Page 24 of Traitors Gate
‘No,’ admitted William, who was learning almost as much as the children.
‘Something else you might not have been aware of,’ continued the Governor, ‘is that for some considerable time, the Tower was a zoo.’ He turned to see all three children hanging on his every word. ‘In 1235, the Holy Roman Emperor presented Henry III with three leopards, that historians now think were probably lions. The King became quite enthusiastic about his menagerie and, during his reign, added an elephant and a polar bear to the collection, turning the Tower into London’s first tourist attraction. In fact, as late as 1597 a Czech visitor recorded in his diary that he had seen a porcupine in the Tower that just might have been the one Shakespeare alluded to inHamlet–And each particular hair to stand on end, Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.By the early seventeenth century, the menagerie had expanded to include three more elephants, two more bears, a tiger and a jackal.’
‘Where are they now?’ demanded Jojo as she turned a complete circle, hoping to spot one.
‘They’re no longer with us,’ admitted the Governor, ‘because one of my predecessors, the Duke of Wellington, was determined to return the castle to its original purpose as a fortress, so gave orders that the one hundred and fifty animals should be transferred to the zoological gardens in Regent’s Park, now better known as London Zoo.’
‘My dad took me there once,’ said Jojo. ‘I even saw some snakes and vultures.’
‘We don’t have any snakes or vultures,’ said the Governor. ‘But keep a lookout for a particular breed of bird who’ve been in residence since 1624, and when you spot one, I’lltell you why I can’t allow them to leave the castle, on pain of having my head chopped off.’ Peter looked interested. ‘They’ve even retained the axe and block as a gentle reminder.’ Artemisia wanted to ask where they were. ‘And what purpose do you think this particular building served in the past?’ continued the Governor as he came to a halt by the outer tower wall.
‘Torture chambers?’ said Peter hopefully.
The Governor laughed. ‘Not exactly. In 1279, this was known as Mint Street, and even housed the Royal Mint, as King Edward I, like so many monarchs, wanted to control the city’s finances.’
‘Isn’t that the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s job?’ asked Artemisia.
‘It is now, but it wasn’t in the thirteenth century. Indeed, as late as 1696, Sir Isaac Newton, the renowned Cambridge mathematician, was appointed as warden of the Mint after he was able to prove to the King that the amount of silver in each coin had been diminishing over the years, causing the city bankers to lose confidence in their own currency. The first known example of devaluation.’
Peter ran on ahead when he spotted some stone steps that led down to a dark, cold, foreboding room, offering only a glimmer of light through the bars blocking the one small window. He shivered and began to feel nervous so quickly bolted back upstairs to rejoin the family.
‘Don’t go down there, Jojo,’ he said, ‘it’s not very nice.’
‘It’s not meant to be,’ said the Governor. ‘Don’t forget that over the years the Tower also served as a prison, incarcerating both heroes and villains, according to your point of view. Can you name any of them?’
‘Guy Fawkes,’ said Artemisia confidently.
‘And what was his crime?’
‘The Gunpowder Plot, when he and four of his conspirators tried to blow up the House of Lords—’
‘—During the State Opening of Parliament in 1605,’ said Peter, completing his sister’s sentence.
‘What about a hero?’ asked the Governor.
‘Sir Thomas More,’ said Artemisia. ‘Henry VIII’s Chancellor, who refused to condone the King’s marriage to Anne Boleyn and was later beheaded for his convictions.’
‘Anne Boleyn also ended up in the Tower,’ said the Governor, ‘where she spent several months before she too was executed, unlike Sir Walter Raleigh who had his own set of rooms and was even allowed to entertain visitors until he was finally released in 1616. But then he had been a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I,’ he added as they joined a long queue of visitors waiting outside a building where several alert Beefeaters were keeping a close eye on them.
One of the Beefeaters stepped forward the moment he saw Sir David and unhitched a red rope to allow his little party to enter the Jewel House. The Governor escorted them into a darkened room lit only by tiny spotlights that were focused on a display of glass cabinets. The children were spellbound as they stood silently admiring a row of ornately jewelled crowns on display in front of them.
‘In 1660,’ began the Governor, breaking the silence, ‘King Charles II ordered the Crown Jewellers to make him a new set of regalia to replace the old jewels that had been melted down by Oliver Cromwell, a man who didn’t approve of any outward trappings. But if you look at the crown in the centre of the display, you’ll see the Tower’s greatest attraction: the Imperial State Crown which Queen Elizabeth II wore at her coronation. Unique and irreplaceable, although it wasn’tcrafted by Garrard, the royal jewellers, until her father’s coronation in 1937. King?’
The children looked unsure.
‘King George VI,’ the Governor reminded them.
‘Were you alive then?’ asked Jojo.
‘Not quite,’ said the Governor, stifling a laugh. ‘But I did see the Queen being crowned on television when I was about your age.’
‘How much is the crown worth?’ demanded Peter. William scowled.
‘That’s the most common question I’m asked,’ admitted the Governor, ‘and I always reply by saying it’s priceless.’
William didn’t admit he was also seeing the Imperial State Crown for the first time. He wanted to ask a question about the two black boxes that were nowhere to be seen but remained silent.
‘Any other questions?’ asked the Governor.