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BT Tower
BT Tower in 2022
Record height
Tallest in the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1980
Preceded by	Millbank Tower
Surpassed by	Tower 42
General information
Type	Offices
Location	London, W1T United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°31′17″N 0°08′20″W / 51.5215°N 0.1389°W / 51.5215; -0.1389
Construction started	1961
Completed	1964
Owner	British Telecommunications plc
Height
Antenna spire	620 feet (189 m)
Roof	581 feet (177 m)
Technical details
Floor count	37
Lifts/elevators	2
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Eric Bedford
Main contractor	Peter Lind & Company

The BT Tower is a grade II listed communications tower in Fitzrovia, London, England, owned by BT Group. It has also been known as the GPO Tower, the Post Office Tower, and the Telecom Tower. The main structure is 581 feet (177 m) high, with aerial rigging bringing the total height to 620 feet (189 m).

Upon completion in 1964, it overtook the Millbank Tower as the tallest structure in London until 1980, when it was overtaken by the NatWest Tower. It was opened in 1965 by Prime Minister Harold Wilson. A 360° coloured LED screen near the top of the tower displays news across central London.

In February 2024, the sale of the tower to MCR Hotels, was announced.

History

Design and construction

The tower was commissioned by the GPO. Its primary purpose was to support the microwave aerials then used to carry telecommunications traffic from London to the rest of the country, as part of the GPO microwave network.

It replaced a shorter, 1940s steel lattice 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 stations Harrow Weald, Bagshot, Kelvedon Hatch and Fairseat, and locations including the London Air Traffic Control Centre.

The tower was designed by the Ministry of Public Building and Works, chiefly architects Eric 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.

Construction began in June 1961; owing to the building's height and its having a tower crane jib 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 the Minister 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." Construction reached 475 ft by August 1963. The revolving restaurant was prefabricated by Ransomes & Rapier. The steel lattice was made by Stewarts & Lloyds subsidiary Tubewrights Ltd of Kirkby Industrial Estate.

The tower was topped out on 15 July 1964, by Geoffrey Rippon and inaugurated by Prime Minister Harold Wilson on 8 October 1965. The main contractor was Peter Lind & Company.

The tower was originally designed to be just 111 metres (364 ft) high; its foundations are sunk down through 53 metres (174 ft) of London 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.

Initially, the first 16 floors were for technical equipment and power. Above that was a 35-metre (115 ft) section for the microwave aerials, then six floors of suites, kitchens, technical equipment, a revolving restaurant, and finally a cantilevered steel lattice tower. The construction cost was £2.5 million.

The first microwave link would be to Norwich on 1 January 1965. The Met Office put a weather radar on top of the tower. Much of the telecommunications equipment was made by GEC. The stainless steel clad windows were made by Henry Hope & Sons Ltd.

Opening

The tower was opened to the public on 19 May 1966, by Postmaster General, Anthony Wedgewood Benn and Billy Butlin, with HM Queen Elizabeth II having visited on 17 May 1966.

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 and meals cost about £4.

In the first year there were nearly one million visitors, and over 100,000 diners.

Bombing

A bomb exploded in the roof of the men's toilets at the Top of the Tower restaurant at 04:30 on 31 October 1971, the blast damaged buildings and cars up to 400 yards (370 m) away. Responsibility for the bomb was claimed by members of the Angry Brigade, a far-left anarchist collective. A call was also made by a person claiming to be the Kilburn Battalion of the IRA.

The restaurant was closed to the general public following the 1971 bombing. In 1980, Butlins' restaurant lease expired.

The tower has been used for events including a children's Christmas party and Children in Need 2010. It retains the revolving floor.

Recent

The tower's microwave aerials remained in use into the 21st century, connected to subterranean optical fibre links.

A renovation in the early 2000s introduced a 360° coloured lighting display at the top of the tower. Seven colours were programmed to vary constantly at night and intended to appear as a rotating globe to reflect BT's "connected world" corporate styling. The coloured lights give the tower a conspicuous presence on the London skyline at night.

In October 2009, a 360° full-colour LED-based display system was installed at the top of the tower, to replace the previous colour projection system. The new display, referred to by BT as the "Information Band", is wrapped around the 36th and 37th floors of the tower, 167 m (548 ft) up, and comprises 529,750 LEDs arranged in 177 vertical strips, spaced around the tower. The display was the largest of its type in the world, occupying an area of 280 m (3,000 sq ft) and with a circumference of 59 m (194 ft). The display is switched off at 10:30pm each day. On 31 October 2009, the screen began displaying a countdown of the number of days until the start of the London Olympics in 2012. In April 2019, the display spent almost a day displaying a Windows 7 error message.

In October 2009, The Times reported that the revolving restaurant would be reopened in time for the 2012 London Olympics. However, in December 2010, it was further announced that the plans to reopen had now been "quietly dropped", with no explanation of the decision. 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.

