Included with Tower of London tickets
Timings
RECOMMENDED DURATION
3 hours
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Wakefield Tower is included with all Tower of London tickets. No separate ticket is needed. Inside the fortress, it sits in the Medieval Palace area on the inner ward and is usually reached midway through a visit, though you can choose to skip it if you focus only on the headline sights. Book a guided tour or early-access ticket if you want the royal-apartment story explained before traffic builds along the wall-walk route.
Go in the first 90 mins after opening or in the final hour. Midday groups bunch up along the Medieval Palace route, and the narrow stair landings feel slower. If you want room to look and read, don’t leave it for noon.
Plan 15–20 mins on your own, or 20–30 mins with a guide or audio context. That’s enough to understand the reconstructed royal space and look out from the wall walk. If you rush through in 5 mins, it reads as just another stone room.
Place it between the Crown Jewels and the White Tower, or visit it after the White Tower as a quieter contrast. It works best as a mid-visit reset. If you save it until the very end, fatigue flattens the detail.
Traffic rises late morning when self-guided visitors and tours converge in the inner ward. Wakefield Tower itself usually has less of a queue than the Crown Jewels, but the approach can bottleneck. If stair landings feel crowded, loop back later.
Start with the reconstructed royal chamber, then move straight to the windows and wall walk. Those two elements explain both palace life and defense. If time is limited, keep this stopover from doing a second pass through busier exhibits.
Most visitors treat Wakefield Tower as a corridor to the next attraction. Slow down long enough to read it as a king’s private space, and look outward before you leave. Otherwise, the point of the tower is easy to miss.
| Ticket type | Why choose it |
|---|---|
Standard entry | Best if you want to explore the Medieval Palace at your own pace around the Tower’s headline sights. |
Guided tour | Helps Wakefield Tower make sense as royal living space, not just another defensive tower. |
Early access or Beefeater meet & greet | Gets you into quieter inner-ward spaces sooner, so this stop doesn’t feel rushed later. |
Wakefield Tower matters because it preserves the king’s private world inside a fortress better known for executions and prisoners. Most visitors don’t realise these compact rooms were part of Henry III’s royal lodgings, which changes the tower from ‘another stop’ into evidence of court life. Focus on three details when you enter: the reconstructed chamber, the devotional space, and the outward-facing views that tie comfort to defence.
On the main level, look for the furnished chamber that recreates the king’s private environment. The point is scale: royal life here was compact, guarded, and practical. It helps you read the Tower as a home as much as a fortress.
Find the small worship area within the royal rooms. Its closeness to the chamber shows how private devotion sat inside daily kingship, not in a separate grand setting. This is one of the clearest clues to how medieval court life worked.
Step out toward the connecting wall walk and look over the inner ward and south toward the Thames. Those sightlines show why this tower mattered: it offered residential comfort, but it never stopped being part of the defences.
For over 750 years, Wakefield Tower has marked the private royal side of the Tower of London rather than its public, military face. Built in the 1220s for Henry III as part of the king’s lodgings, it later became associated with the death of Henry VI in 1471. Today, it helps visitors read the Tower as a lived-in medieval palace, not only a prison and fortress.
👉 Explore the full history of the Tower of London
Commissioned Wakefield Tower in the 1220s as part of the royal lodgings.
Expanded the wider Medieval Palace, helping these south-side rooms function as a connected royal suite.
Tradition places his death in Wakefield Tower in 1471 during the Wars of the Roses.
Address: Tower of London, London EC3N 4AB, United Kingdom
Yes. Entry to Wakefield 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-access options simply make it easier to reach it with more context and less rushing.
No. Wakefield Tower has no independent entrance and sits inside the Tower complex. You must enter through the main Tower gate.
Most visitors reach it midway through their visit in the Medieval Palace area. Allow around 45–90 mins from the entrance.
Plan 15–20 mins self-guided, or 20–30 mins with commentary. The reconstructed rooms reward a little extra time.
Usually, yes. General Tower guided tours and Yeoman Warder talks often cover the Medieval Palace story, though exact stop order varies.
Partially. The Tower grounds offer some accessible routes, but Wakefield Tower itself involves historic stairs and limited step-free access.
Usually, yes. Photography is allowed in most Tower areas, but tripods, selfie sticks, and large recording equipment are not permitted.
Yes. It is one of the clearest places to understand the Tower as a royal residence, not only a prison or fortress.
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
