30th October: The Tower of London

On this date in 1485 King Henry VII created the Yeoman of the Guard, the "Beefeaters." 10 facts about Beefeaters and the Tower.

1. Although commonly thought of as a prison, the Tower of London was built as a royal residence, and has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England.
2. The Beefeaters' proper title is The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary. Their original function was to guard the royal household, the prisoners and the crown jewels, although these days they act as tour guides. The term "Beefeater" is said to come from the fact the warders were provided, in the 17th century, with daily rations of beef.
3. Beefeaters must be former senior non-commissioned officers or petty officers with at least 22 years of service, and hold the Long Service and Good Conduct medal. They live in tied accommodation inside the fortress paying council taxes and a portion of their salaries for rent. They must own a home outside of the fortress to go to when they retire. As well as the Beefeaters and their families, a Resident Governor, chaplain and doctor also live there. The first female Beefeater was Moira Cameron, a former army officer, aged 42.
4. One warder has a particularly responsible job - that of Ravenmaster. There is a superstition which says that if the Ravens leave the tower, the kingdom will fall, so it is important that the birds are well looked after. Their wings are clipped to stop them from flying away, but they are otherwise free to roam, although daily meals of raw beef from Smithfield Market is probably an incentive for them to stick around! The wardens have been known to comment that the ravens are the "real beefeaters" in the Tower. In the time of Charles II, the Royal Observatory was based at the tower, and was moved to  Greenwich after complaints that the ravens interfered with observatory work. Moving the ravens was far too risky!
5. The Tower of London has been home to other animals in its time - Henry III kept a Polar Bear there, a gift from Haakon IV of Norway, which used to catch fish from the river Thames. There were also Elephants, Lions, leopards, Kangaroos, ostriches and much more - In 1828 there were over 280 animals representing at least 60 species. In the 18th century, the public could go in to see the animals - the price of admission was three half-pence or a cat or dog to be fed to the lions. In 1835, the menagerie was closed and any remaining animals went to live in the Zoo at Regent's Park.
6. Famous prisoners to be held in the Tower include Elizabeth I before she became queen, Sir Walter Raleigh, Elizabeth Throckmorton, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey and Rudolf Hess, Despite its reputation as "the Bloody Tower", only seven executions took place within its walls throughout history up until the two world wars when it was used to house prisoners of war. More people were executed in the Tower during world war I than in all of its previous history. The last person to be executed at the Tower was German spy Josef Jakobs who was shot on 15 August 1941.
7. The total value of the jewels at the Tower today is estimated to exceed £20 billion. The most famous attempt to steal them was back in 1671 by Colonel Thomas Blood. His gang got part way out with the crown and sceptre before the alarm was raised. They were captured and the jewels recovered.
8. The 1888 comic opera, The Yeomen of the Guard, is set at the Tower and is the only Gilbert and Sullivan operetta to feature an actual historical person, Sir Richard Cholmondeley, Lieutenant of the Tower.
9. According to legend, the Tower has several ghosts. The ghost of Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536 for treason against Henry VIII, is said to walk around the Tower "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm". Other reported ghosts include Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole, the young Princes thought to have been killed in the Tower, Catherine (the fifth wife of King Henry VIII), Dame Sybil the nurse of Prince Edward and a grizzly Bear that once lived in the menagerie.
10. In 2014, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, an installation consisting of ceramic Poppies was planted in the Tower of London moat to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of World War I.