| 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 was on Sunday 19th May- 2025 details are yet to be announced.
This was the plan for 2024 but plans are subject to change at anytime,due to weather, Tide, and PLA warnings. The Royal Watermen’s Tudor Pull 2024 Timetable – Sunday 19th May 2024 09:00/0930Boats & crews muster at Hampton Court Palace (Briefing) 09:50Royal Watermen process to main gate Hampton Court Palace 10:00Ceremony of the ‘Stela’ and take the ‘Boating Cup’ 10:30Flotilla leaves Hampton Court Palace 11:15Arrive Teddington Lock (11:15 Remaining crews arrive at Richmond to prepare boat regalia) 11:30Leave Teddington Lock (HW RB 1248 BST) 12:00Arrive Richmond (victuals supplied by Richmond Bridge Boat Club (RBBC)) 12:30(Coxes briefing outside RBBC) 13:00 (prompt)Leave Richmond 14:30Pass Putney, regroup as necessary 16:00 (approx.)Arrive Tower Bridge Quay 16:15Process to H.M. Tower of London 16:30Pass through East Gate, H.M. Tower of London 16:40Ceremony of the ‘Stela’ 17:00Leave the Tower 17:30Cutters leave for tow back up and down stream 17:30Rowing Crews Arrive ‘Dickens Inn’ for refreshments .
Full details and any updates/last minute changes should appear on the Facebook link below.
Click here for the event website : http://www.traditionalrowing.com
and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TTRALondon/
and here : https://waterconservators.org
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.
Hello, Do we have a rough timing for the Tudor Pull on the 19th May this year , please ?
We waited most of the day last year, following the info , but they had set off much earlier
and we were disappointed as many of us came to watch .
Hopefully , more info on timing this year ! Thanks
Hello, Thanks for your message. Calendarcustoms has no connection to the organisation of the Tudor Pull, and the reason I don’t put times on the page is because in the past I’ve published times that I’ve found well in advance, only to find they’ve been changed very close to the due date without me knowing- and I think it’s better not to put any times on rather than give the wrong information. I’ve messaged the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TTRALondon to ask for timings for this year, but I’d also advise double checking that page for any alterations that may occur! Because the times vary from one year to another and they’re not easily found, it makes this event one of the more challenging ones to predict. I’ve also found a page at https://waterconservators.org which has details of the event stating that they start at 10 am at Hampton Court and should reach the Tower at around 4pm, so I’ve added that link to the calendarcustoms event page. I’ll let you know what I find out from the TTRA- hope that helps!
Best wishes,
Averil