When erasing history works
OPINION: Why we deleted displays at the Tower of London
Wednesday 09 July 2025 | opinions from the world of museums, galleries, heritage and art
Hello. It’s mid-week and it’s opinion time, this time on the new medieval makeover at the Tower of London. And keep reading for my latest Hot List too.
See you Friday!
maxwell
Take Five Hundred
An opinion column — in 500 words — by a guest writer.
💬 When erasing history works — telling sharper stories at the Tower of London
by Emma Shepley, Medieval Palace Project Lead at Historic Royal Palaces
“The Tower of London’s Medieval Palace is one of the first places visitors explore when they arrive on site.
The route winds through four stone towers; St Thomas’, the Wakefield, the Lanthorn and the Cradle Tower. Less-well known than the Bloody or White Towers, they are just as steeped in dynastic drama. Cathedral-builder Henry III, his son, Edward ‘Longshanks’ and their independent, intelligent Queens (both Eleanors) worked, ate, slept and prayed in the Towers’ lofty halls, chambers and chapels.
Linked by spiral stairs, narrow passageways and spectacular battlement views, this is medieval history where it happened.
In May we opened a major refresh and re-interpretation of the route — the first in over a decade.
There was real need for change. The Palace has its complex 900-year history of habitation and usage written into its walls. 20th century floral wallpaper (from when the Palace was home to Tower officials) was side-by-side with Tudor rebuilding works. Hulking 1990s iron barriers (protecting visitors from crumbling masonry and dodgy floorboards) competed with luxurious set-dressed bed chambers for attention.
The result was multiple narratives in an architecturally and historically confusing space. Tracking studies indicated that dwell time was low, and the most popular feature was ‘looking out of the windows at the view’. A visitor knowledge gap about when the medieval era even is, went unaddressed. It was time to let the electronic flickered candles reveal just one time, in one place.
Interpretation lead Emma Bell and curator Charles Farris took this approach, backed by Historic Royal Palaces’ audience research showing that ‘places feel more authentic when they are attached to a single character or moment in time’.
The refreshed route is set squarely in the 1200s — every word, illustration, wall-hanging, and stanchion reveals this period only. An atmospheric immersion in crackling fires, rabbits rampaging in the margins and jaunty music by Alphonso of Castille — half-brother of Eleanor.
Our aim is a coherent and meaningful day out for the curious.
By deleting century-spanning snippets of information, we added greater depth to the medieval stories, and an illustrated global timeline defines the word ‘medieval’ itself. Meticulous research introduces laundresses, surgeons and stonemasons, who exist only as names in ancient rolls of court, now portrayed in intricate gilded illustrations. International visitors and families can experience the route without reading a word.
The role of medieval Jewish Londoners who paid for the Tower’s construction was previously one line of text. Now mentioned throughout the route, this story culminates in the display of a Mikvah stone — a rare surviving fragment of Jewish life in London before the expulsion of 1290, on loan from the Jewish Museum London.
Early feedback tells us that narrowing the focus has created new clarity and meaning.
Of course, we are not really erasing history — a strategic approach to interpretation means there is plenty of room to tell stories from every era across the whole site. And visitors can of course still gaze out of the windows and time-travel through it all.
The revamped Medieval Palace at the Tower of London is now open. Access is included as part of general admission.
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The Hot List
My curated round-up of what’s NEW to see, do, watch, read and more.
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EXHIBITION
🔵 Emily Kam Kngwarray
Tate Modern, London 🇬🇧 | opens Thursday 10 July, until 11 January 2026
The first ever European exhibition of the celebrated Australian artist. 80 works are on show, all from the very last years of her life. They’re “so compelling” and “seem to teem with life” according to the Times. “They leave the viewer teetering with wonder” say the Guardian. 🔗 find out more
BOOK
🔵 Vincent Namatjira
By Vincent Namatjira | published by Thames & Hudson
Remember the artist who made global headlines when Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart threw a tantrum over his unflattering portrait of her on display at Canberra’s National Gallery? Well now there’s a whole book, the first major monograph of his career. 🔗 buy your copy here
EXHIBITION
🔵 ARTIST ROOMS Louise Bourgeois | Helen Chadwick | Robert Mapplethorpe
Modern One, Edinburgh 🇬🇧 | now open, until 21 Sept 2025
Not one but three new ARTISTS ROOMS displays from the national touring collecion open in Edinburgh. Presentations of the work of Louise Bourgeois, Helen Chadwick and Robert Mapplethorpe explore ideas of self-expression, identity, and the complexity of our inner life. 🔗 discover more
ART TRAIL
🔵 Sculpture in the City 2025
City of London 🇬🇧 | opens 16 July, until summer 2026
The annual outdoor art trail across the Square Mile is back for its 14th edition. The standout highlight this year is Ai Weiwei’s a dramatic cast-iron tree root sculpture at St Botolph without Bishopsgate. It’s moulded from endangered native Brazilian trees. 🔗 discover more
TALK
🔵 In Conversation: Chila Burman
IWM North, Manchester 🇬🇧 | Thursday 31 July, 18:00
Join acclaimed artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman in conversation with IWM's Director General Caro Howell to celebrate Burman’s major new commission for IWM North Chila Welcomes You. Limited edition prints will also be on sale. 🔗 book your place
EXHIBITION
🔵 Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025
National Portrait Gallery, London 🇬🇧 | opens Thursday 10 July, until 12 Oct 2025
The annual painting competition returns. For 2025, 46 captivating portraits from around the world have been selected. Moira Cameron has won this year’s top prize, for a self-portrait which judge Maggi Hambling said “speaks to our eyes and hearts with a confrontational, life-enhancing power.” 🔗 find out more
PODCAST
🔵 The mystery of Francis Bacon’s minder
The Slow Newscast
The latest edition of the Observer’s weekly investigative podcast focuses on the 50-year hunt to find one of Francis Bacon’s few remaining living sitters. Despite years of sleuthing, it was the banners for the National Portrait Gallery’s Bacon retrospective that finally helped unravel the mystery. 🔗 listen here
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Wow the refurbed Medieval Palace sounds like an absolute must-see! Will be checking it out asap. I’ve never actually been to the Tower of London despite having lived in London on and off for 20 years 🫠