8th grade. Unit 5. Lesson 4. Tales of the old Tower

👉Communicative area: describing customs and traditions connected with the Tower

👉Active vocabulary: a crown, a raven, to guard, to steal, just in case

👉Active grammar: tenses (revision)

What do you know about the Tower of London?

Read an article written by a Yeoman Warder. 

Check your guesses. What three traditions does he mention?

If you’ve ever been to the Tower of London, you’ve heard me or one of my colleagues giving a guided tour. I am a Yeoman Warder. Traditionally, we, Yeomen Warders, not only work but also live right here at the Tower. They say every man’s home is his castle, well, in my case, that is absolutely right. Normally we wear a blue and red “undress” uniform. On special occasions, we put on the red and gold Tudor state dress. It looks impressive and dates back to the 16th century!

Our duties? Back in Tudor times we guarded the Tower prisoners (узников) and protected the famous Crown Jewels (драгоценности). Nowadays we are guides, storytellers, and keepers of the Tower’s long and ancient history. 

Since 2011 I’ve been working as the Ravenmaster. At present, I’m looking after seven ravens. Six is what the tradition requires to protect the Crown and one acts as a back up … you know, just in case. According to legend, if the ravens leave the Tower, it will turn into dust and the Kingdom will fall. The official line is that the ravens were introduced by King Charles II in the 17th century. I’ll tell you a little secret: the truth is that the ravens haven’t been here that long. It’s more like an “invented tradition” and a sort of Victorian folklore born in the 19th century. 

However, at the Tower, we take the folklore very seriously. I get up before dawn each day, check and feed the ravens and let them out. The birds are free to walk around the Tower grounds during the day and spend their time doing raven things. They enjoy posing for selfies and stealing sandwiches, crisps, or coins. As a Yeoman Warder, I also have other duties to do throughout the day, but my eye is always on the ravens. I also keep my fingers crossed that no raven decides to fly away when my back is turned. Once, raven Merlina went on a little holiday from the Tower to Greenwich for seven days, and it made me feel very nervous as it had never happened before. Luckily, she was returned to her home and the Kingdom survived. 

I must say, I am often asked some strange questions: Have you ever seen a raven ghost? Can you talk to the ravens? Are the ravens real? Really! And if you want to know what I am paid as a Yeoman Warder, it’s simple – I am paid in beef! After all, we were nicknamed Beefeaters for that.