| BT Tower | |
|---|---|
.jpg) BT Tower in 2022 | |
 Interactive map of BT Tower | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in theUnited Kingdom from 1964 to 1980[I] | |
| Preceded by | Millbank Tower |
| Surpassed by | NatWest Tower |
| General information | |
| Type | Offices[1] |
| Location | London,W1T United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°31′17″N0°08′20″W / 51.5215°N 0.1389°W /51.5215; -0.1389 |
| Construction started | 1961 |
| Completed | 1964[1] |
| Owner | MCR Hotels |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 189 metres (620 ft)[2] |
| Roof | 177 metres (581 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 37 |
| Lifts/elevators | 2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Eric Bedford |
| Main contractor | Peter Lind & Company |
TheBT Communication Tower,[3] more commonly known as theBT Tower, is aGrade II listedcommunications tower inFitzrovia,London,England, owned byBT Group. It has also been known as theGPO Tower, thePost Office Tower,[4] and theTelecom Tower. The main structure is 177 metres (581 ft) high, with aerial rigging bringing the total height to 189 metres (620 ft).[2]
Upon completion in 1964, it was thetallest structure in London and remained so until 1980.Butlins managed arevolving restaurant in the tower from 1966 until 1980.[5] A 360°LED screen displays news across central London.[6]
The BT Tower was sold toMCR Hotels in 2024.[7]
The tower was commissioned by theGPO. Its primary purpose was to support themicrowaveaerials then used to carry telecommunications traffic from London to the rest of the country, as part of theGPO microwave network.[8]
It replaced a shorter, 1940s steellattice tower on the roof of the neighbouring Museum Telephone Exchange. The taller structure was required to protect the radio links'line of sight against tall buildings then planned in London. Links were routed via GPO microwave stationsHarrow Weald,Bagshot,Kelvedon Hatch andFairseat, and locations including theLondon Air Traffic Control Centre.[9][10]
The tower was designed by theMinistry of Public Building and Works, under chief architectsEric Bedford and G R Yeats. Typical for its time, the building is concrete clad in glass. The narrow cylindrical shape was chosen as a stable platform for microwave aerials. It shifts no more than 25 centimetres (10 in) in wind speeds of up to 150 km/h (95 mph). To prevent overheating, the glass cladding had to be tinted.[11]
Construction began in June 1961; owing to the building's height and its having a tower cranejib across the top virtually throughout the whole construction period, it gradually became a very prominent landmark that could be seen from almost anywhere in London. A question was raised in Parliament in August 1963 about the crane.Reginald Bennett MP asked theMinister of Public Buildings and Works,Geoffrey Rippon, how, when the crane on the top of the new Tower had fulfilled its purpose, he proposed to remove it. Rippon replied: "This is a matter for the contractors. The problem does not have to be solved for about a year but there appears to be no danger of the crane having to be left in situ."[12] Construction reached 475 ft by August 1963. The revolving restaurant was prefabricated byRansomes & Rapier[13] and the lattice tower byStewarts & Lloyds subsidiary Tubewrights.[14]
The tower wastopped out on 15 July 1964, by Geoffrey Rippon[15] and inaugurated by Prime MinisterHarold Wilson on 8 October 1965. Themain contractor wasPeter Lind & Company.[16]
The tower was originally designed to be just 111 metres (364 ft) high; its foundations are sunk down through 53 metres (174 ft) ofLondon clay, and are formed of a concrete raft 27 metres (89 ft) square, 1 metre (3 ft) thick, reinforced with six layers of cables, on top of which sits a reinforced concrete pyramid.[17]
Initially, the first 16 floors were for technical equipment and power. Above that was a 35-metre (115 ft) section for themicrowave aerials, then six floors of suites, a revolving restaurant, kitchens, technical equipment, and finally acantilevered steel lattice tower. The construction cost was £2.5 million.[11]
The first microwave link was toNorwich on 1 January 1965. TheMet Office put a weather radar on top of the tower.[18] Much of the telecommunications equipment was made byGEC.[19] The stainless steel clad windows were made byHenry Hope & Sons Ltd.[20]
The tower was opened to the public on 19 May 1966, byPostmaster General,Anthony Wedgwood Benn andBilly Butlin,[21][22] withHM Queen Elizabeth II having visited on 17 May 1966.[23]
As well as communications equipment and office space, there were viewing galleries and a souvenir shop.Butlins' Top of the Tower revolving restaurant on the 34th floor made one revolution every 23 minutes[24][25] and meals cost about £4[26] (equivalent to £90 in 2023[27]).
