Go in the first 90 minutes after opening, or late afternoon on a weekday. The room is quieter then, so you can actually read the wall carvings instead of waiting for space at the walls. Avoid late morning if you want time to stop and look closely.
Included with Tower of London tickets
Timings
RECOMMENDED DURATION
3 hours
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Beauchamp Tower is included with all Tower of London tickets. No separate ticket is needed. It sits inside the inner ward and is usually reached midway through a self-guided visit, though you can choose when to enter once you’re inside the fortress. Book a guided tour or an early-entry Tower ticket if you want the prisoner graffiti explained clearly rather than simply passing by.
Go in the first 90 minutes after opening, or late afternoon on a weekday. The room is quieter then, so you can actually read the wall carvings instead of waiting for space at the walls. Avoid late morning if you want time to stop and look closely.
Allow 10–20 minutes on your own, or 15–25 minutes with a guide. That gives you enough time to read several inscriptions and understand who carved them. If you rush through in 5 minutes, it feels like just another stone chamber.
Most visitors reach Beauchamp Tower after the Crown Jewels or White Tower, once they’re already 45–90 minutes into the complex. Use it as a slower stop between bigger highlights. Don’t leave it until the last few minutes of your visit.
Beauchamp Tower rarely has a long outdoor queue, but it fills in bursts when guided groups pass through nearby towers. Midday is the tightest time for space and photos. If the doorway looks crowded, circle back 15–20 minutes later.
Start with the carved names, dates, and emblems on the wall surfaces, especially the Tudor-era prisoner inscriptions. Then look at the window recesses and the chamber itself. Read two or three carvings carefully instead of skimming every stone block.
Most visitors look out of the windows first and miss that the walls are the real exhibit. Scan the room at eye level as soon as you enter. Also, don’t treat it as a pass-through stop, because the value here is detail, not scale.
| Ticket type | Why choose it |
|---|---|
Standard entry | Best if you want to explore freely and linger over the graffiti between bigger Tower highlights. |
Guided tour | Best if you want the Tudor prisoner stories explained instead of reading carved names without context. |
Early access or Beefeater meet & greet | Reach Beauchamp Tower before the site gets busier and still have energy for slow looking. |
Beauchamp Tower is the Tower of London’s most direct encounter with prisoners’ own voices, because the walls themselves are the archive. Most visitors expect another defensive tower and only realise inside that many inscriptions were cut by men imprisoned for faith, succession, or politics. The room is smaller and quieter than the White Tower, so what matters here is not scale but close looking. Start with these three details.
As soon as you enter, scan the pale stone blocks at eye level on both side walls. The names, dates, crosses, and emblems are the main exhibits here. If you look only toward the windows, you miss the reason this tower matters.
Move slowly along the inner wall surfaces rather than standing in the doorway. Some of the best-known carvings linked to prisoners such as Thomas Abell and the Dudley circle sit directly on the chamber stones. Read the lettering and symbols, not just the labels.
Step into one of the deep window embrasures and look back across the room. The thickness of the wall and the limited light explain confinement better than any panel. This is also one of the clearest angles for photographing the chamber without blocking others.
Beauchamp Tower matters because high-status prisoners left their own record here, cut directly into stone during 16th-century imprisonment. Built as part of the Tower’s inner defences, it later became a state prison for men caught in Tudor religious and dynastic conflict, including Thomas Abell, the Dudleys, and Philip Howard. Today, it survives as one of the clearest places in the Tower where you encounter prisoners’ voices, not just their legend.
Imprisoned for defending Catherine of Aragon’s marriage; his name survives in the carved stone.
Held here after the 1553 succession crisis, before becoming Elizabeth I’s longtime favourite.
One of the Dudley brothers linked to the Lady Jane Grey crisis and Tudor power struggles.
Catholic nobleman imprisoned under Elizabeth I; his presence connects the tower to religious conflict.
