360° panoramic image from the top of the lift tower Instructions Click the left mouse button inside the box and drag from left to right. To zoom in press 'A'. To zoom out press 'Z'  10 TOWERING facts  1 The lift testing tower was built by the Express Lift company in 1980.2 It was opened by The Queen in 1982.3 It's built of 4,000 tons of reinforced concrete. 4 The tower was designed by architects Stimpson and Walton5 Broadcaster Terry Wogan dubbed it 'The Northampton Lighthouse'. The name stuck.6 The circular tower is 127.45 metres high (taller than Salisbury Cathedral). The diameter is 14.6 metres at the base, tapering to 8.5 metres at the top. 7 The lift shafts were designed to test lifts travelling at up to 7 metres per second. 8 The upper part of tower has a distinctive pierced jagged shape aimed at reducing the vortex effect. 9 The Express Lift company closed after being sold to another lift manufacturer, Otis, and the last 500 workers clocked out on Thursday 30th January 1997.10 The tower became a Grade II listed building in October 1997. « Back |