In the first year there were nearly one million visitors,[28] and over 100,000 diners.[29]
A bomb exploded in the ceiling of the men's toilets at the Top of the Tower restaurant at 04:30 on 31 October 1971;[28] the blast damaged buildings and cars up to 400 yards (370 m) away.[30] Responsibility for the bomb was claimed by members ofthe Angry Brigade, a far-leftanarchist collective.[31] A call was also made by a person claiming to be the Kilburn Battalion of theIRA.[32]
The tower for visiting was closed to the general public following the 1971 bombing, but the restaurant reopened. In 1980, Butlins' restaurant lease expired.[33]
The tower has been used for events including a children's Christmas party andChildren in Need 2010.[34] It retains the revolving floor.[35]
The tower's microwave aerials remain in use into the 21st century, connected tosubterraneanoptical fibre links.[36]
In 2009, a 360° coloured screen was installed 167 m (548 ft) up, over the 36 and 37th floors of the tower. It replaced an earlier light projection system and incorporated 529,750LEDs arranged in 177 vertical strips around the tower. It was then the largest of its type in the world,[37] occupying an area of 280 m2 (3,000 sq ft) and with a circumference of 59 m (194 ft). It displayed a countdown of the number of days until the start of the2012 Summer Olympics.[38][39]
In April 2019, the screen broadcast aWindows 7 error message for almost a day.[40]
In October 2009,The Times reported that the revolving restaurant would be reopened in time for the 2012 London Olympics.[41] However, in December 2010, it was noted those plans had been "quietly dropped".[42]
For the tower's 50th anniversary, the 34th floor was opened for three days from 3 to 5 October 2015 to 2,400 winners of a lottery.[43]
The BT Tower was given Grade IIlisted building status in 2003.[44] Several of the defunct antennae attached to the building were protected by this listing, meaning they could not be removed unless the appropriate listed building consent was granted. Permission for their removal was given in 2011 on safety grounds, as they were in a bad state of repair and the fixings were no longer secure.[45] The last of the antennae was removed in December 2011, leaving the core of the tower visible.[46]
Entry to the building is by two high-speed lifts, which travel at a top speed of 1400 feet per minute (7 metres per second (15.7 mph)) and reach the top of the building in under 30 seconds. The original equipment was installed by theExpress Lift Company, but it has since been replaced by elevators manufactured byThyssenKrupp. Due to the confined space in the tower's core, removing the motors of the old lifts involved creating an access hole in the cast iron shaft wall, and then cutting the 3-ton winch machines into pieces and bringing them down in one of the functioning lifts.[47] In the 1960s anAct of Parliament was passed to vary fire regulations, allowing the building to be evacuated by using the lifts – unlike other buildings of the time.[48]
In 2006, the tower began to be used for short-term air-quality observations by theUK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and this has continued in a more permanent form as BT Tower Observatory, an urban atmospheric pollution observatory to help monitor air quality in the capital.[49][50] The aim is to measure pollutant levels above ground level to determine their source. One area of investigation is the long-range transport of fine particles from outside the city.[51]
On 21 February 2024, BT Group announced the sale of BT Tower toMCR Hotels, who plan to retain the tower as a hotel.[52][53][54]
The tower has appeared in novels, films and on television, includingSmashing Time,The Bourne Ultimatum,Space Patrol,Doctor Who,V for Vendetta,28 Days Later,28 Weeks Later,The Union andDanger Mouse. It is toppled by a giant kitten inThe Goodies 1971King Kong parodyKitten Kong.[55][56][57]
It was referenced by theDudley Moore Trio's track "GPO Tower" used in the soundtrack forBedazzled in which it also appeared[58], as well asCressida's track "Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye", released on theAsylum album in 1971.[59]
Two stamps depicting the tower, designed by Clive Abbott (1933–2008), were issued in 1965.[60][61]
The first documented race up the tower's stairs was on 18 April 1968, betweenUniversity College London andEdinburgh University; it was won by an Edinburgh runner in 4 minutes, 46 seconds.[62]
In 1969, eight university teams competed. John Pearson fromVictoria University of Manchester was fastest in 5 minutes, 6 seconds.[63]
In May 1969, the tops of the GPO Tower and theEmpire State Building inNew York City served as the start and finish lines of theDaily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race. The race between the two buildings was held over an eight-day period and commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first non-stoptransatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown. A total of 21 prizes were offered to entrants for categories based on the type of aircraft they utilised and their direction of travel.[64][65]
Information about the tower was designated anofficial secret and in 1978, journalistDuncan Campbell wastried for collecting information about such locations. The judge ordered the tower could only be referred to as "Location 23".[66]
It is often said that the tower did not appear onOrdnance Survey maps, despite being a 177-metre (581 ft) tall structure in the middle of central London that had been open to the public.[67] However, this is incorrect; the 1971 1:25,000 and 1981 1:10,000 Ordnance Survey maps show the tower[68] as does the 1984London A–Z street atlas.[69]
In February 1993, MPKate Hoey used the tower as an example of trivia being kept secret, and joked that she hopedparliamentary privilege allowed her to confirm that the tower existed and to state its street address.[70]
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| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Tallest Building in the United Kingdom 1967–1980 177 m | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Tallest Building in London 1967–1980 177 m | Succeeded by |
