Name: The Tower Moat
Start: 2023-07-04T12:00
End: 2033-07-04T12:00
Location: Tower of London

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When

Closed

Where

The Moat West side

Ticketing information

Included in palace admission (Members go free)

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Things to see

The history of the Tower Moat stretches back to William the Conqueror, who had a defensive ditch dug to protect the White Tower from attack.

As the size of the Tower expanded outwards, thanks to the building works of Henry III and Edward I, the moat grew with it.

The moat today retains the basic shape created for Edward I in the 1270s, but has been adapted and put to various new uses through the centuries.

Feeding the Tower

In medieval times, the Moat was teeming with fish – an important source of food for the hundreds of nobles and servants in the royal household. An incredibly well-preserved medieval fish-trap, unearthed from the Moat, is on display at the Medieval Palace.

By the 1840s the water in the moat had become stagnant and polluted. On the orders of the Constable of the Tower, the Duke of Wellington, the moat was drained and partially filled in.

Since then the moat has been used as a parade ground and a place of recreation for the Tower’s residents. In World War II, the Moat was used as an allotment where residents, including Yeoman Warders, grew food to supplement their rations.

A HRP staff member inspecting a perfectly preserved wicker fish trap excavated from the Tower moat, in a display case. — Image: Late medieval wicker fish trap on display in the Medieval Palace, Tower of London. © Historic Royal Palaces

The Lion Tower

Look out for the lifelike sculptures of a family of lions by the west side of the Moat, near the Middle Tower entrance. This is close to the site where the semi-circular Lion Tower once stood, which was home to the Tower’s Menagerie.

After the Duke of Wellington closed the Menagerie in 1835, the remaining animals were sent to new homes and the Lion Tower was destroyed.

Sculpture of a lion made from steel armature and painted galvanised wire, installed on the former site of the Lion Tower. Part of the Royal Beasts exhibition. Showing a front view of the full sculpture.

Sculptor Kendra Haste was commissioned in 2010 by Historic Royal Palaces to create a series of thirteen works celebrating the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London. The menagerie was established in the early 13th Century and remained a part of the Tower of London until 1832 when the remaining animals were moved to Regents Park to help establish London Zoo. — Image: Lion sculptures by Kendra Haste. © Historic Royal Palaces

From poppies to Superbloom

In 2014, the Moat was flooded with poppies - a dramatic art installation called "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red". Marking the centenary of World War I, each of the 888,246 ceramic poppies represented a military fatality in the war.

In summer 2022, to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, the moat transformed from a barren, flat lawn into a haven for bees, butterflies and other pollinators in the heart of the city. The moat was filled with wildflowers, grown from 20 million seeds.

This unique and evolving space remains as a legacy of Superbloom and Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, bringing life to this urban neighbourhood for the benefit of the surrounding communities and future visitors.

Learn more about the Tower Moat

Image shows a vast landscape of flowers in the moat for Superbloom at the Tower of London. The flowers are a variety of colours, heights and textures, with colours ranging from yellow, to orange, into pinks and purples and ending on a sea of blue and red. — Image: Wildlflowers fill the moat for Superbloom in 2022. © Historic Royal Palaces

Superbloom at night moat lit up with pink and yellow lighting — The moat lit up for Superbloom in 2022. © Historic Royal Palaces

Fortress Medieval Architecture and building history 21st Century

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