Jewel Tower

The Jewel Tower
Part of Palace of Westminster
Old Palace Yard, London, England
The Jewel Tower
The Jewel Tower
Coordinates	51°29′54″N 0°07′35″W / 51.498417°N 0.126472°W / 51.498417; -0.126472Coordinates: 51°29′54″N 0°07′35″W / 51.498417°N 0.126472°W / 51.498417; -0.126472
Site information
Owner	English Heritage
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Intact
Site history
Built by	Henry Yevele
Materials	Kentish Ragstone
Events	Westminster Palace fires of 1512 and 1834

The Jewel Tower is a 14th-century surviving element of the royal Palace of Westminster, in London, England. It was built between 1365 and 1366, under the direction of William of Sleaford and Henry de Yevele, to house the personal treasure of Edward III. The tower, a three-storey, crenellated stone building, occupied a secluded part of the palace and was protected by a moat linked to the River Thames. The ground floor featured elaborate carved vaulting, described by historian Jeremy Ashbee as "an architectural masterpiece". The tower continued to be used for storing the monarch's treasure and personal possessions until 1512, when a fire in the palace caused Henry VIII to relocate his court to Whitehall.

At the end of the 16th century, the House of Lords began to use the tower to store its parliamentary records, building a house alongside it for the use of the parliamentary clerk, and extensive improvements followed in 1621. The tower continued as the Lords' records office through the 18th century, and several sets of renovations and building work were carried out to improve its fire-proofing and comfort, creating the current appearance of the tower. In 1834, the tower was one of only four buildings to survive a terrible fire in Westminster, and in the aftermath the records were moved to a new, purpose-built archive.

The Jewel Tower was taken over by the newly formed Standard Weights and Measures Department in 1869, who used it for storing and testing official weights and measures. The rising levels of London traffic made the tower increasingly unsuitable for this work, and by 1938 the department had abandoned it in favour of other facilities. In 1948, the building was placed into the care of the Ministry of Works, who repaired the damage inflicted to the tower during the Second World War, and extensively restored the building, clearing the surrounding area and opening the tower for tourists. In the 21st century, the Jewel Tower is managed by English Heritage, receiving around 30,000 visitors each year.