Description
Tower Hill Terrace to the east of All Hallows by the Tower is a paved plaza laid out at the instigation of Tower Hill Improvement Trust. At the boundary with the churchyard garden are gate piers in memory of Sir Follett Holt, first Chairman of the Tower Hill Improvement Trust, who died 20 March 1944. The Trust had been established in 1933. The terrace was created as a viewing platform, built on the site of a bombed warehouse.
Practical Information
| Site location | Byward Street/Tower Hill |
|---|---|
| Postcode | EC3 |
| What3Words | ///dangerously.parks.soft |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Tower Hamlets |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Tube: Tower Hill (District, Circle) |
| Research Updated | 5 August 2021 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The top 6 inches of the site are owned by LB Tower Hamlets, the vaults below by Tower Hill Improvement Trust; the vaults were reconfigured by Terry Farrell Partnership for the Tower Hill Pageant in 1987/91.
The vaults are all that remains of the warehouse at 8 - 10 Tower Hill, which was damaged by bombing in WWII. It was built in 1864 by tea wholesaler John Densham who in the 1860s had formed Lees and Densham in Philpot Lane in the City. John Densham & Sons at 49-51 Eastcheap followed in 1870 as did a name in 1886 for their Ceylon blend, ‘Mazawattee’, from the Hindi ‘maza’ or ‘pleasure’ and Sinhalese ‘wattee’ for ‘garden’, which became the world’s largest tea brand in 1886. The 1864 warehouse was finally demolished in 1950 when the Tower Hill Improvement Trust was laying out Tower Hill Terrace and wished to remove ‘certain ugly buildings which at that time disfigured it and hampered its use'.
The vaults are all that remains of the warehouse at 8 - 10 Tower Hill, which was damaged by bombing in WWII. It was built in 1864 by tea wholesaler John Densham who in the 1860s had formed Lees and Densham in Philpot Lane in the City. John Densham & Sons at 49-51 Eastcheap followed in 1870 as did a name in 1886 for their Ceylon blend, ‘Mazawattee’, from the Hindi ‘maza’ or ‘pleasure’ and Sinhalese ‘wattee’ for ‘garden’, which became the world’s largest tea brand in 1886. The 1864 warehouse was finally demolished in 1950 when the Tower Hill Improvement Trust was laying out Tower Hill Terrace and wished to remove ‘certain ugly buildings which at that time disfigured it and hampered its use'.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ334806 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Tower Hamlets |
| Site Management | Leisure Services, Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1951 |
| Designers | Hannen & Markham |
| Listed Structures | LBII: 8-10 Tower Hill |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Tower Hamlets |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | The Tower |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes ? Thames Policy Area |
| Other LA Designation | check - Strategic View |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
The Abbey of Barking owned land in the City and built a small church here c.AD675, hence the church's former name. There is evidence of a Saxon church and Saxon coffins have been found, also a section of C2nd Roman pavement. Samuel Pepys, William Penn and John Quincy-Adams, later the 6th President of the USA, are among those associated with the church. Much of the old church, which had survived the Fire of London, was destroyed in WWII, the new building dedicated in 1957. The churchyard was once larger, reduced when Tower Hill Terrace was created in the east and Tower Place in the south. Closed for burials in the 1850s it was being used as public open space by 1875. The remaining garden area lies at the east end of the church, with areas of grass, trees and shrubs with some tombs and gravestones. In the 1990s a restaurant adjoining the garden was built as part of improvement works.
Tower Place was initially laid out in 1962-66 to the west and south of All Hallows-by-the-Tower Church to provide public open space when 16-storey office buildings were erected. A large open space with 2 courtyards was created, granite setts to the north demarcating land once part of the churchyard. The area was entirely redeveloped in 1992-2002 in a scheme that included a new public plaza with seating, trees and water adjacent to All Hallows Church, partly sheltered by the 26m glass atrium that connects the two office buildings.
Trinity Square Garden was laid out in 1795 as the setting for Trinity House, and the garden was preserved as open space under a Special Act of Parliament in 1797. To the north of the garden are the buildings that recall maritime history: Trinity House and the former Port of London Authority headquarters. Within the public garden is the Merchant Navy Memorial, consisting of the First World War section by Sir Edwin Lutyens and the Second World War section by Sir Edward Maufe, laid out in the form of a sunken garden. Two annual events take place at the Merchant Navy Memorial: Merchant Navy Day (3rd September), is commemorated with a service held on the nearest Sunday, organised by the Merchant Navy Association. Armistice Day (11th November) is also commemorated at the Memorial with the Remembrance Day service, organised by the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, taking place prior to or after the 11th, depending on the nearest Sunday. Within the garden is the Tower Hill Memorial marking the site of the scaffold where nobility were beheaded between 1381-1780 usually following imprisonment in the Tower.