Address: Tower of London, London EC3N 4AB
Yes. Entry to Beauchamp Tower is included with every valid Tower of London ticket. No separate ticket exists.
No. Any Tower of London ticket gets you in. Guided or early-entry options simply give you more context and a calmer visit.
No. Beauchamp Tower has no independent entrance. You must enter the fortress first and reach it from inside the paid complex.
Usually midway through a self-guided visit. Allow about 45–90 minutes from the main entrance, depending on your route and Crown Jewels timing.
Allow 10–20 minutes self-guided, or 15–25 minutes with a guide. The wall carvings reward slow looking.
Yes, on many Tower tours. Even when it is not a formal stop, you can still visit it afterward with the same admission ticket.
Not fully. The wider Tower site is partially accessible, but Beauchamp Tower itself has stairs and is not step-free.
Generally, yes. Handheld photography is usually allowed, but tripods, selfie sticks, large bags, food, and drink are not.
Beauchamp Tower is best for prisoner graffiti. Choose the Bloody Tower for murder lore, and the White Tower for armor and scale.
What to bring
What’s not allowed
Accessibility
Additional information
Inclusions #
Entry to the Tower of London
Access to the Crown Jewels
Entry to the White Tower, Battlements, Bloody Tower, Torture at the Tower exhibition, Fusiliers Museum, and Royal Mint exhibition
Additional paid upgrades:
Access to Headout’s exclusive AI-powered audioguide app (English only, iPhone required)
Early access entry to the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels Collection
Escorted entry to the Tower of London
Guided tour of the Tower of London
Entry to Bloody Tower
Expert English-speaking tour guide
An English-speaking City Wonders tour leader
A private audience with a Beefeater for your group
Flexible Thames River cruise
Small group of max. 20-30 guests
Exclusions #
Gratuities
Food and drink
Hotel transfers
What to bring
Tower Bridge
What’s not allowed
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Accessibility
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Additional information
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Inclusions #
Tower of London
Entry to the Tower of London
Access to The Crown Jewels
Tower Bridge
Entry tickets to Tower Bridge
Access to the Engine Rooms
Exclusions #
Tower of London + Tower Bridge
Food and drink
Hotel transfers
What’s not allowed
Accessibility
Additional information
Inclusions #
Skip-the-line access to the Tower of London
Access to the Crown Jewels
Guided tour of the Tower of London
English-speaking guide
Additional paid upgrades:
Early access to the Tower of London
15-min private meet and greet with a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater)
Access to the Opening Ceremony
Flexible Thames River cruise
Small group of max. 20 guests
Exclusions #
Gratuities
Hotel transfers
What to bring Westminster Abbey + Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
What’s not allowed Westminster Abbey + Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
Tower of London
Accessibility Westminster Abbey + Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
Tower of London
Additional information Westminster Abbey
Tower of London
Inclusions #
Westminster Abbey
Entry to Westminster Abbey
Multimedia guide in Russian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Japanese, Italian, Hungarian, Arabic, French, German, Spanish, and English
Tower of London
Entry to the Tower of London
Access to the Crown Jewels
Entry to the White Tower, Battlements, Bloody Tower, Torture at the Tower exhibition, Fusiliers Museum, Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, Medieval Palace, Royal Mint exhibition
Access to the children's activity trails and live historical re-enactments
Exclusions #
Westminster Abbey + Tower of London
Gratuities
Food and drink
Hotel transfers
What’s not allowed
Tower of London
London Eye
Accessibility
Tower of London
London Eye
Additional information
Tower of London
London Eye
Inclusions #
Tower of London
Entry to the Tower of London
Access to the Crown Jewels
Entry to the White Tower, Battlements, Bloody Tower, Torture at the Tower exhibition, Fusiliers Museum, and Royal Mint exhibition
London Eye
Entry to the London Eye
30-min ride on the London Eye
Additional paid upgrades:
London Eye
Exclusions #
Tower of London + London Eye
Food and drink
Transfers