All Hallows-by-the-Tower Crypt Museum
London’s oldest surviving City church (AD 675) hides a compact archaeological tunnel under the nave. A Roman pavement, Saxon fragments and wartime scars fold two millennia into a 30-minute visit—perfect after the Tower of London for context and quiet.
Opening Hours
What's not to miss inside?
Roman Pavement
London before London (the church)A section of 2nd-century floor survived fires, bombs and rebuilding—stone that remembers markets and sandals.
📍 Crypt museum, lower level
Saxon & Medieval Finds
The church’s first centuriesCarved stones and everyday objects tie the site to Barking Abbey’s foundation and early City life.
📍 Cases beside the pavement
Pepys & the Great Fire
Eyewitness to 1666Samuel Pepys watched the Fire from the church tower; the building later helped the City rebuild its memory.
📍 Main church, interpretive panels
William Penn Connection
Transatlantic threadThe founder of Pennsylvania was baptised here—London’s parish story reaching the New World.
📍 Nave displays
Inspire your Friends
- Founded in AD 675 by the nuns of Barking Abbey, the church predates the Tower of London by centuries.
- A Roman road surface lies under the crypt—your Tower Hill footsteps align with Londinium traffic.
- Samuel Pepys climbed the tower to witness the Great Fire—and later recorded it in the diary that made him famous.
