The History
Greenwich Observatory was built during the reign of Charles II for John Flamsteed, the Astronomer Royal. Originally, Flamsteed had his observatory at the Tower of London, but he hated the sounds of the ravens who were kept at the Tower. It has been said that he detested the ravens so much that he asked the king for their permanent removal. At first Charles agreed, but he quickly backtracked on being reminded of the legend that, should the Ravens of the Tower be lost, then the Crown would fall. Charles therefore granted the construction of the new observatory in Greenwich rather than lose the Ravens of the Tower.
It is possible that the origins of the legend of the Ravens of the Tower is a remnant of the Welsh folklore of Bran the Blessed, an ancient giant who was a guardian of the Britons. Bran eventually ordered his followers to cut off his head and bury it under White Hill, which is now within the walls of the Tower of London. The folklore suggests that, even after his death, the eyes of the giant Bran could see as far as the coast and he would look evermore to the sea for future invasions. Bran is Welsh for Raven, and the raven is the giant’s insignia, this it seems possible that the Ravens of the Tower maybe an extension of Welsh legend.
