Most of the time writing CabbieBlog is pretty mundane: observation, researching and writing with few perks. But once in a while the blog opens doors as it did for me last week. I was invited to a demonstration of BT’s new Home Hub 4, itself a pretty pedestrian corporate IT talk. The unique setting at 621ft above Fitzrovia made this presentation much more memorable – at the top of the BT Tower of which I have written about before.

[C]ompleted in 1966 and opened by Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1966 the tower was given Grade II listing by the government showing just how iconic it has become to Londoners. It was Britain’s most poorly kept secret. Londoners were expected to not notice its presence, in fact for many years it did not appear on any map as its location was protected by the Official Secrets Act, even the taking and storing photographs of the building was forbidden.

Now thankfully those restrictions have been lifted, but not others. After going through some rigorous security checks you enter the lobby. BT was a major sponsor to last year’s Olympic Games and this is evidenced by having two torches mounted on plinths.

A designer’s interpretation of the iconic K5 telephone box made from dozens of mirrors.

Our group was ushered into the high speed lift, unusually for nowadays complete with a lift attendant. An indicator duly recorded that its speed was 1,400 ft. per minute. With no proper emergency stairs a special act of parliament had to be passed making it the only building in the UK that can be legally evacuated by lift.

We arrived at the viewing platform which is situated just below the famous revolving restaurant which takes 22 minutes to complete its circuit. It was closed in 1980 due to security fears, but many diners at the time said that eating while being spun round was disconcerting.

Being the highest building in Fitzrovia it has unrestricted views across London, although while taking these panoramic shots it was rather disconcerting to notice that the windows had handles – could they be opened?

We were told it was unusual to see as far as the new Wembley Stadium in the distance. Note the handles on the windows.

The purpose of the visit was to see a demonstration of BT’s new router but on this floor the Wi-Fi signal was curiously was absent my i-phone.

Regent’s Park is like a green jewel amid the urbanisation of north London.

BT Tower easily dwarfs the Euston Tower.

Exiting the BT Tower I noticed this sign.

While I was in London with my camera I decided to photograph Cowford Lodge for next month’s featured building. Unfortunately the police had cordoned off the area after workmen had punctured a water main while repairing a gas pipe. What did the police expect, that I would drown? Anyway better to be safe than sorry. I took this picture at a safe distance from the dangerous waters of Buckingham Gate.

City of London planners have decreed that the view of St. Paul’s – or what is left of it – must be preserved at all costs from the rapid encroachment of high rise buildings that surround it.

Never mind about seeing Wren’s masterpiece from another viewpoint one sacrosanct sightline is looking east down Fleet Street towards the Cathedral
[see below].

[W]hen it was proposed to demolish the previous building at the junction of St. Mary’s Axe and Leadenhall Street its construction caused a few headaches. Due to the building’s unusual design in having its 14 floors suspended on steel ‘chords’ visible on the building’s exterior it was demolished from the bottom up
[see main picture above].

The architects calculated that its replacement would destroy the sightline of St. Paul’s world famous dome. The design called for the new building to be four times higher and the designer rose to the challenge by producing the new famous ‘cheesegrater’ design ensuring that its distinctive shape would become unobtrusive from Fleet Street and would gain popularity for its famous shape.

The same planning regulations have not been applied over the years in the museum area of South Kensington where London’s tallest folly manages to keep a low profile.

Having completed ‘The Knowledge’ I thought that I knew all of London’s largest buildings – that was until I read David Long’s Spectacular Vernacular.

At nearly 300ft. Collcutt’s Tower is higher than the dome of St. Paul’s but the subsequent development surrounding the building has ensured the building’s total anonymity.

Designed by T. E. Collcutt, it was he I discovered who designed the Savoy and the Palace Theatre. When completed Collcutt’s Tower marked Queen Victoria’s 50 years on the throne.

The Renaissance-style tower originally had two siblings each with copper roofs, the towers rising up above the Imperial Institute founded after the grand sounding Colonial Exhibition of 1886. On the anniversary of Victoria’s Golden Jubilee the tower was christened The Queen’s Tower.

The Imperial Institute was completed in 1893 and although regarded as Collcutt’s masterpiece a proper function was never found for its use. Its cavernous great hall was used for examination, and was notorious among students in the 1950s for its leaking ‘temporary’ plywood ceiling and the loose-bowelled sparrows that inhabited it.

In the 1960s the Imperial Institute was demolished despite protests led by the poet laureate John Betjeman. Only the single tower was spared, but as the building originally had propped it up the tower’s foundations had to be considerably strengthened thus allowing it to stand proud on its own.

The only sign that this monument to colonialism exists is when 11 times a year on Royal anniversaries its bells are rung much the surprise of local residents (who must wonder where the sound is coming from) and the sparrows.