Drinks at the Tower

The Alumni & Development team and Beefeater Nev Dednum welcoming guests.

On 30 October, the College took the opportunity to thank our major donors and friends with an evening at the Tower of London.

With the kind assistance of Keble Director of Music, Christian Wilson, who until recently was Organist at HM Chapels Royal, we were able to offer our guests a chance to experience the special and unique setting of the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, the parish church at the heart of the Tower of London.

Guests were welcomed to the Tower through the Middle Drawbridge, walking past the infamous ‘Bloody Tower’, enjoying spectacular views over Tower Bridge, before arriving at the Chapel, where they were greeted by Beefeater, Nev Dednum.

Throughout the evening, guests were able to enjoy music that reflected the history and political place of the Tower and Chapel Royal. Director of Music, Christian, played a short piece called 'Tower Hill' by Giles Farnaby (c 1563–1640), followed by 'Pastime with good company' by Henry VIII (1491–1547), 'Why do I use my paper, ink and pen?' and 'My mind to me a kingdom is' by William Byrd (c 1540–1623), sung by Veronica Tarka, Jemima Kinley, and Theo Cawood (2022 MMaths).

To end the evening, Dr Ian Archer, The Robert Stonehouse Tutorial Fellow in History, gave a short talk on ‘The City and Tower of London’.

Commenting on the event, Heidi Harrison (1992 Modern Languages) shared, “Thank you for such a unique evening. We so enjoyed catching up and meeting alumni, as well as the glorious music and interesting talk from Dr Archer.

In recognition of the College’s Sustainability strategy, the caterer for the event, Moving Venue, was selected due to their commitment to delivering genuinely sustainable events and reducing their carbon emissions through their comprehensive “reduce, measure and offset” policy.