The Ravens of the Tower...Day 5L

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
~ Edgar Allan Poe




Or in the case of the ravens at the Tower...

Quoth the Ravens, "Forevermore."
~me (with sincere apologies to Edgar Allen Poe)

Legend has it that the ravens were interfering with the Royal Astronomer's view of the heavens and he complained to the king about it, requesting that they be destroyed. However, Charles II was warned that if the ravens should ever abandon the Tower, the whole Kingdom would fall. This was during the English Civil war (did you know there was such a thing??) and Charles II didn't want to risk it, so he decreed that the ravens should not be driven away, but in fact, should be cared for and kept there perpetually. So the wings are clipped on a favored six ravens (with a few more in reserve.) and they have their own little cages to which they are returned at night by the Ravenmaster (one of the Yeoman Warders) who is charged with the duty of caring for them. Each raven is named and easily identified by the colored band on his leg. A nice diet of fresh fruit, cheese, boiled egg and raw meat is provided for them.







"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! For what?"

~ George Younghusband, 1919

(concerning the execution of Anne Boleyn)



(link to The Tower From Within:   http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=iYNnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA134&dq=%22The+Tower+from+Within%27%27+by+George+Younghusband++gazed+eerily+at+the+strange+scene&hl=en&ei=xMz5TOCcIom4sAP57fyCCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false )

The Yeoman Warder...Day 5k

The very first time anyone was ever appointed to be a Yeoman Warder was during the reign of King Henry VII.  Because he was responsible for creating this particular regiment of guards, the Tudor rose, one of the symbols of his dynasty, appeared on their uniform and it remains there today.


When the Tower of London began to function as a prison, the detainees were held in various towers and sometimes even in the lodgings of the yeoman warders. Each prisoner was assigned a guard who would be held responsible for "warding" him
("ward" in this instance meaning the action or process of guarding.) The guard would be answerable for the prisoner's well-being and security. In return, the prisoner was required to pay the warder a fee for his bed and board.  (sounds like a fair deal to me... or not...) These fees were how the Yeoman Warders made their living and I am sure that more than once a  prisoner would be unable to pay. And it would also seem probable to me that a prisoner, disgruntled with a guilty verdict, would refuse to pay his gaoler. (did you see what I did there?? I used ye olde English spelling of jailer!!)  Charged with the responsibility of the security of the prisoner, the warder would often accompany him to his trial or even, in some cases, out on bail. Immediate dismissal was the result if a prisoner escaped. This consequence seems rather mild to me in view of the times.

The full title of the Yeoman Warder is:
"Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London,
 and Member of the Sovereign’s Body Guard and Yeoman Guard Extraordinary".
(that's a mouthful...)


If you aspire to become a Yeoman Warder, you must first enlist in the Royal Marines, the Army or the Royal Air Force. You must have gained rank above that of a sergeant and you must have been in the military for at least 22 years. You must have received the "Long Service and Good Conduct Award."  You will also be required to live on the premises with your family, either in one of the towers that have been modified for living quarters or in the little community of Yeoman Warders, off limits to visitors. But not their cameras. We leaned over the edge, zoomed in and took these pictures of some of the living areas. It was a quaint little English village!

If you should be hired on, some of your duties as a Yeoman Warder would be to guard your assigned area, be knowledgeable about the history and location of all the towers, be approachable, and friendly yet firm in crowd management. You will be responsible for the security of the Tower and of the guests and possibly care for the ravens of the Tower. You would control the gates and the wharf and all the other public areas.Your two commanding officers would be the Chief Yeoman Warder and the Yeoman Gaoler.

                The plaque on the door on the right states that this is the home of the Yeoman Gaoler.
                                                                             Nice digs.


You must also be entertaining and outgoing, able to lead a group tour, deal with heckling in a good- natured manner or take down the occasional unruly tourist. AND you must be photogenic and you must be actually posing for anybody who might possibly take a photo of you at any given point in time.