Tall buildings in London

At , St Paul's Cathedral was the tallest building in London from 1710 until it was eventually surpassed by the 118 metre (387 ft) Millbank Tower in 1963. This in turn was overtaken by the BT Tower at tall in 1964. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s several high-rise buildings were built, mostly in the western side of Central London and the City of London. In 1980, the 183 metre (600 ft) NatWest Tower (now Tower 42) was completed in the City of London. In 1991, One Canada Square was topped-out at , becoming the centrepiece of the Canary Wharf development.

The 2000s saw the beginnings of a boom in skyscraper building, mostly in the City of London and Canary Wharf. Since 2012, the tallest building in London has been The Shard at London Bridge, which was topped out at . There are several tall buildings planned for the City and Canary Wharf, with further clusters emerging in other districts of London including: Stratford, the South Bank, Elephant and Castle, Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Islington, Lewisham as well as in places in Outer London such as Croydon.

As of 2022, there are 121 buildings or structures that are at least tall in the Greater London metropolitan area, with 24 of these being in the City of London and 27 being in the Canary Wharf / Isle of Dogs district. The Greater London metropolitan area contains the second most skyscrapers of any city in Europe after Moscow. There are 42 skyscrapers in Greater London that reach a roof height of at least .

History

Medieval and early modern period

The history of tall structures in London began with the completion of the White Tower, a part of the Tower of London, in 1098. The first structure to surpass a height of was the Old St Paul's Cathedral. Completed in 1310, it stood at a height of . St Paul's was the world's tallest structure until 1311, when its height was surpassed by Lincoln Cathedral in Lincoln. It regained the title when the spire of Lincoln Cathedral fell in 1549.

Although the spire of the Old St Paul's was destroyed by lightning in 1561, it still stood as the tallest structure in London, while the world's tallest structure became Strasbourg Cathedral in Strasbourg, France. St Paul's was severely damaged by the Great Fire of London in 1666. The title of the tallest structure in London passed to Southwark Cathedral, which stands at a height of and no structure in London again rose above 100 metres until 1710, when the current St Paul's Cathedral was completed at , becoming London's tallest building.

Late 1800s

Few skyscrapers were built in London before the late 20th century, owing to restrictions on building heights originally imposed by the London Building Act 1894 ( 57 & 58 Vict. c. ccxiii), which followed the construction of the 14-storey Queen Anne's Mansions. Though restrictions have long since been eased, harsh regulations remain to preserve protected views, especially those of St Paul's, the Tower of London and Palace of Westminster, as well as to comply with the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority.

1960s and 1970s

The lifting of height restrictions caused a boom in the construction of tall buildings during the 1960s. St Paul's Cathedral remained as London's tallest building until it was overtaken in 1963 by the Millbank Tower at , which in turn was overtaken by the BT Tower which topped out just one year later in 1964 at and officially opened in 1965 (then known as the Post Office Tower). One of London's first notable tall buildings was the Centre Point, completed in 1966.

Others completed in the 1960s include: the Empress State Building at in 1961, the Shell Centre at in 1961, the London Hilton at in 1963, Portland House at in 1963, and Euston Tower at in 1970, all built on the west side of Central London. In 1969, St. Helen's at was completed in the City of London, along with Britannic House in 1967 at 122 metres (400 ft), but the latter was refurbished in 2000, increased to 127m in height and renamed Citypoint. Cromwell Tower, completed in 1973, Lauderdale Tower, completed in 1974 and Shakespeare Tower, completed in 1976, all at , were built as part of the Barbican Estate in the northern part of the City of London.

1980s, 1990s and 2000s

The NatWest Tower, later renamed Tower 42, was completed in 1980, which at and 42 storeys, was considered the first "skyscraper" in the City of London. Its height was controversial, being contrary to the previous height restrictions, it was the tallest building in the United Kingdom at the time and also the tallest cantilever building in the world. Following an over ten-year gap, One Canada Square was completed in 1991 at and formed the centrepiece of the Canary Wharf development, which itself is part of the Isle of Dogs and can be considered the east-side of Central London. At 50 storeys, it became the tallest building in the United Kingdom.

With the encouragement of Ken Livingstone who was Mayor of London from 2000 to 2008, a renewed trend for building tall was established in the 2000s.

Following another over 10-year gap, 8 Canada Square and 25 Canada Square, both standing at , were completed at Canary Wharf in 2002. Several others of a smaller height followed at Canary Wharf including: Heron Quays, 40 Bank Street in 2003 at , 10 Upper Bank Street in 2003 at , and 25 Bank Street in 2004 at . In the City of London, The Gherkin was completed in 2003 at , Heron Tower in 2007 at , and the Broadgate Tower in 2008 at . Notably, some of the awards given to 30 St Mary Axe include the Emporis Skyscraper Award in 2003 and the RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2004.

