship
soured when anne couldn't

Provide henry with a male heir.

Narrator: Just three years
after their marriage,

Henry sends anne to the tower
of london.

Ominously for her,

She arrives through an entrance
known as traitor's gate.

Hawkins: She was accused of
incest, adultery,

And high treason

And was eventually imprisoned
in the very

Same apartments where
she stayed before her wedding.

Narrator:
Anne is tried in the tower of

London's great hall
and convicted of treason.

She is beheaded
in the tower grounds

To the east of
st. Peter ad vincula

And buried with her head
under the chapel floor,

Alongside other high-ranking
members of society.

Hawkins:
Despite being found guilty,

And despite her many supposed

Crimes, anne was still
queen of England,

So her burial in here is not
representative of her status

In death -- it's representative
of her position in life.

Narrator: Anne boleyn is one of
a possible 57,000 victims

Executed by henry viii.

He is perhaps the most
bloodthirsty king

Ever to rule England.

Anne's fate is evidence of
the tower's transformation

From bulwark and prison to
place of royal execution.

In the 1300s,
the kings of England build

A scaffold on tower hill to
execute most of their prisoners.

Over four centuries,

Hundreds of traitors
are beheaded or hanged here

In front of huge crowds.

They stick the victims' heads
on spikes on london bridge

As a gruesome warning to
everyone walking beneath.

Hawkins: You have to imagine
that the ordeal of going through

Something like that,
being paraded

In front of these people,

Which must have been
absolutely awful and terrifying

For those people
who are executed there.

Narrator: These gruesome
acts of execution shroud

The tower in a cloak
of darkness.

Memories of
its past prisoners

Live forever
in the castle walls,

But the tower is not only
filled with prisoners.

Hundreds of workers
live within its walls

To run the prison
and royal residences.

How do people living
in the tower at

The time cope with the fear
and death that surrounds them?

James wright believes
strange markings

Inside the tower
provide a clue.

Wright: At the queen's house
at the tower of london,

We found quite a strange,

Quite enigmatic markings
on the timbers.

Narrator: The most common
marking is a tear-shaped

Burn mark found
on the door frames

And window ledges -- james
discovers over 50 of them.

It used to be thought that
these marks were simply

Unattended candles,

Which had accidentally
scorched the timbers.

However, some really good
experimental archaeology has

Shown that this simply
isn't the case.

Unattended candles leave
a much more amorphous blob.

Narrator: James believes these
strange teardrop burn marks

Are man-made.

He uses a candle
to test his theory.

Wright:
Well, as you can see,

We've got this perfect
tear-shaped burn mark,

Absolutely exactly like the ones
that we were finding

In huge numbers
at the tower of london.

It's there scorched.

It's taken a few minutes
to do,

But it shows that this is
a very, very deliberate

Human behavior.

Narrator: Who makes
these markings and why?

James believes that
the location of the marks

Near doors, windows,
and chimneys

Is evidence they are
ritualistic practices

To defend against
evil spirits.

Wright: There was a belief
that these creatures

Flew around wherever
there was a draft,

So wherever the air was,
that's how they would get

Into the buildings.

Narrator: James believes
the markings most likely

Date to the 16th
and 17th centuries.

He thinks they helped
the people living in the tower

To cope with the horrors that
fill their daily lives.

Wright: This is a time where
the tower of london is starting

To establish
its very grim reputation

As a prison, as a place
of torture and execution.

So you can imagine that
the people that are living

There at the queen's house

Are essentially living in a --
very much a culture of fear.

Narrator: The people living
at the tower of london

Feel the darkness
creeping through the building,

And the candle burns

Are the physical
manifestation of that fear.

Though the tower is used

Throughout history
to lock up prisoners,

Can this impenetrable fortress
also keep

The crown jewels safe
from thieves?

Narrator:
The tower of london,

England's most infamous castle.

For centuries,
it is a gruesome prison,

Where inmates are tortured
and executed.

But today, the tower's thick
walls have another

Purpose altogether.

They safeguard the nation's
most precious treasure,

Guarded day and night.

Multiple surveillance cameras
cover every corner of

The tower.

And an armed guard of highly
trained soldiers keep watch

24-7.

That's because the tower is
home to the crown jewels,

Royal treasures worth
an estimated $5 billion.

The st. Edward's crown
is over 300 years old.

It is solid gold

And encrusted with over
400 priceless gemstones.

The gold orb bears over
600 diamonds and pearls,

And at the head
of the scepter is

The largest diamond
in the world.

The jewel house is nestled
inside the inner compound,

Directly north of
the white tower.

This is the most fortified
location in the entire complex.

But jane sidell believes
the crown jewels are guarded

With such high level security

To protect more than just
the jewels themselves.

Sidell: It is not just
the enormous diamonds,

The huge amounts of gold.

It's the symbols, the potency,
the power that they represent.

They represent
an unchanging line

Of monarchy
that rules the country

And symbolizes stability
and authority.

Narrator: The orb, crown,
and scepter only leave

The tower on the most
important national occasions,

Like the coronation of queen
elizabeth ii in 1952.

This has happened for
generation after generation

After generation,
stretching back 1,000 years.

The crown is not
the same one.

The crown has changed
a couple of times,

But the ceremony and the way
that the jewels are used

Is unchanged.

Narrator:
The tower of london has not

Always been home
to the crown jewels.

Records indicate the crown, orb,
and scepter are kept in

The palace of westminster,

Three miles up the river
thames, until the 17th century.

Why are they moved to
the tower?

Sidell: There were a number of
theft attempts on

The treasure houses at
the palace of westminster,

And they needed to be
better protected.

Narrator: But is the tower of
london secure enough to

Deter all would-be assailants
from stealing the jewels?

