Lion Tower--Tower of London--London, England

Above is the Middle Tower's today, and a model of them below, and also the Lion Tower. In the photo above, the remains of the Lion Tower are pictured on the right, at the foot of the Middle Towers.

The Lion Tower, reached from Tower Hill via a causeway across the moat which surrounded it, formed the first major feature of the route into the castle and the first serious obstacle to an attacker. It took the form not of a true tower, but of a vast semi-circular enclosure, surrounded by a battlemented curtain wall. This arrangement provided the widest possible field of fire over Tower Hill and to the west, and would give archers an opportunity to scatter all but the most determined assault at the first attempt. Built largely of Caen stone from Normandy (France), it is the earliest known masonry example of this type of building in England.

Beyond the enclosure, linked to it by a drawbridge, was the twin-towered Middle Tower gatehouse (the Middle Tower), behind which is a long causeway across the main moat to the Byward Tower gatehouse and the castle proper. Over the following centuries, largely due to its curious use, the medieval Lion Tower gradually disappeared under an accretion of later buildings and its moat was gradually filled in. In 1853 the buildings were finally demolished and, a little later, the building which is now the West Gate Shop was put up on part of its site. Today, however, part of the medieval stonework has been re-exposed and its outline marked out in the paving.

The keeping of the menagerie at the Tower of London began at least as early as the reign of King John, as a payment to the Constable of the Tower for the support of the keeper and his charges is recorded in 1210. The first identifiable animals, however, arrived under Henry III as diplomatic gifts, in the fashion of the time, from foreign sovereigns. In 1235 the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III presented three leopards, no doubt a play on Henry's Coat of Arms - three leopards passant on a red ground. Sixteen years later a 'white bear' - presumably a polar bear - was sent along with its keeper by the King of Norway: in 1255 the King received from Louis IX of France the most exotic beast of all, an African elephant, for which a special house was swiftly improvised. The Menagerie continued to flourish, amusing a succession of sovereigns and, in later centuries, becoming an increasingly popular attraction for ordinary visitors, until the transferal of many animals to the newly-formed London Zoo in 1831. The menagerie was finally closed in 1835.

I highly recommend a fascinating book titled, THE MEDICI GIRAFFE, authored in 2006 by Marina Belozerskaya (Little, Brown and Company), for anyone interested in a history of the practice of gifting King's, Ruler's, and Head's of State with animal's from their countries. When many of these animals had never been seen before, it was a gift greater then a boat load of gold and precious gems. Kirkus Review: "A lively account of how exotic animals have helped further the political ends of princes and potentates, from the Ptolemys to Chairman Mao....." If there is something in this world more exciting then Animal Training, Zoological Archeology and Zoological Architecture, I sure don't know what it is.


The letter "a" in the illustration above, drawn in 1880 is the Lion Tower of the Tower of England complex.

When you observe a state road crew mucking about for years repairing a pot holed road, it is almost inconceivable to me that medieval man, without the use of trucks, road graders, etc. could build an incredible marvel such as this, and most of it is still standing!!!!!! Some day's it is hard to convince myself that man has advanced and a video game is offered as proof.