With nearly 1,000 years of history behind it and close to 3 million annual visitors, you probably already know that the Tower of London is one of the city’s most popular attractions 🏰
And just like you probably already knew that while it’s now a UNESCO Heritage Site, it was originally built as a royal palace and fortress in 1066, and since then, it’s also served as a prison , place of execution, mint, arsenal, menagerie and jewel storage unit 💎
And you probably already knew that it’s where the Crown Jewels 👑 are kept, which are worth an estimated £3.5 billion! 🤑
But did you also know that ravens 🦅 are totally a thing at the Tower too? Because they are!
The Ravens
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Known as the ‘guardians of the Tower’ the ravens are almost as much of an attraction as the Tower itself (but to be fair, we’d probably choose the jewels over the ravens! Just sayin’.)
Yep, there are 7 Tower of London ravens in residence today. There’s Jubilee, Harris, Gripp, Rocky, Erin, Poppy and Merlina, and we know what you’re thinking, because plenty of other people think the same thing - “what makes the Tower of London ravens so special?”
Well it’s a good question, and it’s got a great answer!
The Legend
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Legend has it that these seven feathered friends are the key to the United Kingdom, because it’s said that the kingdom and the Tower of London will crumble and fall if the Tower of London ravens ever departed, so King Charles II declared that at least six ravens should be kept at the Tower of London at all times to protect the realm and prevent disaster.
Now do we know the origin of this claim? In all honesty, no. If only public officials were as good at record keeping in 1066 as they are today, but alas.
All we do know is that the Tower of London ravens have been in residence for 900 years and, while there’ve been ups and downs, rain and high winds, the kingdom and the Tower of London are still standing, so we’re not arguing with it!
The Escapes
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Although, there have been a few successful escape attempts over the years!
Like in 1981 when a raven called Grog, decided that 21 years at the Tower of London was long enough and felt like he needed a change so he hopped, skipped and flew away, and was last seen lurking around an East End pub called the ‘Rose and Punchbowl’.
Luckily, the Ravenmaster - a very friendly chap called, Chris Skaife who’s a Yeoman Warder or ‘Beefeater’ who is dedicated to caring for the Tower of London’s ravens - keeps the feathered flock happy and well-fed, so escape attempts are few and far between.
So if you want to catch a glimpse of some of the most famous birds in the land, book yourself a ticket to the Tower of London (we suggest getting the queue jumps) and heading over to the Wakefield Tower which is where the Tower of London ravens’ lodgings can be found.
