Sentry boxes and temporary gazebos to be replaced by new metal structures as part of wider development programme at world heritage site
Jamie Fobert Architects has drawn up plans for a new entrance to the Tower of London as part of a wider programme to improve the visitor experience at the world heritage site.
Proposals submitted by the practice to Tower Hamlets council last month would see sentry boxes outside the site’s main entrance removed and replaced with new contemporary structures.
The entrance to the 11th century Tower, one of the UK’s most popular tourist attractions, is currently marked by the two late 20th century sentry boxes and, for the last eight years, by two temporary gazebos.
These structures outside the Middle Tower are often the first experience of the tower for visitors, which can number 13,000 a day during peak times.
Historic Royal Palaces, which is overseeing the scheme’s client curatorial team, has described the sentry boxes as “visibly worn out” and “not fit for purpose”, and the gazebos as “aesthetically inadequate compared to the importance of the Tower as a monument”.
Alden Gregory, curator of the Tower’s historic buildings, added the existing entrance was “not of a quality commensurate with the Tower’s status as a world heritage site and scheduled monument, and their appearance detracts from the setting of the monument”.
Jamie Fobert said the planned rethink of the Tower’s entrance provided an “exciting and rare opportunity” to create a design which is both “of its time” and subservient to the historical significance of the site.
The practice’s proposals consist of two circular ticketing booths inspired by the round turrets and defensive structures in the former castle’s walls.
“It is intended that in both form and material finish the sentry box is of it’s time and not a pastiche of the historic architecture of the Middle Tower. Crucially, the proposal will remain sensitive to its setting,” the practice said.
A protective barrier and some ground finishes, both installed in 2004, would also be stripped out as part of the refurbishment.
The plans replace a former 2018 consent for the Middle Tower entrance designed by Austin Smith Lord. Historic Royal Palaces said both security and visitor needs had “evolved” since this proposal to require ticketing structures to provide a space of warmth and cover for staff during extreme weather.
Ticket scanning also now needs to happen earlier in the entry process and separately from security scanning to increase visitor flow through the area, it said.
Other firms working on the scheme include Purcell, which has provided a heritage impact assessment, and planning consultant The Planning Lab.
The Tower of London is Historic Royal Palace’s busiest site by far, accounting for 70% of the charity’s revenue. The new entrance is part of an “ambitious programme of development” called Tower 2030 which aims to enhance the site’s visitor experience and upgrade its facilties for the future.
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