The BT Tower was given Grade II listed building status in 2003. 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 the removal of the defunct antennae was approved in 2011 on safety grounds, as they were in a bad state of repair and the fixings were no longer secure. The last of the antennae was removed in December 2011, leaving the core of the tower visible.

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 the Express Lift Company of Northampton, but it has since been replaced by new elevators manufactured by ThyssenKrupp. 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. In the 1960s an Act of Parliament was passed to vary fire regulations, allowing the building to be evacuated by using the lifts – unlike other buildings of the time.

In 2006, the tower began to be used for short-term air-quality observations by the UK 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. 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.

On 21 February 2024, BT Group announced the sale of BT Tower to MCR Hotels, who plan to preserve the tower as a hotel.

In popular culture

The tower has appeared in novels, films and on television, including Smashing Time, The Bourne Ultimatum, Space Patrol, Doctor Who, V for Vendetta, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, The Union and Danger Mouse. It is toppled by a giant kitten in the The Goodies 1971 King Kong parody Kitten Kong.

It was referenced by the Dudley Moore Trio's track GPO Tower used in the soundtrack for Bedazzled in which it also appeared.

Two stamps depicting the tower, designed by Clive Abbott (born 1933), were issued in 1965.

Races

The first documented race up the tower's stairs was on 18 April 1968, between University College London and Edinburgh University; it was won by an Edinburgh runner in 4 minutes, 46 seconds.

In 1969, eight university teams competed. John Pearson from Victoria University of Manchester was fastest in 5 minutes, 6 seconds.

Secrecy

Information about the tower was designated an official secret and in 1978, journalist Duncan Campbell was tried for collecting information about such locations. The judge ordered the tower could only be referred to as 'Location 23'.

It is often said that the tower did not appear on Ordnance Survey maps, despite being a 177-metre (581 ft) tall structure in the middle of central London that had been open to the public. However, this is incorrect; the 1971 1:25,000 and 1981 1:10,000 Ordnance Survey maps show the tower as does the 1984 London A–Z street atlas.

In February 1993, MP Kate Hoey used the tower as an example of trivia being kept secret, and joked that she hoped parliamentary privilege allowed her to confirm that the tower existed and to state its street address.

Gallery

• BT Tower under construction in the 1960s
• View of the British Museum and the Thames from the BT Tower, 1966
• BT Tower in 1970
• BT Tower from Queen's Tower, 2007
• Top of BT Tower from the London Eye

See also

• List of masts
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Great Britain
• List of towers
• List of tallest buildings and structures in London
• Telecommunications towers in the UK

