Tower of London Moat Refilled After 184 Years: £70M Eco-Wetland Makeover Approved

Plans have been approved to fill the Tower of London's moat with ponds, wetlands, meadows, and rain gardens — bringing water back after nearly two centuries.

For almost 200 years, the Tower of London's moat has been less moat and more ditch. In the 1840s, the water became so foul — thanks to animal waste and excrement — that the Duke of Wellington had no choice but to drain it. It's been dry ever since.

Now, under newly approved plans by Historic Royal Palaces, water is returning. Tower Hamlets Council green-lit the proposals on July 17, 2026.

The redevelopment will create an "ecologically rich moat landscape that reconnects visitors with the Tower's defensive history while responding to biodiversity loss and water scarcity." The design blends ponds, wetlands, meadows, and grassland areas across the historic site.

On the west side, "rain gardens" will be kept fresh by historic spouts from the revetment walls. The northern side will feature installations memorialising WWI and WWII, including a soldier emerging from the planting and a Women's Auxiliary Air Force member holding the steel cable from a barrage balloon.

A nature learning pond for school visits and activity spaces will be built in the east moat, highlighting how it "historically supported daily life, food production, and industry within the Tower."

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Near the entrance, Historic Royal Palaces plans an open meadow with "long views along the moat" and a "sizeable gathering area" for visitors.

The moat is currently filled with wildflowers as part of the Superbloom installation. Learning from the dry summer of 2022, planners will use a 19th-century culvert to collect stormwater, topping up the wetlands during particularly dry periods.

The moat's transformation is part of a larger £70 million makeover for the Tower, which will also introduce new community spaces, learning centres, and open the site's architectural archive to the public for the first time.

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