New Medieval Palace display opens at the Tower of London

The Medieval Palace at the Tower of London opens 24 May 2025

The splendour of the Medieval age will be brought to life in a new display at the Tower of London, opening on 24 May. The revamped Medieval Palace takes a fresh look at the kings and queens who shaped the Tower during the medieval period, but also the important, everyday lives of Medieval Londoners and those who worked in the royal household.

This permanent display within some of the oldest parts of the Tower of London – St Thomas’ Tower, the Wakefield Tower and the Lanthorn Tower – has been refreshed with new objects, multisensory displays, and innovative storytelling. These spaces were built on the orders of King Henry III and King Edward I, and used as a domestic and diplomatic space by the two kings and their queens, Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor of Castile.

New interpretation will help visitors to explore what defined this pivotal but sometimes overlooked period of history. These medieval royal apartments at the Tower of London which once hosted kings and queens will be dressed in resplendent colours and textures that were typical of these luxurious lodgings in the 13th century. Visitors will be taken on an immersive journey into the medieval world, where meticulous research from historic accounts sees Edward I’s bedchamber recreated with sumptuous textiles and colourful decoration. A renewed focus on medieval Queens will also explore their accomplishments, including Eleanor of Castile’s influence on the decoration of English royal interiors, alongside her role as a patron of learning.

For the first time this historic part of the Tower of London will help to tell the story of the medieval Jewish community, the taxation of which helped to pay for the construction of St Thomas’s Tower in the 1270s. As part of the new display, a stone from a Jewish mikveh or ritual bath, dating to c.1200 and discovered in London in 2001 within the home of the medieval Crespin family will feature, on loan from the Jewish Museum London. It will go on display in the Lanthorn Tower to help illustrate the lives of England’s medieval Jewish community, from which very few objects survive.

As part of the re-display of the Lanthorn Tower, a number of new objects will also go on show at the Tower of London for the first time. This includes a 13th century Seal Matrix from a 13th century Italian knight, alongside a beautiful gold and enamel 13th century pyx, a small round container used to hold communion wafers made in Limoges, France, both on loan from the British Museum. Other items dating from the late medieval period will help visitors to connect with the lives of everyday people who lived more than 700 years ago, including a toy knight made of lead that dates from c.1300, lent by London Museum. Children have always lived at the Tower of London, and similar items are known to have been owned by the children of Edward I.

Beautiful new objects and accompanying illustrations will tell the story of life in the palace and of the royal household on the road. A perfectly preserved wicker fish trap excavated from the Tower moat will also be displayed for the very first time in the Medieval Palace, recalling the moat’s role as a fishery and the important work carried out by everyday people to feed the royal household. The fish trap still contains fish bones today, likely dating from the 15th or 16th century. The display also shares stories from the lives of less well-known individuals from the royal household, including Edward I's laundress Matilda de Wautham, and John de Navesby the keeper of the white bear at the Tower of London from its time as a royal menagerie.

The new Medieval Palace display will help visitors to explore the complex relationship between the Tower and the City of London during the medieval period, and the Tower’s relationship with its local community, which continues today. Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that cares for the Tower of London has collaborated with Tower Hamlets based community group Stiches in Time, to capture the contemporary relevance of the Tower for local people. The tapestry, which will hang in St Thomas’ Tower, will reflect on themes including childhood, entertainment, religion and London as a place to live for both medieval and modern residents of Tower Hamlets.

Charles Farris, Public Historian at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “The new Medieval Palace display will immerse visitors in the rich and fascinating medieval world. Visitors will be introduced to some of the remarkable characters who lived and worked here in the 13th century. This was a pivotal period in the history of the Tower of London. During the reigns of Henry III and Edward I, the Tower expanded to become the huge and mighty fortress we know today. The medieval world was dazzling, vibrant, and colourful and visitors will see some amazing objects on display for the first time. We look forward to visitors from all over the world engaging with these stories for years to come, as we open this new permanent addition to the Tower’s visitor offer.”

The Medieval Palace is open from 24 May in line with the Tower of London’s opening hours, and is included in Tower admission.

Notes to Editors

For further information and images please contact Jessica England in the Historic Royal Palaces Press Office via press@hrp.org.uk / 020 3166 6166

Included in standard admission to the Tower of London. Tickets: Adult £35.80 / Concession £28.50 / Child £17.90 Free for Historic Royal Palaces members. £1 tickets are available for those in receipt of certain means-tested financial benefits.

Historic Royal Palaces is the independent charity that loves and looks after six of the most wonderful palaces in the world. The palaces are the setting for the stories that shape us all, and we’re bringing them to people in ways that mean more to them. We want everyone to find themselves in the spaces and stories we share. 

Registered charity number 1068852. For more information visit www.hrp.org.uk

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