References

1. ^ "BT Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
2. ^ "We take an exclusive look behind the scenes at the BT Tower". Retrieved 18 May 2020.
3. Perkin, George (ed) (1968) Concrete in Architecture, London: The Cement and Concrete Association
4. "BT Communication Tower, Cleveland Mews". Historic England. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
5. "BT Tower among icons of technology". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
6. "Royal baby: London's BT Tower celebrates royal birth with 'It's a girl' message". IB Times. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
7. "BT Tower lights up with 'It's a Girl' in pink". ITV. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
8. ^ Kolirin, Lianne (21 February 2024). "The BT Tower, London's futuristic landmark, to become hotel". CNN. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
9. Belfast Telegraph Thursday 2 February 1961, page 10
10. "Post Office Tower (Crane)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 2 August 1963. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
11. Daily Herald Friday 1 November 1963, page 8
12. Birmingham Daily Post Wednesday 7 October 1964, page 7
13. Coventry Evening Telegraph Wednesday 15 July 1964, page 40
14. "BT Tower". lightstraw.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
15. "BT Tower: serving the nation 24 hours a day", BT, 1993
16. Liverpool Echo Thursday 1 October 1964, page 8
17. Coventry Evening Telegraph Friday 8 October 1965, page 63
18. Birmingham Daily Post Monday 26 July 1965, page 24
19. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Post Office Tower Opening (1966)". YouTube. British Pathe. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
20. "Post Office Tower – 18 May 1966, Volume 728". Hansard. Parliament. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
21. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Queen Enjoys View From The Top". British Pathe. 17 May 1966. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
22. "Look at Life - Eating high, 1966". YouTube. September 2011.
23. Liverpool Daily Post Wednesday 3 June 1964, page 14
24. The Tatler Saturday 17 September 1966, page 51
25. ^ "Events in telecommunications history". BT plc. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
26. Glancey, Jonathan (7 October 2005). "The great communicator". Retrieved 20 October 2018.
27. "1971: Bomb explodes in Post Office tower". BBC News. 31 October 1971. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
28. "Bangor Daily News". news.google.com. Retrieved 21 April 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
29. "BBC ON THIS DAY – 31 – 1971: Bomb explodes in Post Office tower". BBC News. 3 April 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
30. "BT Tower to open for first time in 29 years". theregister.co.uk. 16 August 2010.
31. "BT Tower of power: World's biggest LED screen set to light up the night". 31 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
32. Thomson, Iain. "BT Tower broadcasts error message to the nation as Windows displays admin's shame". www.theregister.co.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
33. Goodman, Matthew (1 November 2009). "High times as BT reopens its revolving restaurant". The Times. London. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
34. "BT Tower Restaurant Won't Re-Open". Londonist. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
35. "Celebrating BT Tower's 50 ingenious years – come and visit the top of the BT Tower!". Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
36. "Honour for Post Office Tower". BBC News. 26 March 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
37. "London's BT Tower to lose dish-shaped aerials". BBC News. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
38. "Engineers remove microwave dishes from the BT Tower in London". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
39. "BT TOWER LIFT REMOVAL". Liftout - Corporate Site. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
40. "London Telecom Tower". Retrieved 18 March 2011.
41. Helfter, Dr Carole (28 June 2018). "BT Tower (London, UK): an urban atmospheric pollution observatory". UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
42. "Research provides quality check on air pollution strategy". UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
43. "BT Tower in pollution study". Retrieved 8 November 2007.
44. Laursen, Christian Moess. "BT Group Sells London's BT Tower for $347 Million to MCR Hotels". WSJ. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
45. Warren, Jess (21 February 2024). "BT Tower: 'Iconic' landmark to be turned into a hotel after £275m sale". BBC News. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
46. "Golden opportunity to relive 60s and dine at top of BT Tower". The Guardian. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
47. Jury, Louise (19 June 2015). "The BT Tower restaurant is going to reopen this summer!". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
48. "The Tower and the Glory: The BT Tower on Film (1960s parties and The Queen goes for a spin…) – British Pathé and the Reuters historical collection". www.britishpathe.com. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
49. "Discogs - Bedazzled". Discogs. 1968. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
50. West Lothian Courier Friday 6 August 1965, page 9
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53. "GPO Tower Race To Top 1969". British Pathe. 23 January 1969. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
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58. "Column 634". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 19 February 1993.

External links

• BT Tower (1964) at Structurae. Retrieved on 21 January 2015.

v t e BT Group
Divisions and subsidiaries	Current BT Consumer BT Business and Public Sector BT Global Services BT Wholesale and Ventures BT Research Openreach EE Plusnet BT Ireland BT Italia Former BT Marine dabs.com Hibu Madasafish merged into Plusnet Manx Telecom O2 (UK) O2 (Ireland) O2 (Germany) Ribbit Concert Communications Services Telecomsoft Tymnet International Network Services Dialcom Telfort LineOne Swindon Cable 6GMOBILE Open....
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Buildings and facilities	Current Adastral Park Baynard House BT Centre BT Tower (London) BT Tower (Birmingham) BT Tower (Swansea) BT Riverside Tower Stadium House Charwelton BT Tower Faraday Building Goonhilly Cornwall Guardian Exchange Manchester Madley Communications Centre National Network Management Centre Peterborough transmitting station Zouches Farm transmitting station Heaton Park BT Tower Purdown BT Tower Pye Green BT Tower Stokenchurch BT Tower Sutton Common BT Tower Tinshill BT Tower Tolsford Hill BT Tower Wotton-under-Edge BT Tower Red telephone box KX telephone boxes LinkUK Former Anchor telephone exchange Bletchley Park CS Sovereign Horwood House Kingsway telephone exchange Leafield Technical Centre Mondial House Stag Lane Aerodrome Marland House Sheffield Telephone House Post Office Research Station Portishead Radio Criggion Radio Station Rugby Radio Station Microwave network TAT-1 TAT-8 TAT-9 TAT-14 CANTAT-2 SAT-2 UK-Belgium 5
Programmes and standards	Current BT 21CN BT site engineering code BT Speaking Clock British telephone socket Cable jetting Customer Service System Advanced Mobile Location Digital Access Carrier System Digital Access Signalling System 2 System X System Y ADSL Max Redcare 1-5-7-1 YouView Defunct Digital Access Signalling System 1 Digital Private Network Signalling System Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance Go!Messenger International Packet Switched Service NHSnet N3 (NHS) Packet Switch Stream Prestel TXE TXK
History	BT Group General Post Office Electric Telegraph Company
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Category Commons

• British Telecom buildings and structures
• BT Group
• Butlins
• Communication towers in the United Kingdom
• Fitzrovia
• General Post Office
• Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden
• Observation towers in the United Kingdom
• Radio masts and towers in Europe
• Skyscraper office buildings in London
• Skyscrapers in the London Borough of Camden
• Towers completed in 1964
• Towers in London
• Towers with revolving restaurants
• Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Camden