Unusual jobs – the Ravenmaster

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Andrea: Welcome to "People and Places" – where we meet interesting people and find out
about more about them – right here on [bad word]  Hello, I'm Andrea
Rose.
Derrick Coyle & raven
(Sound of bird and Derrick saying good morning)
Andrea: That’s Derrick Coyle and he has a rather unusual job. Derrick is a Yeoman Warder or
‘Beefeater’ at the Tower of London. He’s also a raven master which means he’s
dedicated to looking after the Tower’s unique feature – ravens. His job is to feed them
and clip their wings so that they don’t fly away. Because if they did, it would be a
terrible omen or sign. Derrick explains.
Derrick Coyle
It all begins with Charles the Second. At the time of his coronation, when he arrived at the Tower he
was visiting to see how his newly appointed Astronomer Royal was getting on with his duties. The
Astronomer Royal complained bitterly about the mess they were making and ruining his equipment.
So he asked the king’s permission to get rid of the birds and shoot them. And that’s when the king
replied ‘oh no – you can’t do that’ because he’d heard this legend that should they leave, the White
Tower would crumble and the monarchy would fall. So ever since that day, by royal command, we
have to keep six birds on compliment. But we don’t take any chances here. We keep two more in
reserve.
Andrea: So Derrick’s job is very important. If the ravens leave it means that the monarchy, the
queen and princes, will fall or collapse. Let me explain the legend. When Charles the
Second was made king – at his coronation – his astronomer complained that there
were birds or ravens at the Tower of London that were destroying his astronomy equipment. The astronomer complained bitterly – he complained a lot because his
telescopes and instruments to look at the stars were being messed up or ruined by
these birds. So he asked permission from the king to remove the birds. But the King
had heard that it was bad luck to chase ravens away. Ever since, by royal command –
that’s on the orders of the Queen of England, there must always be six ravens at the
Tower. And it’s Derrick’s job to look after them! In this next clip, he talks us through
where the ravens are kept inside the Tower.
Derrick Coyle
Well this is the upper portion of the Brick Tower and as you can see we’ve got four spacious cages.
They’ve got their own nesting boxes or night boxes, bathing bowls, food bowls. Each cage is the
same so no raven can get jealous of another one – saying they’ve got more space than us. They’ve
got lots of light. And I think they’d be just as happy in here as they would be outside.
Andrea: Derrick takes us into the Tower of London to show us where the ravens stay when
they need to be kept inside. They have very spacious or roomy cages. They have lots
of space. They also have nesting boxes or places where they can sleep, as well as
bathing bowls – where they can wash themselves – and food bowls. Apparently the
ravens eat a lot of raw meat and biscuits soaked in blood. Derrick makes sure they eat
well. But he insists that they are all treated fairly so that no raven can get jealous or
envious of another. He thinks that their home inside the Tower is as nice as where
they perch outside during the day.
But what is it like to look after the ravens? Does Derrick have any funny stories about
Hardey, Thor, Odin, Gwyllum, Credic, Hugine and Munin?
Derrick Coyle
When President Putin came, he came with a huge entourage, and Thor normally when he’s not in this
cage, sits on those steps. And as the party went up the wooden staircase, Thor quite politely said
‘good morning’ to every one of the party going up the steps. And I believe President Putin was veryvery amazed at that. 
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