Beating The Bounds

Yeomen Warders also known as Beefeaters from the Tower of London Beating the Bounds on 25th May 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Beating the Bounds is an ancient custom still observed in many English parishes. Its roots go back to mediaeval times when parishes reaffirmed their boundaries by processing round them at Rogationtide, stopping to beat each boundary mark with wands and to pray for protection and blessings for the land. At All Hallows we beat the bounds of our parish every year on Ascension Day. Every third year the ceremony includes a 'battle' with the Governor and Yeomen Warders of HM Tower of London at the boundary mark shared by the Tower and the church. During the middle ages the boundary was always in dispute, and this meeting commemorates an occasion in 1698 when a riot took place between the people of the Tower and those of the parish. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images Images)