The ‘Must-See’ Menagerie

It is hard now to imagine the impact of early historical encounters with non-European fierce or enormous animals – the strangeness, awe or fear. The number of exotic animals living at the Tower over the centuries ranged  from just a handful to a peak in 1830 when the guidebook lists 58 species. The Times lapped it up: ‘Birds, beasts, reptiles, in endless variety, press on the spectator’s view and lead him through the labyrinth of wonderment'.

Some animal encounters were dramatic. In 1805, Yale Professor Benjamin Silliman described ‘a white polar bear of astonishing size and untameable ferocity...he flew at the bars with incredible fierceness and threw open such a mouth as made me shudder’.

Image: Illustrations of some of the animals housed at the Tower Menagerie from the Children's Guide to the Tower of 1741 © Royal Armouries Museum/Bridgeman Images. 

For much of the menagerie’s history, exotic animals were vanishingly rare in England. But by the 1700s, as Britain’s trading and military reach expanded globally, menageries became visible expressions of an expanding empire and the exploitation and violence underpinning that history. Visitors saw ‘not simply the wonders of nature, but more importantly and quite explicitly the spoils of Empire’.

Big cats were still the stars of the show. In 1823, Colonel Sir James Watson, Commander in Chief of India shot dead a Bengal lion and lioness, leaving two orphaned cubs who were despatched on the four-month voyage from Bengal to Gravesend, after which they were so tame Tower visitors could play with them. Guidebooks described how for sixpence the public could enter a crescent of dens to meet Marco the lion: ‘very savage and untameable’; or Nero and Nancy ‘gentle as lambs’.

Miss Jenny, an Indian cheetah arrived in England in 1764, one of a pair belonging to George Pigot, President of the East India Company and Governor of Madras. An enormous portrait of Jenny’s fellow cheetah and two unnamed Indian keepers by George Stubbs hangs in Manchester Art Gallery. It is only thanks to a random act of petty thievery that one of Jenny’s keepers returns from art historical anonymity. He was the victim of a theft – shoe buckles, stockings, purses and one rupee. Appearing at the Old Bailey to give evidence, his name is anglicised as John Morgan, and he swears his oath on a Koran. 'I was born in Bengal...I came over with a tyger for Sir George Pigot...'.

Visit the Tower today and the menagerie is still there – just not  breathing. Artist Kendra Haste’s life-size sculptures ensure Bengal lions, a troop of monkeys, a pacing polar bear, and an African elephant still watch over the crowds, this time silently, crafted from wire which catches the light, evoking muscle and fur. The ‘Royal Beasts’ display reminds us how tactile visitors expected their experience to be. Cubs petted. Lions prodded. Zebras ridden. Strangers were warned take care around one leopard  because of her passion for ‘stealing umbrellas, muffs and hats’. 

Accidents and injuries regularly punctuated the menagerie story.  In1826, a boa constrictor attack on Keeper Alfred Cops was reported in the Press. The snake ‘seized the keeper by the thumb and was coiled around his arm and neck in a moment...two other keepers...broke the teeth of the serpent, and...relieved Mr Cops.’ Of course, the animals never were tame curiosities: they were powerful bodies, confined in cramped spaces, responding through instinct or stress with force.

By the 1820s the menagerie was still drawing crowds, but the public mood was changing. Critics of caged cruelty grew louder: when kangaroos arrived in London, naturalist James Rennie poured scorn on the idea of viewing them in a cage. 

Meanwhile, the Zoological Society of London (later London Zoo) had opened spacious new gardens  in Regent’s Park and as incidents continued at the Tower, the remaining animals from the Royal Menagerie were finally dispatched and presented to the society. The wagons transporting the last royal beasts through London’s wintery streets left in late December 1831. Centuries of wonder, danger and captivity were finally over. 

Conceived by award-winning artists Mervyn Millar and Suzy Willson, ‘Imagining Animals’ will transform the Tower through puppetry, music and movement into a playful, unexpected  world, inspired by the creatures that once lived in the Tower Menagerie.

Once, the spectacle of the captive animals inspired awe, even terror, and sometimes pity. Now ‘Imagining Animals’ invites visitors to experience something different, as a team of world-class puppeteers, dancers and musicians bring a host of charming, surreal animals to life.

Encounters with these imagined animals will bring moments of surprise, energy and fun, alongside joy, curiosity and connection. Together, they will encourage visitors to pause and consider our relationship with animals and the wider natural world.

Our community partners in Tower Hamlets have contributed to this project, and we’re grateful for their support. The community programme is also developing the next generation of ‘cultural hosts’; residents who will act as stewards during the August performances. We are also working with ten local women, who are offered paid training equipping them with skills in arts’ engagement, heritage interpretation and inclusive practice. Meanwhile, graduates from Historic Royal Palaces’ Young Innovators Creative Training Programme (launched in July 2025) are contributing to the project, taking up paid opportunities and bringing fresh perspectives into the design process.

‘Imagining Animals’ will be supported by a public programme of talks, workshops and events. Together, these activities and the August performances will create a distinctive and joyful summer experience – inspired by the Tower’s history, shaped by its communities and alive with imagination.  

Supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund, held at The Prism Charitable Trust.