Plans to transform Tower of London moat revealed
It's been dry since the 1840's
Plans have been unveiled to transform the Tower of London’s historic moat, which has been dry since the 1840s.
The proposals include bringing back water features with ponds, wetlands and meadows, aiming to boost biodiversity.
If approved, the project would create new public spaces, nature areas for schools, and features honouring the world wars, while using storm water to keep the moat green during dry spells.
Historic Royal Palaces, which manages the historic site, has applied to Tower Hamlets Council for planning permission for the transformation.
The moat is currently occupied by the summer 2022 “Superbloom” installation of wildflowers.
However, that same summer saw historic heatwaves in June, July and August, with Thames Water introducing a hosepipe ban.
Design documents submitted with the application say an emergency backup irrigation tank soon ran dry without watering the plants sufficiently.
They say Historic Royal Palaces “has learnt from the dry summer of 2022, that the challenges of keeping an attraction such as Superbloom in constant visual splendour, relies on a significant water supply to look attractive”.
Instead, water collected in a 19th Century culvert that collects storm water will be used to top up the wetlands during dry periods.
The moat was drained of water in the 1840s on the order of the Duke of Wellington, after an outbreak of waterborne diseases.
The surgeon general at the time said the moat was “‘impregnated with putrid animal and excrementitious matter” and “emitting a most obnoxious smell”.
It’s been dry ever since, save for a major flood in 1928 when the Thames overflowed.
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