THE TOWER OF LONDON

Twelve years after William the Conqueror laid claim to the throne of England the White Tower was founded. The City has always been suspicious of Royal interference and William would have been aware that it would not have been in the best interest of his new regime to upset the applecart since by the time of his arrival the City's importance to the wealth of the nation, and indeed his, required jaw-jaw and not war-war. Nevertheless, the completion of the tower in 1078 was a neat and powerful rounding off of royal power. At the western end of Westminster his kingdom was assured. But at the easternmost end a new palace had been built thus assuring a royal presence at beginning and end of the two cities. This policy had a dual purpose. One : to protect the Normans from Londoners. Two : to protect the Londoners from invaders. Gandolph, Bishop of Rochester was assigned as the architect and the stone was brought from Caen in Normandy. It may be worth mentioning that in the medieval period large scale architecture was carried out by men-of-the-cloth since architecture as a profession was not known at this time. The building was performed by guildsmen under the direction of religious authority.



The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the Tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.


The Tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom....



Ravens



It had been thought that there have been at least six ravens in residence at the Tower for centuries. It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer.[5] However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the Monarchy, and the entire Kingdom would fall. Charles, following the time of the English Civil War, superstition or not, was not prepared to take the chance, and instead had the observatory moved to Greenwich.



Though recent research by Geoff Parnell, the official historian for the Tower, has found that the earliest record of ravens at the Tower was in 1895, nobody knows when the ravens were first resident in the Tower or when the legend began. Wild ravens, which were once abundant in London, and often seen around meat markets (such as nearby Eastcheap) feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the Tower in earlier times.



No one can remember the Tower without Ravens, though during the Second World War most of them perished through shock during bombing raids - the sole survivor being a bird called 'Grip'. However, before the Tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure that a new set of ravens was in place.


There are eight ravens, whose wings are now clipped to prevent them from flying away, and they are cared for by the Ravenmaster, a duty given to one of the Yeomen Warders.


The ravens' names/gender/age are (as of November 2006):



* Gwylum (M/18 yrs)
* Thor (M/15)
* Hugin (F/11)
* Munin (F/11)
* Branwen (F/3 yrs)
* Bran (M/3)
* Gundulf (M/1)
* Baldrick (M/1).



The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow, who died at the age of 44.



From : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London