Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Benchmark Blasterz
N 51° 29.912 W 000° 07.561
30U E 699478 N 5709182
Jewel Tower, a castle built in 1365 for King Edward II to use as a palace treasury, near the much grander and more ornate Westminster Palace
Waymark Code: WMT6M2
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/04/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 12

Jewel Tower, with its plain façade, almost blends into the landscape next to its ornately detailed and truly magnificent successor, the Palace of Westminster. However, intrepid waymarkers will find much here to learn, see, and appreciate. A trip to Jewel Tower is well worth your time.

An interpretive sign at Jewel Tower reads as follows:

THE JEWEL TOWER

The Jewel Tower was built for King Edward III and 1365-66 by Henry Yevele, “the deviser of the King’s works of masonry.” It formed part of the king’s palace and was designed as a private treasury.

The walls are mainly built of Kentish Ragstone from Maidstone. Other stone came from Reigate, Beer (Devon), and Caen (France), while timber for the roof came from Surrey. The windows were of highly decorative glass protected by iron grilles.

To give the lower Tower better protection (and provide fish for the king’s table), it was surrounded by a moat. This was constructed in July 13 66 and took 23 navvies 10 days to dig. The water came from a ditch leading directly into the River Thames.

From 1621 the jewel Tower was used for the storage of parliamentary records and by the end of the century it is likely that the ditch and the moat had been partially filled in.

In 1869 it became the centre for the Board Of Trade’s Standards Department, which tested standards of weight and measure.
Accessibility: Full access

Condition: Intact

Admission Charge?: yes

Website: [Web Link]

Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Castles
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
jezevcik visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 05/20/2022 jezevcik visited it
Wilina visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 08/02/2019 Wilina visited it
pmaupin visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 03/03/2019 pmaupin visited it
eilers1 visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 02/07/2019 eilers1 visited it
eilers1 visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 02/07/2019 eilers1 visited it
Jamboree_009 visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 08/02/2018 Jamboree_009 visited it
CONPER visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 10/26/2017 CONPER visited it
stefr67 visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 07/23/2017 stefr67 visited it
Master Mariner visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 10/06/2016 Master Mariner visited it
Benchmark Blasterz visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 07/22/2016 Benchmark Blasterz visited it
FamilieFrohne visited Jewel Tower -- Westminster, London, UK 04/21/2014 FamilieFrohne visited it

View all visits/logs