Great Tower Street is located at the near eastern edge of the City of London, just before Tower Hill. Bordered by larger modern office buildings to the north, and their smaller Victorian-era counterparts to the west, the area itself is made up of a mixture of brick and glass modern offices which are divided by Lower Thames Street and Byward Street, two major thoroughfares. The western portion, as mentioned, comprises mainly of brick structures, with some older Victorian builds in between. Closeby sits St. Dunstan in the East Church, which has a small cosy garden, giving the area a coherent character. Small lanes weave between the office buildings, which are well-connected by main streets. The eastern portion comprises the ancient All Hallows by the Tower Church - the oldest church in the City of London – as well as the gigantic Tower Place West and Tower Place East glass office building complex. Cheval Three Quays is the only river-facing building in the neighbourhood area, a serviced apartment and 5-star hotel building. The area is extremely walkable and open, and is connected to the Tower of London, which lies directly to the east of this area.

All Hallows by the Tower, as previously mentioned, is the oldest church in the City of London. Founded by the Abbey of Barking in 675, it predates the Tower of London by 300 years. An arch from this time can still be seen today; though this is not the oldest artefact on site – there is a 2nd century Roman pavement dating back 2000 years. The church was one of the few which survived the Great Fire of London, despite it starting only a few hundred metres from the church; it would later suffer during the Blitz, with only its tower and walls remaining, and was then rebuilt following the war.

All Hallows has had many famous occupants throughout its long and rich history. Samuel Pepys witnessed the Great Fire of London ravaging the city from the church tower, and surprising characters such as John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, got married at the church in 1797. Another character associated with the States is William Penn, who founded the colony of Pennsylvania – he was baptised at the church on 23 October 1644.

Underneath the Brutalist building on 101 Lower Thames Street lies Billingsgate Roman House and Baths. Rediscovered in 1848 during the Coal Exchange, the house was probably rst built in the late 2nd century – when it would’ve had a waterfront location with access to the river (the Thames was wider back then). A bath house would be added in the 3rd century, with a cold, warm and hot room. It is one of the few buildings which remained in use into the 5th century, after the Romans left Londinium.

This neighbourhood consists primarily of large office buildings, cut off from the City by Lower Thames Road, and is thus more connected to the Tower of London area, which provides easy pedestrian access. However, for out-of-town commuters, access to the nearby terminals may be more difficult as compared to other locations in the City.

This neighbourhood comprises mostly modern office buildings as well as ancient scheduled monuments, which means that the area is unlikely to change in character in the near future. This is particularly true as the nearby Tower of London acts as an anchor to the area’s vibe and pedestrian facilities.

Recently the completion of the Sugar Quay development on nearby One Water Lane has helped add to the already expansive riverside pedestrian environment. In 2021 Tower Hamlets Council heard proposals from the Chinese Government, along with David Chipperfield Architects, to turn the Royal Mint Court into the new Chinese Embassy in London. While previous schemes had sought to turn the site, which is a couple of hundred metres east of Great Tower Street itself, into a hub for technology and computing companies, the embassy plans have superseded this scheme.