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The Express Lift Tower is a former lift testing tower
Elevator test tower

An Elevator test tower is a structure usually 100 to 140 meters tall that is designed to evaluate the stress and fatigue limits of specific elevator cars in a controlled environment....
 built by the Express Lift Company off the Weedon Road in Northampton
Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and Non-metropolitan district in the East Midlands region of England. It is about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, and lies on the River Nene....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. The structure was commissioned in 1978 with construction commencing in 1980, and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on November 12 1982.

Designed by architect Maurice Walton of Stimpson and Walton, the tower is 127.45 metres (418.1 feet) tall, 14.6 m (47.9 ft) in diameter but tapers to 8.5 m (27.9 ft) at the top.






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Uk Northampton Express Lift Tower 2005 10 22
The Express Lift Tower is a former lift testing tower
Elevator test tower

An Elevator test tower is a structure usually 100 to 140 meters tall that is designed to evaluate the stress and fatigue limits of specific elevator cars in a controlled environment....
 built by the Express Lift Company off the Weedon Road in Northampton
Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and Non-metropolitan district in the East Midlands region of England. It is about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, and lies on the River Nene....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. The structure was commissioned in 1978 with construction commencing in 1980, and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on November 12 1982.

Designed by architect Maurice Walton of Stimpson and Walton, the tower is 127.45 metres (418.1 feet) tall, 14.6 m (47.9 ft) in diameter but tapers to 8.5 m (27.9 ft) at the top. The only lift testing tower in Britain, it was granted Grade II listed building
Listed building

A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance....
 status on October 30 1997, at the time making it the youngest listed building in the UK.

It gained the nickname "The Northampton Lighthouse" from broadcaster Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan

Sir Michael Terence Wogan, Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenant more commonly known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish people radio and television broadcaster, who has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career....
 on his BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio radio station and the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult contemporary music or Album-orientated rock, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres....
 programme. The building has never been open to the general public.

In January 1997, the tower fell out of use after Express Lifts was taken over by Otis
Otis Elevator Company

The Otis Elevator Company is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems today, principally elevators and escalators. Founded in Yonkers, New York, New York, USA in 1853 by Elisha Otis, the company pioneered the development of the safety elevator, invented by Otis, which used a special mechanism to lock the elevator ca...
 and subsequently closed. In 1999, the tower and surrounding land was sold to Wilcon Homes for development. The building has been threatened with demolition after being found to have so-called "concrete cancer
Concrete cancer

A euphemistic name for a failure mode of concrete. If the cement component is too alkaline, it reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide, and the structure will begin to deteriorate as star-shaped cracks appear which allow rainwater to penetrate....
", but this plan faced strong opposition from local people, and the tower's future is uncertain although demolition may be difficult due to the proximity of the new housing development.

A song was written by a local school boy to highlight the plight of one of Northampton's most beloved monuments, and was a hit with the residents of the small Belgian province of Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde

Oudenaarde is a Belgium Municipalities in Belgium in the Flemish Region Provinces of Belgium of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Belgium, Ename, Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, Belgium, Melden, Mullem, Nederename, Volkegem, and Welden, Belgium....
. The building was inspected by abseilers in November 2006, to help the owners formulate a maintenance strategy and evaluate possible future uses of the tower. Suggestions so far have included luxury apartments, a research centre for lift engineering students at the University of Northampton
University of Northampton

The University of Northampton is a university in Northampton, Northamptonshire, UK.Formerly known as Nene College of Higher Education and then University College Northampton the University received full university status in 2005, though it had to convince the Privy Council that a Royal Decree signed by Henry III of England in 1265 following...
 and a climbing and abseiling centre.

It is the only such tower in the UK, and one of only two in Europe.

Planning was approved in december 2008 for toilets and kitchens to be built inside the tower as a fore runner to the tower being restored to its original purpose.

See also

  • List of towers
    List of towers

    These are lists of towers that fall under the definition of a tower which is a tall man-made structure, always taller than it is wide. Towers are generally built to take advantage of their height and can stand alone or as part of a larger structure....


The local paper - "Chronicle and Echo" published an article for April Fools 2008, detailing that the lift tower would be pulled down. This caused distress to many resident of the local area, and many comments were made on the paper's website regarding the lack of respect of the local council for not publically announcing it.

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