Tower Beach was an

urban beach An urban beach (also city beach and sometimes beach club) is an artificially-created environment in an urban setting which simulates a public beachfront, through the use of sand, beach umbrellas, and seating elements. There are many variation ...

on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, adjacent to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

, which was open to the public from 1934 to 1971.

History

The Rev PTB 'Tubby' Clayton (1885–1972) was the Vicar of

All Hallows-by-the-Tower All Hallows-by-the-Tower, at one time dedicated jointly to All Hallows (All Saints) and the Virgin Mary and sometimes known as All Hallows Barking, is an Early Medieval Anglican church on Byward Street in the City of London, England, overlooking ...

from 1922 to 1962 and the founder of the Christian movement

Toc H Toc H (also TH) is a registered charity and an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, "Toc" signifying the letter T in the Royal Corps of Signals#History, signals spelling alphabet#History, spelling alpha ...

. In 1933 he and BR Leftwich published ''Pageant of Tower Hill'' (

Longmans, Green & Co Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is ...

), which outlined a scheme to improve

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

. That led to the establishment later the same year of the Tower Hill Improvement Trust. (The Trust still exists: since 2006 it has been called the Tower Hill Trust.) One of the Trust's earliest actions was to create an artificial beach at Tower Hill at a time when trips to the seaside were a luxury for East End families. More than 1,500 barge-loads of sand were brought in to create a beach between the ''Tower Wharf'' and the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. The beach was opened to the public by the Lieutenant Governor of the Tower on 23 July 1934,

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

decreeing that the beach was to be used by the children of London who should have "free access forever". There were rowing boats for hire. The beach was always closed at high tide and was closed for the duration of the Second World War. It was re-opened in 1946 by the Governor of the Tower, Col Edward Hamilton Carkeet-James, but, due to river pollution, it closed in 1971. The

Tower Millennium Pier Tower Pier is a pier on the River Thames, in Tower Hill, London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is operated by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers and served by various river transport and cruise operators. The pier ...

is partly located on the site of the former beach.

Open days

The former beach is the property of the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, as the Tower extends to the

high water High Water or Highwater may refer to: * High water, the state of tide when the water rises to its highest level. Film and television * Highwater (film), ''Highwater'' (film), a 2008 documentary * ''Step Up: High Water'', a web television series * ...

mark, and is not ordinarily open to the public. As part of the London Open Weekend, the remains of the beach were opened to visitors in September of each year from 2014 until 2016. MOLA also offer occasional guided walks on the beach, most recently in 2018.

References

{{coords, 51.5072, -0.0787, display=title 1934 establishments in England 1971 disestablishments in England History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Geography of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Parks and open spaces on the River Thames History of the River Thames Urban beaches Outdoor structures in England