Join us to explore a lesser-known history of the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London

As part of the Communities of Liberation events programme and Imagining Animals, a new commission by Historic Royal Palaces.

Established in the 13th century, the Royal Menagerie was a symbol of royal power, with animals arriving as diplomatic gifts through trade and later within expanding imperial networks. But who cared for these creatures, and what can their stories reveal about the Tower’s connections to Britain’s global and local histories?

This event highlights the story of Edward Francis — an enslaved African in the household of Thomas Dymock, Keeper of the Lions, who attempted to liberate himself from enslavement in the 1690s and found himself on trial at the Old Bailey. His story sheds light on enslavement and resistance at the Tower of London, and the Royal Menagerie as a site of power and control.

It also considers how curators and historians work with fragmentary archival material to piece together the lives of people whose stories have often been overlooked in historical records.

Visit the Communities of Liberation exhibition at Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives on now until Saturday 17 October to discover more Black stories of resistance, resilience and liberation in Tower Hamlets.

Visit Imagining Animals at the Tower of London from 19–31 August (excluding 25 August) and experience the Tower transformed through puppetry, music and movement.

Imagining Animals | Tower of London | Historic Royal Palaces

Visit the Tower of London for £1 if you are a Tower Hamlets resident

Description supplied by the event organiser.