A day in the life of Tower of London’s Ravenmaster who’s as West Ham as they come
MICHAEL ‘BARNEY’ CHANDLER LEADS TEAM THAT CARES FOR TOWER’S FAMOUS RESIDENTS
THE old legend goes that “if the ravens leave the Tower, the kingdom of Britain will fall”. Not to tempt fate, but that’s a fair burden to carry for the Tower of London’s new Ravenmaster Michael ‘Barney’ Chandler, 56, a little over a month into the job.
Despite the responsibility of the role and its tradition which spans centuries, Barney says it’s an honour to wear the badge of Ravenmaster along with being a Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as they’re commonly known, at the Tower.
Ravens are believed to have lived in the proximity of the Tower of London for its entire existence, but the tradition became more significant since Charles II decreed there must be no fewer than six ravens on the site during the 1600s. The responsibility of this initially fell on the Young Quartermaster, but in the 1950s the first ever Ravenmaster was installed.
Barney is just the sixth person to have the role, looking after the Tower’s seven ravens - Jubilee, Harris, Poppy, Georgie, Edgar, Branwen and Rex. His job mainly consists of feeding and caring for the ravens, while also running the team of five which look after them.
He tells MyLondon: “The days are now getting longer and mornings starting earlier so we don’t like to keep our friends here hanging around in the cages.
“I’ll normally get up at about 6am and feed them roughly half an hour later. Then at 8.30am or so they’ll be let out. We have a problem with foxes so I don’t like to have them out much when the public aren’t here.
“To a certain extent the public also help to keep them safe. From then on it’s just a case of monitoring them throughout the day.”
Barney took the role of Ravenmaster some 14 years into his employment as a Beefeater. To become a Beefeater, who are part of the King’s bodyguard, you need 22 years of experience in the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces, with an exemplary record, and at the rank of warrant officer or above.
Barney served in the Royal Marines for 24 years climbing to the rank of Sergeant Major. As a recruit in 1984 a fellow Marine joked that when he blinked he looked like Barney Rubble from The Flintstones. Since then he’s been stuck with the same nickname, much to the annoyance of his mum.
Away from work, Barney enjoys solo motorbike tours across Europe, visiting his four children who live all over the world and he is an avid West Ham fan. Speaking to MyLondon on Thursday (April 11), Barney said he’d have to get his work finished in time to watch West Ham’s Europa
League match that evening.
The Ravenmaster says his favourite thing about the job is the honour of wearing the badge. “I’ve been in the team for 14 years so it’s great to not only be a member of the King’s bodyguard but also the man who looks after his ravens. What an honour.”
But it’s not the only badge he is proud to wear. Hidden on the inside of his Beefeater hat is West Ham’s famous badge of the crossed rivet hammers. While his dad is from Canning Town, Barney actually grew up in Watford, but he sounds as East End as they come and is a die hard Hammers fan.
Speaking about his job, he added: “I’m also fascinated by the unpredictability of the ravens. The old adage goes that you never film with children or animals and that’s certainly the case with these. “I’m just captivated by them, they’re so interesting, so clever and sometimes too clever for their own good. They’ve all got their own personalities, some are trickier than others.” He said one raven in particular has a bit of an attitude. Jubilee likes to be first into the grounds of the tower in the morning, and he “doesn’t like anything to be in his way”. Barney explained: “He’s normally the first in and he’s normally great. But if I was to put, say, a carrier bag, there when it’s time to go in, he’ll go as far as about 10 metres away, he’ll look at the bag and he’ll just say ‘nah, nah, I’m not doing that’.” To watch more videos from our London’s Hidden Secrets project, go to www.mylondon.news/all-about/ londons-hidden-secrets.
I’m just captivated by them, they’re so interesting, so clever and sometimes too clever for their own good. Ravenmaster Michael ‘Barney’ Chandler