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The London Telecom Tower:The Post Office Tower:The GPO Tower |
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The London Telecom Tower:The Post Office Tower:The GPO Tower |
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The Ministry of Public Building &
Works
The Tower was designed by a team from the Ministry of Public Building
& Works:
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* G.R.Yeats designed the Faraday Building, extension (South East Block) over Citadel in June 1962. |
ERIC BEDFORD, Chief Architect.
Eric Bedford was born on 23th August 1909. After leaving school he was apprenticed to a firm of architects in Leicester before going on to work in local government. In 1936 he joined the Ministry of Public Works, a part of government which was responsible for all public buildings. He particularly enjoyed designing functional buildings, such as grain silos, slaughterhouses and communication centres.
By 1950 he was Chief Architect, one of the youngest, at 41. His remit included the specifications for the decoration of government offices. In 1952 this included a backdrop for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and such was his attention to detail for this work, that he was appointed a CVO (Commander of the Royal Victorian Order).
His most famous work in the UK was the Post Office Tower, built mainly of pre-stressed concrete and glass, an innovative design that has not been copied. Of the (30lb) bomb blast in 1971, he said of the Tower, "I made it to last, bombers or not."
Eric Bedford was chief architect from 1950 until he retired in 1970. He died on 28th July 2001 aged 91.
Some of his notable commissions:
1961-The Post Office Tower.
The British Embassy in Massachusetts Avenue, Washington D.C. Accommodating 500 staff.
The 'three concrete slabs' for the DOE (Department Of the Environment) in Marsham Street, London.
1964-The British High Commission in Ottawa, 9 storeys accommodating 200 people. Known as the 'Ottawa Hilton' because it brought together staff that had previously been scattered in a number of offices.
| The Sixties - A Brave New World | |
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The Postmaster General, Anthony Wedgwood Benn, said that the Post Office Tower symbolised 20th-century Britain. Lean, practical and futuristic, it epitomised the technical and architectural skills of the second industrial revolution. |
| The Seventies - Troubled Times | |
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Man had landed on the moon in 1969, and technology was the answer to most problems. However, the culture of free expression and public protests continued apace and in 1971 a bomb exploded in the Tower. |
| The Eighties - Changes at the Top | |
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In 1980 the lease on the revolving restaurant expired and with it ended the public access to the building. |
| The Nineties - A Digital Future | |
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Now BT, and the world was catching up with the Tower. |
| Two
Thousand Plus - A Communications Icon
A visitor conjects as to the long closed public viewing galleries... "I imagine those other galleries as little 1960s time capsules, full of binoculars on stands that need to be fed threepenny bits, and adverts for Trimphones and Zoom ice-lollies...all cobwebby and dusty..." It could have been, but as the Tower is a showcase for the latest communication trends, it has to keep up with modern times. |
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Like many Sixties' concrete structures, weathering and the ravages of time meant that the Tower was in need of major repairs to both the external cladding and the internal lifts. At the same time the opportunity was taken to create a modern look and feel to the all important reception area on the ground floor. |
| Tour the Tower - [Set your screen to 1024 x 768 or larger] | |
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Visits to the Tower are by invitation only, so here is a unique opportunity to take a virtual tour around reception and the famous 34th floor, which once housed Butlin's revolving restaurant... |
Company Logos
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The latest BT logo (connected world) is displayed on either side of the entrance, while the notice reminds us that... |
At the Top
The first name displayed on the outside of the Tower was PETER LIND, the construction company who built it. The Tower featured in the opening shots of the 'News at Ten' until 1985, about the same time that the BRITISH TELECOM logo was added. On 2nd April 1991, the Piper BT logo was introduced and three signs, each measuring 5 by 10 metres, aligned 120 degrees apart were unveiled. At night, the translucent signs were each backlit with 160 fluorescent tubes, making the Tower an easily identifiable landmark.
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Developed for BT by Wolff Ollins, the "connected world" globe was originally used exclusively as the logo for BT Openworld. However, on 7th April 2003, this logo was adopted as the new BT corporate image. But it was not until 29th March 2004 that a representation of the logo appeared at the top of the Tower. |
The Tower Collection
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The Post Office Radio Tower - The Ministry of Public Works, photo album is just one of many items of memorabilia about the building. |
The Sixties -Photo from "The Post Office Tower London" 32 page booklet priced 'two shillings and sixpence' designed and produced by Holdens Press Bureau Ltd for GPO. Printed by W.S Cowell Ltd, Butter Market, Ipswich.
The Seventies-Photo from "The Post Office Tower London" 36 page booklet PH1676 12/70 Designed by Banks and Miles, photography by Mike Peters, printed at the Shenval Press, London and Harlow.
The Eighties-Photo from "British Telecom Journal" Summer 1986 Volume 7 Number 2 -Page 40/41 'Reach for the Sky.'
The Nineties- Photo from booklet "PHME 7378/ 8 /91" © British Telecommunications plc 1991 printed in England by Litho Tech Ltd.
Updated 2006 photos © LSA (Light Straw Archive)
Connected World -Night photos © Malcolm Knight 2004.
Other photos © Light-Straw October 2002. Plaque display 14th February
2003.
The BT Tower
The London Telecom Tower
The Post Office Tower
The GPO Tower
