The Tower Menagerie was the most important collection of animals in Britain from a very early age.
Lions were always the chief attraction and in the days of Queen Elizabeth they were all named after Kings and Queens.
Towards the end of the seventeenth century the first hyena was shown in England and in 1739 a rhinoceros was brought from Bengal.
King William IV closed the menagerie after six hundred years of unbroken history and the animals went either to the London Zoo or to Windsor.
The London Zoo, originated by Sir Stamford Raffles opened in April 1826. It was to become an example to the whole world and every country in Europe began to copy it.
Private menageries have existed for centuries.
Julius Caesar had mentioned in his Commentaries that rich English landlords had Parks in whi
