Tower of London Plans £70m Visitor Upgrade
The Tower of London is preparing a major redevelopment designed to expand its educational and community facilities while protecting the historic fortress. Named Tomorrow’s Tower, the programme will adapt existing areas rather than add new buildings within the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Plans include two learning centres, a dedicated community room, an outdoor classroom in the moat and wider public access to the attraction’s architectural archive.
What Is Planned at the Tower
- Project: Tomorrow’s Tower
- Budget: £70 million
- Operator: Historic Royal Palaces
- Main additions: Two learning centres, a community room and a green classroom
- Construction date: Full timetable not yet announced
- Learning capacity: Planned increase from 125,000 to 200,000 people annually
- Archive: More than 25,000 architectural drawings
- Visitor access: Crown Jewels, White Tower and other main attractions are expected to remain open during the work
The historic Waterloo Block, which also houses the Crown Jewels, will contain the three-storey Julia Rausing Learning Centre. Its facilities will include teaching studios, a broadcast studio, a sensory room and spaces for meals. A separate Weston Learning and Community Centre on the Wharf will welcome school and community groups, while a new room on Mint Street will be reserved for activities organised with local residents.
A new Archive Study Centre will give students, researchers and members of the public access to more than 25,000 plans, surveys and drawings covering two centuries of conservation work. The moat’s proposed green classroom will support lessons about history, biodiversity and the environment. Visitors may also encounter costumed workshops and live broadcasts, adding activities beyond tours of the Crown Jewels, battlements and White Tower.
The redevelopment is aimed mainly at schools, researchers and community groups, so it will not immediately transform an ordinary admission ticket. Regular visitors should still be able to see the Crown Jewels and principal historic areas, although scaffolding or temporary diversions may appear once work begins. Anyone planning a visit during the construction period should check the Tower’s access notices shortly before travelling rather than rely on an older itinerary.