In 1235 the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II sent Henry III three leopards to mark his wedding to Eleanor of Provence, the emperor's sister. A lion was next to arrive, followed in 1252 by a polar bear (or 'white bear', as it is called in records) together with its keeper - both gifts from Haakon IV of Norway....
To care for the growing number of beasts at the Tower, Edward I created the official position of Master of the King's Bears and Apes - a role later renamed Keeper of the Lions and Leopards.
By the 16th century, when the collection was opened up to the public, the menagerie included several lionesses, a lion, a tiger, a lynx, a wolf, a porcupine and an eagle - with a special viewing platform later installed 'for the kinges Matie (friends) to stande on to see the Lyons lett out'...."
Can you imagine the noises those prisoners heard? Along with the noises of torture, it must have been a very scary place.