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The Royal Menagerie is first referenced during the reign of Henry III. In 1251, the sheriffs were ordered to pay four pence a day towards the upkeep for the King's polar bear, probably a gift from Haakon IV of Norway. The bear attracted a great deal of attention from Londoners when it went fishing in the Thames. In 1254, the sheriffs were ordered to subsidize the construction of an elephant house at the Tower. The exact location of the medieval menagerie is unknown, although the lions were kept in the barbican known as Lion Tower. The royal collection was swelled by diplomatic gifts including three leopards from Frederick III, the Holy Roman Emperor. By the 18th century, the menagerie was open to the public; admission cost three half-pence or the supply of a cat or dog to be fed to the lions.
In 1828 there were over 280 animals representing at least 60 species. The last of the animals left in 1835 and were relocated to Regent's Park after one of the lions was accused of biting a soldier.
Stories of ghost-sightings and supernatural activities surround the Tower of London – it is famous for its reputation of being haunted. The most famous ghost to be seen is that of Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn was beheaded in 1536 for treason against Henry VIII. Her ghost supposedly haunts the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, where she is buried, and has been said to walk around the White Tower carrying her head under her arm.
Other reported ghosts include Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole, and the Princes in the Tower. In January 1816, a sentry on guard outside the Jewel House claimed to have witnessed an apparition of a bear advancing towards him, and reportedly died of fright a few days later. In October 1817, a tubular, glowing apparition was claimed to have been seen in the Jewel House by the Keeper of the Crown Jewels, Edmund Lenthal Swifte. He said that the apparition hovered over the shoulder of his wife, leading her to exclaim: "Oh, Christ! It has seized me!" Other nameless and formless terrors have also been reported throughout the years.
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