Tower of London Dragon

We went to the Tower of London. It was loads of fun. We learnt about all of the areas in the tower. They had a cool dragon artwork that represented the different parts of the Tower and groups that keep it running.

Here it is:

Areas of the Tower

Menagerie 

In the history of the Tower they had lots of animals brought in.  Some of the animals were tigers, lions, an elephant and even a polar bear that was allowed to swim in the river Thames on a long chain and catch fish.

When we to the Musuem of London we also saw an exhibition called Beasts of London where we discovered some other interesting facts about the animals that were kept at the tower.

• The keepers often gave the animals alcohol.
• They used to let children ride the zebras.
• They brought in live sheep to feed the lions.
• You were allowed in the cage with the jaguar but it often grabbed hand bags and ripped them to shreds.
• Many animals didn't survive for very long in the cramped conditions.

The whole dragon is the representative of the  menagerie.

The Royal Mint

The Royal Mint used to be where coins were made.  Isaac Newton actually was head of the Royal Mint for quite some time.   It was loud, hot noisy and dangerous.  In the beginning coins were made by hand.  Precious metals were melted down in hot furnaces, then discs of metal were placed between two stamps called die.  One person would hold the die while another hit it with a large hammer.  It was very common to lose an eye or finger while working in the mint.

Records Office

This is where they kept the records of the tower of London.  In the dragon the Records Office is represented by these scrolls in the dragon's leg.

Prison and  Prisoners

Historically the Tower has been as a prison as well as a castle.  The chains on the dragon's tail represent the prison and prisoners who were often chained up.

Constables of the Tower

These are the people that look after the Tower when the king or lord is away.

This is represented by the keys round the dragon's neck because the Constables would have access to anywhere in the tower.

 Ordinance Survey

This group was in charge of making maps.  The dragon's wings represented the maps they made.

Board of Ordinance

This was to do with the military and all the weapons.  The dragon has pistols for claws/toes, shields on his back and he sits on a nest of gunpowder.  When we were at the tower we saw heaps of amazing weapons, armour and ammunition.

The Royal Observatory

The telescopes as part of the dragon's leg represent the royal observatory - where people would observe the night sky.

Jewel House

The Tower of London houses the Crown Jewels of England.  Many people come to visit them each year.  In the dragon the jewels are represented by a ruby necklace round the dragon's neck and a fake and diamonds in it's belly.