In this episode, host Megan Barber interviews Alfred Hawkins, curator at Historic Royal Palaces on his work at the Tower of London. The interview explores the many faceted role of the Tower as a palace, fortress and prison, its rich history and what royal life there was like in different eras.

Guest Bio: Alfred Hawkins is a historian, buildings archaeologist, curator, and broadcaster with a decade of experience working in the commercial archaeology, heritage, and museum sectors. As Curator of Historic Buildings for HM Tower of London, and Cathedral Archaeologist at Salisbury & Portsmouth Cathedrals, he helps to conserve, research, and share the histories of some of Englands most important sites. Alongside overseeing numerous large scale development and conservation projects he regularly makes on screen appearances on various documentaries including Channel 5’s Inside the Tower, Discovery Channel’s Unearthed and BBC’s Digging for Britain.

Select Publications: 

• Hayward, K. M. J., Hawkins, A. R. J., ‘The Spiral Stair in the Norman Flamsteed Turret within the White Tower at HM Tower of London: An Architectural and Petrological Examination’ Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (Forthcoming, 2026)
•  Hawkins, A. R. J., Faillace, K., Madgwick, R., & Sidell, J. (2025). Life, death and worship at his Majestie’s Tower of London: excavations outside the Chapel Royal and Royal Peculiar of Saint Peter ad Vincula. Archaeological Journal, 182(1), 3–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/00665983.2025.2491919
• Alfred Hawkins ‘The Peculiar Case of a Royal Peculiar: A Problem of Faculty at the Tower of London’ in, Ecclesiastical Law Journal, Vol 24 (3) pp. 1-19

Follow Alfred/HRP on Social Media: 

• alfredrjhawkins.bsky.social (BlueSky)
• Alfredrjhawkins_history (instagram)
• ARJ_Hawkins (X)
• HistoricRoyalPalaces on Instagram
• HRP_Palaces / TowerofLondon on X
• historic.royal.palaces on TikTok.