the medieval period. In 1866, the Standards of Weights, Measures, and Coinage Act was passed by Parliament, creating a department of the Board of Trade called the Standard Weights and Measures Department. This department was responsible for maintaining the weights and measures used in the country – in particular, the primary and secondary standards, the physical "master" weights and lengths that other measuring devices could be compared against. The house alongside the Jewel Tower was taken over by the new department in 1869, and the standards and testing equipment were installed in the tower itself, which was felt to be particularly suitable for making scientific measurements, because of its thick walls. The roof, which was in poor condition, was repaired. The ground floor was used as a weighing room and for storing glass fluid measures, the first floor held the standards of length, and the second floor was used as a museum to display old historical equipment. During the coming decades, however, the suitability of the tower for the work of the department came into question. The condition of the roof remained problematic, and steel girders had to be added to support the main timbers. Increasing traffic levels around the tower led to subsidence and high levels of vibration, effecting the operation of the delicate instruments, and worsened after the opening of Lambeth Bridge in 1932. Some of the department's work was transferred to their Bushy House facility in Teddington in the 1920s, and in 1938 the department relinquished the tower altogether. In the Second World War, the tower was hit by an incendiary device dropped by German bombers in 1941. The resulting fire caused significant damage to the roof, destroying much of the original fabric. Post-war and 21st century Restoration The tower was placed into the guardianship of the Ministry of Works in 1948. The ministry carried out extensive repairs, attempting to retain a mixture of the medieval and newer features in the building. They removed the old medieval elm and oak foundations and replaced them with concrete supports, and installed a replacement roof in 1949, removing the first floor entrance and reinstalling the spiral staircase from the ground floor in 1953. The inside of the tower was rendered to hide the traces of the various work. The Jewel Tower was opened for tourists in 1956, and drew between 500 and 800 visitors each week. Between 1954 and 1962,