Constable of the Tower

The Constable of the Tower had a unique importance as the person in charge of the principal fortress defending the capital city of England.

The office of Constable of the Tower is one of the oldest in England, dating back to within a few years of the Norman Conquest, and has always been one of great honour and dignity.

In the past, this appointment has been held by eminent prelates of the Church, prominent politicians and distinguished soldiers.

They were sent to the Tower as it was the barracks of the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) to which they had been assigned.

The Constable's responsibility for prisoners was made clear in the words with which he was entrusted with them: "You are to guard them securely in the prison of our said tower in such a way that you shall answer for them body for body ... Fail in no part of this on pain of forfeiture of life and limb and all property you hold in our realms."

In the 17th century, Ossulstone, the urbanising part of Middlesex which bordered the City of London, was split into four divisions, of which the Tower division lay east of the city,[4] compassing all the modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets and most of that of Hackney.

This enabled the Constable, as Lord Lieutenant, to raise local militia forces to supplement the Tower garrison at times of increased tension, or for use in the field.

A 1662 act of Parliament restricting the power of levying militia to [lord-]lieutenants had a saver for the Constable:[5] whereas the Militia of the Tower Division in the County of Middlesex comonly knowne by the name of the Tower Hamletts are and alwaies have beene under the co[m]mand of His Majesties Constable or Leiutenant of the Tower for the Service and Preservation of that His Royall Fort [...] it shall and may be lawfull for His Majesties Constable or Leiutenant of the Tower for the time being to continue to levy the Trained Bands of the said Division or Hamlets of the Tower in such manner and form as to the number and quality of persons as was observed in forming the present Forces thereof Any thing in this Act to the contrary notwithstanding The offices of Constable and Lord Lieutenant were awarded by separate letters patent, usually simultaneously.

During his tenure, the royal menagerie and record office were removed and many buildings were restored to their medieval state.

Yeomen Warders were no longer permitted to buy and sell their places but were to be drawn only from sergeants in the Army.