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The Budden Tower was built as a fortified tower around 1150. The original height was 20m. Shortly before the reign of the Anabaptists in 1533, it served as a prison and in addition from 1598 onwards as a magazine. From 1629 onwards, followed the installation of a 10m high, hexagonal stair tower at the west side as well as the installation of a vault to the height of the stair tower. In the 18th-century, this was further increased and so reached the roof.
When between 1764 and 1767, the town fortification was demolished, the tower remained, as it served also as magazine and this function still performed. Later, from the year 1771 onwards it served, together with the nearby dungeon, also as a prison. The town bought the tower from the military for 3620 Marks in the year 1879. The town then extended the by 20m and added at the same time dismounted the stair tower to use it as a water tower. For that a 500 m³ holding water tank was built in and the tiled roof was replaced with a neo-Gothic pinnacle crown. The preserved measuring scale as well as the downpipes inside the tower recalls this function.
Damages on the Budden Tower, received during the 2nd World War, were restored and then it got a cone-type roof as it was originally. The height was reduced by around 10m to altogether 30m. Afterwards it served as storage facility as well as a control centre for street lighting. This usage by the Stadtwerke Münster was abandoned in the year 1992 and the property went back to the town Münster. In 1987, the last still existing rest of the city wall was encased into a massive steel construction during the Skulptur.Projekte by the artist Susana Solano. The in Münster controversial sculpture has been permanently installed on the west side of the tower. In the year 1997, also in the course of the Skulptur.Projekte, the Budden Tower was the venue of a light installation. The last renovations were done in the year 2002, whereby coquina punks were put on the outer walls and in the year 2003, all wooden parts inside were reconstructed.