Ravens of the Tower of London

The ravens of the Tower of London are a group of at least six captive ravens (eight in 2025) resident at the Tower of London. Their presence is traditionally believed to protect the Crown and the Tower; a belief holds that "if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it." Local legend puts the origin of the captive raven population at the time of King Charles II (reigned 1660–1685). Some historians however, including the Tower's official historian, believe the "Tower's raven mythology is likely to be a Victorian flight of fantasy". The earliest known reference to captive ravens at the Tower is an illustration from 1883. Historically, wild ravens were common throughout Britain, even in towns; the Tower was within their natural range. When they were eliminated from much of their traditional range, including London, they could only exist at the Tower in captivity and with official support. The Tower ravens are tended to every day by the Ravenmaster of the Yeomen Warders heading a team of Yeoman Warders known as Ravenmaster's assistants. Some of the ravens at the Tower were specially bred in Somerset.

History

Origins of the legend The earliest legend that connects the Tower with a raven is the euhemerised Welsh tale of the war against the Irish leader Matholwch who had mistreated the princess Branwen. Branwen's brother Brân the Blessed (King of the Britons) ordered his followers to cut off his head and bury it beneath the "White Hill" (upon which the Tower now stands) facing out towards France as a talisman to protect Britain from foreign invasion. Brân is the modern Welsh word for raven and the magical and protective qualities of ravens are attested throughout Celtic mythology. The knowledge that Brân's head was buried beneath the White Hill would have served as protective reassurance in the Celtic tradition, just as modern ideas about the presence of ravens does. As such, it is likely to have its origins in British folklore.

Later legends

Sir George John Younghusband wrote that at the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536, "Even the ravens of the Tower sat silent and immovable on the battlements and gazed eerily at the strange scene. A Queen about to die!" According to American author Boria Sax, the ravens of the Tower behaved much worse during the execution of Lady Jane Grey: in 1554, "pecking the eyes from the severed head" of the queen. In his article "How Ravens Came to the Tower of London", Boria Sax came to the conclusion that "the ravens were originally brought in to dramatise the alleged site of executions at the Tower". One legend attributes the start of the tradition of keeping ravens with clipped wings in the Tower of London to Charles II and to his royal astronomer John Flamsteed, although there are versions of the legend that differ in their details. According to one legend, John Flamsteed complained to Charles II that wild ravens were flying past his telescope and making it harder for him to observe the sky from his observatory in the White Tower. Flamsteed requested that the birds be removed, but Charles II refused to comply with this request. Another variation of this legend says that it was Charles II himself who disliked the wild ravens' droppings falling onto the telescope. The conversation with his astronomer that supposedly followed decided the fate not only of the ravens, but also of Greenwich, where the Greenwich Observatory was commissioned by the King in 1675. In this version of the legend the King complained:

"These ravens must go!" he said. "But, Sire, it is very unlucky to kill a raven," replied Flamstead, "If you do that the Tower will fall and you will lose your kingdom, having only just got it back!" Charles, being a pragmatist, thought for a moment and said: "The Observatory must go to Greenwich and the ravens can stay in the Tower." Yet another legend attributes the appearance of ravens in the Tower to the Great Fire of London in 1666. Wild ravens, as well as pigs and kites, were the biggest scavengers in medieval London. Allegedly after the fire, survivors started persecuting ravens for scavenging, but Flamsteed explained to Charles II that killing all ravens would be a bad omen, and that the kingdom would not outlive the last killed raven. Charles II then ordered six birds to be kept at the Tower.

Wild ravens in London

Ravens are native to Britain (and most other parts of the Northern Hemisphere), although in recent times breeding populations are mostly restricted to the wilder western upland areas of the British Isles. Ravens were common in London and other urban areas across Britain for centuries, because until the 16th century, they lived in close proximity to people as well as in wild areas; ravens were welcomed in towns because their scavenging habits of feeding helped keep the streets clean. However, in later years wild ravens were viewed as a threat to livestock, and during the 19th century they were eliminated in many urban areas by systematic hunting and shooting. The last time ravens nested in the wild in London was in Hyde Park in 1826, but the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reported in 2004 that ravens had been observed nesting in the Home Counties around London, as close as 30 miles (48 km) from the Tower.

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