2010s to present

Boris Johnson, who was Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, approved the construction of more skyscrapers in London.

At the time of its completion in 2010, Strata SE1 was the tallest residential building in London. The Shard topped out in 2012 at London Bridge and at remains London's tallest building. In 2014, the tall 122 Leadenhall Street, nicknamed "the Cheesegrater", was completed in the City of London. In September 2016, a refit was completed of the 111m King's Reach Tower, originally built in the 1970s, which included an 11-storey height increase to bring it up to tall and it was renamed the South Bank Tower.

One Blackfriars, also located on the South Bank, topped out in 2017 at . The Scalpel, at was completed in the City of London in 2018 and it was designed to protect views of St Paul's Cathedral. Newfoundland Quay, at and Landmark Pinnacle at topped out in Canary Wharf in 2018 and 2019 respectively. One Park Drive at and South Quay Plaza at both also topped out at Canary Wharf in 2019. 22 Bishopsgate, at topped out in the City of London in 2019, after being approved by the current mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, in 2016.

1 Undershaft, at , also approved by Sadiq Khan in 2016, is planned to form the centrepiece of the City of London's skyscraper cluster. It is the tallest skyscraper currently proposed for London and will only be exceeded in height by The Shard. It will be built on the site of the aforementioned 1969 St Helen's building which will be demolished. 100 Leadenhall, at , and already nicknamed the "Cheesegrater 2", is also planned for the City of London. Spire London, at is planned for Canary Wharf. However, construction was halted after concerns that the building only had one escape stairwell for residents on the upper floors. The tallest of the two Riverside South towers that have been planned for construction at Canary Wharf since 2008 would have exceeded that cluster's tallest building, One Canada Square, by 1 metre in height, but construction has been stalled since 2011. Construction has started on the tall Consort Place (previously called Alpha Square) also at Canary Wharf.

There is another major skyscraper cluster emerging in the Vauxhall and Nine Elms districts of London. The first skyscraper to appear here was St George Wharf Tower at and which was completed in 2014. The tallest tower planned for this cluster is the One Nine Elms City Tower.

In 2019, Sadiq Khan blocked the construction of the 290 metre tall Tulip that would have been built in the City of London. After an appeal was launched by the developers against Khan's decision, UK housing secretary Michael Gove rejected the proposal in November 2021.

Tallest buildings and structures

This list ranks externally complete London skyscrapers and free-standing towers that stand at least 100 m (327 ft) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

* Indicates still under construction, but has been topped-out

Tallest under construction, approved and proposed

Under construction

This lists buildings that are under construction in London and are planned to rise at least . Under construction buildings that have already been topped out are listed above.

Approved

This lists buildings that are approved for construction in London and are planned to rise at least .

* Table entries without text indicate that information regarding a building's expected year of completion has not yet been released.

** Approximate figure.

Proposed

This lists buildings that are proposed for construction in London and are planned to rise at least . Once a planning application has been submitted, a decision by the relevant authority may take two or three years.

* Approximate figure.

Cancelled constructions

This lists proposals for the construction of buildings in London that were planned to rise at least , for which planning permission was rejected or which were otherwise withdrawn.

Demolished buildings

This lists all demolished buildings in London that stood at least tall.

Visions of skyscrapers

* Estimated height.

Timeline of tallest buildings and structures

This lists free-standing structures that have at some point held the title of tallest structure in London.

