A Visit To The Jewel Tower: A Medieval Relic

Around the back of Westminster Abbey, away from the hustle and bustle of Parliament Square, you will find a medieval survivor: the Jewel Tower.

The Jewel Tower is a stubborn remnant of the old Palace of Westminster, when it was still the primary royal residence. I pass by it on my Westminster’s Backstreets: Saints and Scoundrels tour and so I decided to pay it a visit with my trusty English Heritage membership in hand.

The Palace of Westminster

First, a quick history of the Palace of Westminster.

Edward the Confessor, the Anglo-Saxon monarch built the original Westminster Abbey and Palace here, on the banks of the Thames, in around 1045-1050AD.

The Palace of Westminster acted as the primary residence of the monarchy until the early 16th century. Most of the medieval Palace burnt down in a huge fire in 1512. Whitehall Palace was subsequently constructed down the road and became the royal residence under King Henry VIII. 

Here are models of the medieval palace and current palace layout. The Jewel Tower is in the centre foreground, surrounded on two sides by a defensive moat. You can see these models inside the Jewel Tower today.

The current, neo-gothic, Palace of Westminster was built from 1840-1870 after another huge fire burnt down much of the previous palace in 1834. 

The Jewel Tower: A Royal Treasure Trove

Built in 1366, the Jewel Tower sat at the South-Western corner of the medieval Palace of Westminster.

It was constructed to store the jewels and treasure of King Edward III, although the Crown Jewels were always kept in the Tower of London. This would have predominantly been fine textiles and plate.

Construction was overseen by Henry Yelvele, the most famous stonemason of his day. He constructed thick stone walls and put metal grilles over the windows for extra protection.

It was also apparently built on land partly owned by Westminster Abbey, which they did not take to kindly. When William Usshborne, who had been the King’s officer behind the decision, died by chocking on fish bones the monks considered it Divine Providence.

Also look out for these unusual stone bosses on the ground floor: another medieval feature. It appears to be a four-leafed floral design but on closer inspection is four human heads with open mouths.

The Jewel Tower was defended by a moat, which you can still see the remains of today. 

Inside you will see a cabinet of finds from an archaeological dig in the moat in 1950s and 60s.

The finds include flasks, a broken sword and this cat skull. They do not know why someone appears to have painted it green on the outside.

Beheadings And Beer

After the royals moved to Whitehall, the Jewel Tower became a general storage building, including, at one time, holding the toy dolls of King Henry VIII’s daughters, the future Queen Mary I and Elizabeth I. 

In the later 16th century the Jewel Tower became a repository for Parliamentary documents. These included Acts of Parliament, such as the death warrant of King Charles I in 1649 and the Act of Union between England and Scotland in 1707.

The Jewel Tower then became a testing facility for weights and measures, managed by the Board of Trade Standards Department. It was here for example that it was decided how much was in a pint of beer. Cheers!

Visiting the Jewel Tower

Today the Jewel Tower is managed by English Heritage and is open to visitors 10am-5pm Wednesday to Sunday. Click here for their website.

It has not quite got the pizzazz of some other English Heritage sites but is still worth a visit to learn more about the fascinating history of the Palace of Westminster: the centre of royal and political power for nearly 1000 years.

See below for more of London’s fascinating historical spots.