Henry VII’s Keeper of the Lions, John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford.

Tower of London. Remains of Lion's Tower.
Rosakoalaglitzereinhorn- Eigenes Werk

In the first year of the reign of King Henry VII, John de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, was “granted” the position of “keeper of the lions”:

[1 H. VII]  22 Sept. [1485].  Grant, for life, to John, earl of Oxford, of the office of keeper of the lions, lionesses, and leopards now within the Tower of London, and which shall at any future time be there; with a place in the Tower appointed for the keeper, and another place ordered for the animals;…

This was not meant to be an office which he himself filled.  He was granted the right to appoint a proper person from among his servants and retainers to fill the position.  It was this retainer who would have a permanent “place in the Tower” — room and board that is to say — “wages of 12d. a day for himself, and 6d. a day for the support of each animal, out of the issues, &c. of the city of London”.

“12d.” a day was a healthy salary at the time.  This likely reflects the danger encountered by the keeper and may have reflected that the person was expected to possess a resumé of the skills required in working with such animals.  The Earl would have a gift to bestow upon the man at no cost to himself.  Perhaps he might choose to hold back some of the daily wage into his Earldom’s own exchequer.

King Henry I would seem to have been the first English king to keep a menagerie.  It was first kept in the Royal Park at Woodstock.  William of Malmesbury relates that:

" …he was extremely fond of the wonders of distant countries, begging with great delight from foreign kings, lions, leopards, lynxes, or camels, animals which England does not produce. He had a park, called Woodstock, in which he used to foster his favourites of this kind. He had placed there also a creature called a porcupine, sent to him by William of Montpelier."[1]

The Park, which would seem to have hosted the first porcupine ever to inhabit English soil, was completely enclosed by a wall.  No more is known about the arrangement.

According to Stowe, in the year 1235, Frederick, the Emperor, sent the weak King Henry III. three leopards that were added to the Woodstock animals.[2]  Henry’s son, the future Edward I, was most assuredly not weak.   Toward the end of his father’s reign he stepped in to cow the rebellious city of London forcing it to expand the Royal fortifications of the Tower of London (among other  things).  

A white bear was gifted to Henry III from Norway.  It was apparently the first animal to be housed in the precincts of the Tower:

We command you, that for the Sustenance of a white Bear, which we send to our Tower of London, there to be kept; and for his Keeper, ye cause to be allowed 4d. every Day, as long as they shall be there.[3]

This would appear to have been a polar bear and presented unexpected difficulties to handle. Further orders proved necessary in order to deal with his ferocity.  The next year safety equipment was ordered:

 We command you, that for the Keeper of our white Bear, lately sent us from Norway, and which is in our Tower of London, ye cause to be had one Muzzle, and one Iron Chain, to hold that Bear without the Water, and one long and strong  Cord to hold the same Bear fishing, or washing himself, in the River Thames. Witness the King at Windsor, October the 30^th [1253].[4]

Handling a polar bear had proved an unexpected challenge it would seem.

It is not clear who gifted Henry an Elephant, in around 1255, but it would seem to have marked the beginning of an expansion of the Tower  that would end in 1274.  

We command you, That of the Farm of our City, ye cause (without Delay) to be built at our Tower of London, one House of 40 Feet long, and 20 Feet deep, for our Elephant: Providing, that it be so made, and so strong, that when Need be, it may be fit and necessary for other Uses. And the Cost shall be  Computed at the Exchequer.  Witness the King at Westminster, the 26^th Day of February [1255].

The demands of keeping an elephant, daunting though they likely were, seem to have been far less onerous and dangerous than keeping the polar bear.  Be that as it may, considerably more space would be necessary in order to house them both in the Tower.

As King Edward I ascended the throne himself he forced the last of the project to its finish, in 1274, constructing a moat around the new tower that would eventually become known as the Lion's Tower.  The moat might have meant that the menagerie was already transferred from Woodstock to the Tower.  What we know for sure is that King Edward II demanded 6d a day, from the city, for feed for the animals and 1½d a day for the keeper.  London would stand responsible for these payments in perpetuity.  In 16 Edward III (1393) when custody was granted to one Robert Bowers.  the order specified the care of “one Lion, one Lioness, one Leopard, and two Cat-Lions”.

The Lion’s Tower would house the Royal Menagerie until the 19^th century.[5]  The public would always be most impressed by the lions and so the Tower became the “Lion's Tower” from soon after its construction.

Of  John de Vere, the 13^th Earl of Oxford, his keepership and other related matters, more in the coming  installments.

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[1] William of Malmesbury’s Chronicle  (1866).  tr. John Allen Giles.  443.

[2] Stowe, John.  A Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster… (1753).  69.

[3] Stowe, 69.  Order dated September 13, 1252.

[4] Ibid, 69-70.

[5] Ibid.

Also at Virtual Grub Street:

• History of the Medieval Fork… or Lack Thereof. March 28, 2019. “The Italian and also most strangers that are commorant in Italy, doe alwaies at their meales use a little forke, when they cut their meate.”
• Hedingham Castle 1485-1562 with Virtual Tour Link.  January 29, 2019. “Mr. Sheffeld told me that afore the old Erle of Oxford tyme, that cam yn with King Henry the vii., the Castelle of Hengham was yn much ruine,…”
• Dietary Rules for Barnacles: Innocent III to Gordon Ramsey.  March 4, 2019.  “The Barnacle was a marvel of God, a confusion to those in authority in such matters.  Their people turned to them for clarification.”
• Shakespeare’s Barnacles.  March 3, 2016.  “Prospero will wake, he fears, before they can murder him, and will cast a spell on them.”
• The King's Esnecce.  January 13, 2019.  “It comes as no surprise, then, that when Maud’s son, Henry Plantagenet, Count or Duke of most of the western territories of France, and, by terms of the treaty, heir to Stephen, next rose to the throne as Henry II, he was quick to arrange for the safest possible means of transit across the channel.”
• Check out the Medieval Topics Article Index for many more articles about this fascinating time.