£6m to the Tower of London for transformation of learning and community spaces
The Julia Rausing Trust announces a £6m grant to Historic Royal Palaces to support a once-in-a-generation transformation of learning and community spaces at the Tower of London, including the creation of the new Julia Rausing Learning Centre.
For almost 1,000 years, the Tower of London has played a central role in Britain’s history. This investment will enable the UNESCO World Heritage Site to expand opportunities for schools, families and communities to engage with its stories through accessible facilities designed for learning, creativity and community participation.
Designed by Jamie Fobert Architects, the project will create two new learning centres, dedicated community spaces, an Archive Study Centre and a green classroom within the Tower’s Moat. Together, these facilities will provide flexible spaces for hands-on workshops, teacher development, community programmes and live digital learning.
The grant will increase the Tower’s learning capacity by 250%, enabling annual school visits to grow from 125,000 to 200,000 while significantly expanding digital learning and outreach programmes for schools and communities across the UK.
The Trust’s grant will support the conservation and transformation of the historic Waterloo Block into the three-storey Julia Rausing Learning Centre. Designed to meet the needs of today’s learners, the centre will provide flexible teaching spaces, studios, an Interactive Broadcast Studio and a new Archive Study Centre, creating opportunities for deeper engagement with the Tower’s history through curriculum-linked learning, archive access and youth and community projects.
The project forms part of Tomorrow’s Tower, Historic Royal Palaces’ long-term vision to enhance learning, sustainability, conservation, accessibility and the visitor experience, ensuring the Tower continues to inspire future generations.
Simon Fourmy, Chief Executive of The Julia Rausing Trust, said: “Julia Rausing strongly believed that access to education and culture can have a transformative and profound lasting impact on people’s lives. Through the Julia Rausing Learning Centre, many more children and communities will have the opportunity to engage with one of the UK’s most significant historic sites in ways that are interactive, inclusive and accessible. We are proud to support a project that will broaden access to learning while helping to preserve the Tower’s remarkable heritage for future generations.”
John Barnes, Chief Executive of Historic Royal Palaces, said: “The Tower of London should be a place of learning, discovery and connection for everyone, and Tomorrow’s Tower is our long‑term commitment to making that happen. This investment in schools and learning is an important first step, within a wider programme that also addresses sustainability, visitor experience, conservation and access. Thanks to the generosity of our funders, we are opening the Tower up more widely, so future generations can understand why its stories still matter.”
16th July 2026