| Where: | London - River Thames from Hampton Court to Tower of London |
| When: | A Sunday in (usually) April or May |
| Time: | Varies annually-check links under Helpful Hints |
The Tudor Pull is a rowing event with much pageantry on the River Thames in which an elaborately decorated Royal Barge delivers a stela (a piece of wooden water pipe in a special glass case) to the Governor of the Tower of London. The boat is accompanied by a flotilla of Thames Watermen’s Cutters which are rigged with flags and canopies and propelled by rowers in full ceremonial livery; they set off from the Royal Palace at Hampton Court with a procession to the water. The distance covered is around 25 miles and the party create a visual spectacle rarely seen on the modern river; after the delivery the stela is kept at the Tower until it’s sent back to Hampton Court for the following year. The Stela Ceremony where the handover happens takes place inside the east gate at the Tower of London and if you wish to witness it, you must be ready inside the Tower (and you must pay for entry). You can also watch the arrival of the barge from the wall walk around the Tower walls; the procession to the Tower from St Katherine’s Pier can be witnessed without going inside the Tower precincts but you won’t be able to see the Stele Ceremony. It’s organised by the Thames Traditional Rowing Association whose aim is to promote rowing and sculling on the Thames in Waterman’s Cutters (and it’s a great excuse to get dressed-up!) though some say its origins lie in the commemoration of the sinking of Queen Eleanor’s barge by London Bridge in 1256.
Helpful Hints
Check the event Facebook page for the timetable as this may vary from year to year- and double check again near the due date as it sometimes moves after the initial schedule is announced (this happened in 2022 and it actually set off earlier than the original schedule which meant that some visitors arrived after it had left- the full timetable only appeared on the Facebook page a few days before the event). Visitors at the Hampton Court end may view the starting ceremony from outside the pay zone, but at the Tower you need to buy a ticket to be inside the precincts for viewing the handover at the end.
In 2024 it should be on Sunday 19th May. Full details and any updates/last minute changes will be on the Facebook link below.
Click here for the event website : http://www.traditionalrowing.com
and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TTRALondon/
Thanks to David Packer for the photos of Hampton Court!
Why is this event not advertised anywhere at all?
Hi Linda,
You’ll find the advertised date for it at http://www.traditionalrowing.com/events/index.php or you can follow the link from the Helpful Hints section on the page on my site (here at calendarcustoms we have no connection with the organisation or advertising of any of the featured events). I’ve absolutely no idea why it isn’t advertised more widely – you’d have to ask the organisers!
Best wishes,
Averil
hi ,we came to hampton court saturday 11th june as this was thedate stated for this years tudor pull arriving in good time as it was leaving 11.48am as stated only to find it had already left .after waiting 2yrs to come and see this due to covid you can imagine the disappointment .when we spoke to the staff at hampton court they didnt know why it had left earlier than stated this event needs to be advertised better
That’s really disappointing-the time was clearly stated on the website so I wonder why it changed? I’ll put a note on calendar customs to make future visitors aware that this can happen but it’s not much help for you this time -when things happen just once a year it’s a long wait until the next one. Thanks for sharing as it’s very useful to know.