Sidell:
This is the most defensible

Fortress that you could
possibly find.

There will always be someone
who is crazy enough

To try and make an attempt
on the crown jewels,

And there was one such attempt
by thomas blood.

Narrator: In 1671, the cunning
thomas blood poses as a priest

And befriends the jewel keeper
over many months.

One evening, blood asks
to see the jewels,

But once inside, he attacks
the keeper and gags him.

Blood uses a mallet
to flatten the crown

While his accomplice
saws the scepter in half

So they can hide
the precious collection.

They flee, but guards catch
them before they reach the gate,

And blood is imprisoned
in the tower.

The crown jewels have never
been successfully stolen

From the grounds
of the tower of london.

It is
an unbreakable fortress.

But can new evidence
reveal the tower holds

Even greater riches than
the multibillion-dollar jewels?

Archaeologists
digging into the tower's

Outer ward unearth
a surprising stash...

Hundreds of medieval coins
made from silver.

Jane believes engravings
on the coins reveal

A clue to why
they are here.

Here's an image of one of
the coins that's been found

In the excavations,
but it's a silver coin.

There's an image of a crown on
it and also the name edward

On the outside.

Narrator: The name edward above
the crown is evidence

That king edward I
mints this coin.

Edward I is the king

Who builds the second
defensive wall and water-filled

Moat around the tower in 1275

To protect the castle
from siege attack.

Alongside the coins,
investigators discover tools

Commonly used by blacksmiths
and metal workers.

Sidell: Other artifacts
include some of

The ugliest pottery vessels
you'll ever find,

But to an archaeologist,
they're a real dream,

And these are crucibles --
they're made of clay,

But they have to be very,
very robust,

Because they're used
for melting metal.

Narrator:
Jane believes these coins

And metal-working tools
are linked.

She thinks this is proof that
the nation's money is created

Here in the tower of london.

King edward I uses
the tower as the royal mint.

Sidell: When you find
these tiny traces,

They look like nothing, but to
people trying to unravel

The history of the tower,

They give a very tangible clue
as to what's going on.

Narrator: The evidence reveals
the tower of london houses

The royal mint for 500 years.

It fills the western,

Northern, and eastern walls
of the fortress.

Safe under the watchful eye of
the king in the tower,

It is the perfect place to
store the tons of pure

Silver needed
for coin production

And manufacture millions of them
to ship across the country.

The tower is steeped in
century-old traditions,

But how does it still serve
as a fortress today?

Narrator:
The tower of london,

A fortress used by the kings

And queens of England
for nearly 1,000 years.

But how does it remain
secure today?

Keeping the tower safe rests
on the shoulders of jim duncan.

Duncan: Most people think
we come here and do a job,

But it is a job,
but it's also a way of life.

Narrator:
Jim is a yeoman warder.

The yeoman warders work
alongside the tower guard

And tower wardens to ensure
the security of the fortress.

They have held
this responsibility

For over 500 years.

Duncan: The yeoman warders,
as we call ourselves,

Are the oldest body of
formed men

Anywhere, and I mean anywhere,
in the world.

We even predate
the vatican guard.

Narrator: The yeoman warders
are a group of 37

Men and women drawn from
the armed forces.

They are nicknamed beefeaters.

It's rumored that
as bodyguard to the king,

They were permitted to eat as
much beef as they wanted

From the king's table.

Today, they guard the tower
of london day and night.

Jim's role within the yeoman
warders is the yeoman jailer.

It's a position that stretches
back over half a millennium.

Duncan: I can date my history
of my particular job back

To 1505 --
now I stand here

In front of you today, and I am
the 49th yeoman jailer at

The tower of london.

I can also tell you
that more men and women

Have been into space than have
actually done my job.

Such a unique, honorable role
to have here.

Narrator: The yeoman warders are
traditionally based at

The tower of london

In order to guard the reigning
king or queen of England.

But the last monarch
to reside here is elizabeth I,

Before her coronation
in 1559.

So why do the yeoman
warders remain?

Though the royal family
no longer lives at the tower,

The crown jewels still do,

So the yeoman warders must
always keep the fortress secure.

Every evening, they lock up
the tower in

A tradition called
the ceremony of the keys.

It is the oldest
military ceremony

Of its kind
anywhere in the world.

It takes place every single
night at 9:53 p.M.

Duncan: There's a place
for the crown jewels

And the royal regalia,
so there's

A necessity for security.

This place needs to be secure.

So if you've got doors,
you need to lock them.

Narrator:
The yeoman warders ensure

The crown jewels stay secure
under lock and key,

As they have done
for hundreds of years.

Duncan:
It's part of english history,

Part of english tradition.

We want the great public
to know what

Goes on here
in the tower of london,

So we invite visitors in to

Come and watch that
specific ceremony.

Narrator: Continuing traditions
like this into the modern era

Sees the tower retain its
unique slice of history

And remain
a functional fortress.

The tower welcomes over
two million visitors

A year from all over
the world.

Duncan: I was in the army
for 40 years.

During that 40 years,
I went around

The world, met a load of
interesting people.

Now I stand
in tower green.

The world --

Well, it comes to me to visit
this magnificent sight,

The history and traditions of
what made this country

What it is.

Narrator:
Throughout its long history,

The tower evolves.

Over the centuries,
the tower of

London has grown
into a mighty fortress.

It houses England's past kings

And queens and guards
the precious crown jewels.

The tower's
medieval traditions keep them

Safe to this day.

But the bodies of the famous
princes and the beheaded remains

Of queen anne boleyn

Reveal a darker side to
the tower as a place of

Imprisonment
and royal execution.

Throughout history,

This fortress stamps
its mark on the nation

As England's deadliest
mega castle.

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