- [Narrator] Fancy going shopping?
- Stop!
No, no, no, no whistling in the Burlington Arcade.
- [Narrator] Uh, who are you?
- We are the Burlington's Beadles,
probably the oldest and smallest police force in the world.
You could say, that we police your manners.
- [Narrator] Right, okay.
Well, Mark Lord, Head Beadle of the Burlington Arcade,
tell us your story.
- The Beadles' story started-
- [Narrator] Before we get into that,
what actually is a Beadle?
- To be honest with you, I don't think anybody really knows.
We predate any police force in the country.
- [Narrator] Right, back to the story, go ahead, Mark.
- The Beadles' story started at this arcade.
- [Narrator] Arcade?
Are there games here?
- No.
(hearty chuckle)
- [Narrator] So, it's just like a shopping center right?
- Yes.
- [Narrator] Okay, third time lucky, go ahead Mark.
- The Beadles' story started on the 20th of March 1819.
London was very different, people didn't really
trust the waters, so they drank either gin or beer
and obviously that leads to a certain type of behavior.
So the Beadles' role, really was to keep
all that from the arcade and in fact,
that tradition has carried on all the way through to today.
Our uniforms are made up of several different layers.
We first of all, put on our waistcoats,
then our frock coats and our top hats in the summer
or the autumn, in the winter, you'll still
put on your waistcoats, you will
then put on your cape and your top hat.
The original rules here were, no whistling
because the pickpockets will whistle signals to one another.
No drunkenness, playing musical instrument,
you're not supposed to hurry, it's ungentleman-like
or unlady-like, carry your own parcels,
you mustn't bring a bicycle. Unaccompanied ladies
by the way, weren't also allowed in.
Now, lots of those rules we couldn't enforce today.
We've still tried to enforce the no hurrying,
we still try to enforce the no whistling,
it's all about behavior, as long as you're respecting
those around you and respecting the arcade,
you'll be left alone.
When I put this uniform on, I represent
nearly 200 years worth of history.
Makes me immensely proud, yeah, I wanna stay
until I retire, if I'm honest with you.
That's actually true by the way,
it isn't just the spill.