Custom House
Revitalising a Grade 1-listed landmark on the City riverside
A reason for refurbishment Despite the City of London being home to many Grade 1-listed buildings, any modifications to these sensitive structures are closely scrutinised. We came to the Custom House project after previous proposals had been refused, so much of our role was about rebuilding bridges with planners, locals, heritage groups and authorities, demonstrating that by letting the building itself take the lead, we could give it new life.
A fortified Custom House, built on the site of the 14th-century medieval original. With turrets and minimal access points, its architecture reflects the value of Customs and the historic threat of pillaging.
1762 Roque plan showing Custom House in its previous location adjacent to the present site.
Thomas Ripley’s 1725 Custom House draws heavily from Wren’s 1669 design, echoing features like the three-bay composition, projecting porticos, and a prominent river-facing façade. Wren’s earlier classical design replaced the Custom House lost in the Great Fire of London.
1875 OS Plan showing the addition of a ‘Museum and Library’ within the Custom House, reflecting a period of modest internal adaptations. Public access to the site was encouraged via the quay, which served as a popular promenade along the Thames.
1951 OS Plan showing the extent of damage of WWII. The east wing wasn’t rebuilt until 1966 so lay in ruin for over 20 years.
1966 East Wing Rebuilding – While the outward-facing elevation of the East Wing replicates the original design, the internal courtyard façade consists of concrete, glass, and brick infill panels.
This façade offers little thermal performance and does not reflect the quality of the building’s exterior. A new design will enhance both the aesthetic and environmental performance of this part of the building.
Hotel brief Custom House is the latest in a series of buildings from which maritime trade on the Thames has been regulated for almost a thousand years. Sitting just west of the Tower of London, its grandest elevation is onto the river. For many foreign visitors, this would have been their first experience of a British building, and it was designed to feel imposing both to impress and to discourage any illegal activities. With HMRC moving out in 2021, our client gave us a simple brief to investigate how it could be refurbished as a hotel – and specifically how we could maximise the number of rooms without diminishing its heritage value.
In 1660 Wren’s classical Custom House is completed and is the first Custom House version demonstrating a 3 bay typology, with porticos and a prominent river facing facade. His design replaced the previous Custom House destroyed in the Fire of London.
Custom House in 1817.
Laing’s principal elevation of Plymouth’s Custom House, completed in 1820 -Custom Houses were established at major ports to regulate trade, collect duties, and combat smuggling. Following the mid-17th century Navigation Acts, these imposing, fortified buildings became central to controlling maritime commerce on land.
An interior view of the Long Room showing Laing’s use of the Soanian dome.
Complex canvas Behind the grand riverfront façade, Custom House is a relatively functional, stripped back building. Talking to people who had worked there, we began to unpick the different types of spaces. The east wing, rebuilt after significant bomb damage, had less original fabric and therefore the potential for more robust interventions – and we located most of the hotel rooms here. The larger formal rooms to the centre of the layout are more suited for special functions, whereas the intact west wing needed to be treated with a much lighter touch. Throughout, our strategy has been to remove unsympathetic later additions so the building can be read as originally intended.
Cultural offer The project also presented an opportunity to take a formerly inaccessible building and open it up as a place for all Londoners, reinforcing the City’s cultural offer. Our design creates a new north-south route through the building with exhibitions, displays and food and drink outlets. The oldest part of the building – the west wing – will have a lounge and library, and a café overlooking the Thames. On the waterfront itself, the large forecourt will be opened up for the first time, filling a missing section of public realm on the Thames’ north bank.
Site sketch illustrating the site's proximity to key London landmarks, major thoroughfares, and significant viewpoints.
Axonometric drawing showing the newly established ground floor route through the building, connecting Lower Thames Street to the Thames for the first time and linking key spaces including the King’s Warehouse and riverside café.
Tide Waiters Room
Great Stair Reception
Kings Warehouse
Basement Vaults
Laings Kings Warehouse book scan.
East wing Behind the façade, there is little of historical significance in the east wing, so we propose to reconfigure this with a double-stacked corridor of hotel rooms around a central courtyard, reflecting the building’s original proportions. A new lift core will run up the centre with lightweight bridge links to the hotel rooms. With some rooms looking out onto this lightwell space, we have lined them with a glazed curtain wall which has fritted areas for privacy, and wrapped the core with solid, reflective glazed ceramic tiles.
Existing blind box on the west elevation.
1828 Custom House engraving by RG Reeve.
Blinds are added to the east and west wings to reduce solar gain in south-facing bedrooms. New quayside entrances reuse existing window openings, including a historic doorway in the west wing.
Discreet hotel signage is integrated within the reveals of existing openings, maintaining the architectural integrity of the façade while providing essential wayfinding for visitors.
Historic elements are reinstated, including the east steps central crane, with external fixtures such as the original lampposts refurbished to enhance and preserve the site’s heritage character.
The proposed introduction of blinds to the south façade of the Custom House reflects best practice in passive solar control—balancing heritage sensitivity with environmental performance.
Proposed section and elevation of the external blinds.
Proposed image of new windows and blinds on the south façade
Location
Tower Hill, London
Client
Jastar Capital
Date
Planning submitted
Borough
City of London