A timeline of the tallest building in London: from St Paul’s to the Shard
- London On The Ground
- Sep 21
- 6 min read
Five buildings have successively replaced St Paul’s as the capital’s tallest.
Sir Christopher Wren’s St Paul’s Cathedral, completed in the early 18th century, was London’s tallest building for more than two and a half centuries. In just 49 years from 1963, five other buildings rose to succeed it as the tallest building in the UK capital.
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Going further back, to London's origins, the tallest buildings of Roman London are unlikely to have been taller than around 100 ft, or 30 m. Saxon structures would likely have been smaller still, although the first version of Westminster Abbey, consecrated in 1065, may have been London’s tallest at the time.
The Norman Conquest then prompted William I to build the Tower of London’s White Tower, which was most likely the tallest building in London when it was completed in the late 11th century.
The Normans also began the construction of Old St Paul’s, after a fire destroyed the Saxon cathedral in 1087, and this certainly became London’s tallest building by the time it was completed in the 13th century.
Old St Paul’s originally had a spire rising to 489 ft (149 m), according to some records, or 460 ft (140 m), according to Wren’s estimate. Either way, it was considerably taller than the current cathedral. The spire was destroyed by lightning in 1561, but Old St Paul’s was still a very impressive building - and London's tallest - until it was damaged beyond repair in the Great Fire of London of 1666.
Before the completion of the new cathedral, other buildings - including the Monument to the Great Fire - would have enjoyed a spell at number one in the height charts.
However, I am starting my timeline with the completion of Wren’s new cathedral.
St Paul’s Cathedral (1708 – 1963)
Height: 365 ft, 111 m
Architect: Sir Christopher Wren
An exact date for the completion of work on Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece is hard to find. However, the topping out ceremony, marking the completion of the highest point of a building, took place in October 1708.
Parliament officially declared it complete on Christmas Day 1711, thereby allowing Wren to submit his final invoice for payment.
The cathedral’s highest point is the top of the cross on the top of the lantern on top of the dome. It is 365 ft, or 111 m, from the ground.
See also my post St Paul's and the Phoenix and Wren.
Millbank Tower (1963 – 1964)
Height: 387 ft, 118 m
Architect: Douglas Marriott of Ronald Ward & Partners
Millbank Tower was originally built for engineering conglomerate Vickers and called Vickers Tower. When it was completed in 1963 it was London’s highest edifice, beating St Paul’s by just 22 ft (7 m). Tenants in the tower’s offices have included the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Environment Agency, the World Bank and the United Nations. The headquarters of Reform UK has been in the tower since February 2025.
Although it was only a fairly small step from Wren’s masterpiece in terms of height, Millbank Tower was a radical leap in terms of architectural style. Constructed in reinforced concrete with glass curtain walls and projecting stainless steel mullions, it has nothing in common with the baroque styling and Portland stone of St Paul’s. It also contrasts considerably with the nearby Houses of Parliament.
Millbank Tower was Grade II listed by Historic England in 1995 as “an elegant tower of distinctive, concave and convex form”, for its historic interest as one of the first tall buildings on the Thames and for its “distinctive profile on the river, with which it has a symbiotic aesthetic relationship”.
BT Tower (1964 – 1980)
Height: 581 ft, 177 m (620 ft, 189 m with antenna spire)
Architect: Eric Bedford
Millbank Tower’s reign as London’s tallest building was cut very short when the BT Tower, then known as the GPO Tower or the Post Office Tower, was topped out in July 1964.
The BT Tower was commissioned by the state-owned General Post Office and designed by the chief architect of the Ministry of Public Building and Works.
Officially opened by Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1965, its main function was for technical equipment and aerials to support the GPO’s telecommunications network.
There was also a viewing platform, souvenir shop and – most famously – a revolving restaurant on the 34th floor, which completed a revolution every 23 minutes. However, the tower was closed for visiting after terrorists exploded a bomb in 1971 and the restaurant was finally closed in 1980.
In February 2024, BT Group announced the sale of the Grade II listed BT Tower to MCR Hotels, which plans to redevelop the building as a hotel.
The BT Tower was London’s tallest building for 16 years, a longer period than any other to take the title since St Paul’s. It now ranks only 23rd, but remains one of the capital’s most distinctive landmarks.
Tower 42 (1980-1990)
Height: 600 ft, 183 m
Architect: Richard Seifert
Originally built for the National Westminster Bank and known as the NatWest Tower, it was completed in 1980 and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 11 June 1981. It was the City of London’s first true skyscraper.
The cross section of the building, when viewed from above, resembles the NatWest logo, although architect Richard Seifert denied that this was intentional.
The bank left the building in 1993, after an IRA bomb had damaged it and a number of other offices in the area. The skyscraper was renamed Tower 42 (not because it is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything, but because it has 42 floors).
One Canada Square (1990 – 2012)
Height: 770 ft, 235 m
Architect: César Pelli
One Canada Square was the first major building in the Canary Wharf development and it is still the tallest in that part of London. It was completed in 1991, but had already surpassed Tower 42 in height by June 1990.
The tower’s topping out was attended by Margaret Thatcher on 8 November 1990, only 20 days before she resigned as Prime Minister. Her government had designated Canary Wharf an enterprise zone, thereby encouraging its development, although the Iron Lady called the stainless steel-clad structure “not quite stunning”.
The building was officially opened on 26 August 1991 by The Duke of Edinburgh, whose eldest son was even less impressed by it than Mrs Thatcher was. In 1990 Prince Charles (now King Charles) had said, in reference to the tower, “I personally would go mad if I had to work in a place like that”.
The distinctive stainless steel pyramid roof of One Canada Square contains a maintenance plant, water for toilets, window cleaning and other uses and an aircraft warning beacon. Due to the tower’s proximity to London City Airport, its planned height of 55 floors had to be reduced to 50 in order to comply with air traffic safety regulations.
Nevertheless, it was London’s tallest building for 12 years and is its third tallest today.
The Shard (2012 – present)
Height: 1016 ft, 310 m
Architect: Renzo Piano
The Shard is the UK’s only building that is more than 1km tall. At a height of 1,016 ft (310 m), it is 32% taller than One Canada Square. Situated in Southwark, The Shard is the only structure featured in this post that is south of the Thames.
The pyramid shape houses 72 habitable floors, including offices, residences, a hotel and a viewing platform. The sculpted spire at the top rises over a further 23 floors. The building was completed in time for the 2012 Olympics and instantly became a London landmark.
Architect Renzo Piano is said to have first sketched out his spire-like idea for the building on the back of a menu at a meal with the developer Irvine Sellar. Piano took inspiration from the adjacent railway lines, London’s church spires and ships’ masts. The building has a concrete core, a steel frame and a glazed cladding comprising 11,000 panes of glass.
The Shard has been London’s tallest building for 13 years so far. During its reign, the closest rival to be completed has been 22 Bishopsgate, which stands at a height of 912 ft (278 m). While it is the tallest building in the City of London, it is only number two in all of the metropolis.
There are plans for a new skyscraper in the City of London that will match The Shard’s height of 1,015.8 ft (309.6 m). Standing between two other distinctive City landmarks, the Gherkin and the Cheesegrater, plans for One Undershaft were approved by the City of London Corporation in December 2024.
However, One Undershaft is unlikely to be completed before 2030. The Shard looks set to retain the title well beyond the 16 years achieved by the BT Tower.
Here it is, then, the timeline of buildings to achieve the status for London's tallest building, from St Paul's Cathedral to the Shard.
Walks available for booking
For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks and tours, please click here.
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