Skylines

File:City of London 22.10.2022 (2).jpg, The City of London skyline as viewed from St Paul's Cathedral, October 2022. The tallest building shown here is 22 Bishopsgate at 278m, which topped out in 2019. Since its construction The Gherkin is no longer visible from this angle. There are currently four towers in this cluster that are above 200m tall with three more approved to be constructed, 1 Undershaft at 290m tall, 55 Bishopsgate at 269m tall, and 100 Leadenhall at 249m tall, by 2026. Also shown in the far distance on the left is the emerging cluster in Stratford
File:City of London northern cluster 22.10.2022 (1).jpg, The "northern cluster" of the City of London. Some of the smaller skyscrapers shown here include: the Barbican Estate, Finsbury Tower, The Heron, Citypoint, One Crown Place The Stage, Principal Tower and the Broadgate Tower. Also shown in the distance on the far left are 250 City Road and Lexicon Tower in the London Borough of Islington. Also approved for this cluster is the 154m tall 2–3 Finsbury Avenue and the 156m tall 13–14 Appold Street
File:Canary Wharf from Blythe Hill Fields, LB Lewisham 9 May 2021.jpg, The Canary Wharf and Isle of Dogs business district as viewed from Blythe Hill Fields, London Borough of Lewisham, May 2021. The tallest building in this cluster is One Canada Square with the pyramid-shaped roof which was completed in 1991 and stands at 235m. There are seven towers in this cluster that are at least 200m tall with more planned and under construction. However, due to the proximity of London City Airport it is unlikely that any will exceed the height of One Canada Square
File:The Shard and Guys Hospital 27.12.2019.jpg, The skyline of Southwark, prominently featuring The Shard. Completed in 2012 at London Bridge, it is London's tallest building at 309.6 m. Shown here in December 2019 with Guy's Hospital to the right. Two more prominent high-rises will soon join the cluster: Chapter London Bridge a 133 m building that topped out in 2024, and Edge London Bridge at 109 m, now under construction.
File:South Bank 22.10.2022 (4).jpg, The emerging South Bank cluster as viewed from St Paul's Cathedral, October 2022. The two tallest towers here are One Blackfriars which was completed in 2018 at 163m and the South Bank Tower that was originally constructed in 1972 at 111m but was given an 11-storey height increase in 2017 to bring it up to 150m. There are several more towers planned for this cluster ranging from between 100m and 178.5m tall. There is also an emerging cluster at Elephant and Castle shown on the far left which includes notably, Strata SE1 and another emerging cluster in the distance on the right at Vauxhall/Nine Elms
File:Vauxhall and Nine Elms skyscraper cluster, London, February 13, 2023.jpg, The emerging cluster at Vauxhall and Nine Elms, February 2023. There are currently five towers in this cluster that are between 160m and 200m tall: One Nine Elms City Tower (200m), St George Wharf Tower (181m), One Thames City No. 8 (177m), Aykon London One (168m) and One Nine Elms River Tower (161m). Within five years there will be seven towers in this cluster with heights between 160m and 200m
File:West End from St Paul's Cathedral 22.10.2022.jpg, Looking towards the West End from St Paul's Cathedral, October 2022. Shown here from left to right are the London Hilton, completed in 1963, Centre Point, completed in 1966, the BT Tower, completed in 1964 and Euston Tower, completed in 1970. These are all considered among the first "skyscrapers" in London. Also seen in the far distance is the 184m tall One West Point Tower 1 in North Acton which was completed in 2022 and where there will be an emerging cluster in the years to come
File:Croydon skyline 15.02.2022 (11).jpg, The emerging cluster in Croydon town centre which includes Saffron Square (134m), Queen's Quarter building 1 (114m) and 101 George Street (135.6m). Under construction is the now complete College Road Tower (150m)
File:Lewisham Gateway skyline 27.03.2024.jpg, The emerging cluster in Lewisham also known as Lewisham Gateway, and first Borough of Sanctuary, which includes 209 Connington Road Tower at 117m tall which is the white building in the centre and Lewisham Exchange at 105m tall to the left of it. All of the high-rises shown in this picture are residential with the exception of the grey building shown in the immediate right foreground which was formerly the London offices of Citigroup until they relocated to 25 Canada Square at Canary Wharf in 2001
File:Stratford skyline from Greenwich Peninsula - 2023-04-29 2.jpg, The emerging cluster in Stratford in April 2023 as viewed from Greenwich Peninsula. Stratford has been undergoing regeneration, associated with the 2012 Summer Olympics, which largely took place in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to the west of the cluster. Seen on the left is 150 High Street at a height of 135m. The tallest building in the cluster, Manhattan Loft Gardens at 143m, is seen at the back.

See also

* Architecture of London
* List of tallest buildings and structures in Croydon
* City of London#Skyscrapers and tall buildings
* List of tallest buildings in the United Kingdom
* List of tallest structures in the United Kingdom

Notes

Footnotes

: A.This structure was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666, allowing a shorter structure to become the tallest in the city.
: B.The exact height of the Old St. Paul's Cathedral remains unknown. Heights ranging between and have all been reported. The spire was destroyed by fire in 1561.
: C.If counting the tallest habitable floors in buildings, then the record would be held between 1961 and 1962 by the Shell Centre, at and having 26 floors; and before it by the Victoria Tower at , completed in 1858 and having 14 floors.Jackson-Rowe case study:
: D.If the Crystal Palace Transmitter is excluded as a "building", then the record was held by the "Post Office Tower" (later The British Telecom Tower) from 1962 to 1980, at a height excluding antenna of and containing 34 floors, and from 1980 to 1991 by Tower 42 at .

Citations

References

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External links

Info graphic of London's Top 10 Tallest skyscrapers
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