Express Lift Tower - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The National Lift Tower (previously called The Express Lift Tower) is a lift testing tower

Elevator test tower

An Elevator test tower is a structure usually 100 to 140 metres tall that is designed to evaluate the stress and fatigue limits of specific elevator cars in a controlled environment. Tests are also carried out in the test tower to insure reliability and safety in current elevator designs and...

built by the Express Lift Company off the Weedon Road in Northampton

Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The structure was commissioned in 1978 with construction commencing in 1980, and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 November 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 at the base and 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 status on 30 October 1997, at the time making it the youngest listed building in the UK.

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 focusing on elevators and escalators...

and subsequently closed. In 1999, the tower and surrounding land was sold to Wilcon Homes for development.

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

The building is now privately owned and has been re-named the National Lift Tower. Following extensive renovation and repairs, the tower was re-opened for business in October 2009. The tower is used by lift companies for research, development, testing and marketing. As well as being a resource for the lift industry, the building is also available to companies requiring tall vertical spaces, for example companies wishing to test working-at-height safety devices.

There are six lift shafts of varying heights and speeds, including a high speed shaft with a travel of 100 metres and a theoretical maximum speed of 10m/s.

The tower's renovation was officially completed in July 2010. Further building work is planned with planning permission being sought to build a visitor's centre incorporating a 100 seater auditorium and cafe.

Several charity abseils have been hosted at the tower in 2011.

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