Through the city, towards Canary Wharf - via the reading room of the British Museum - from the top of the Post Office Tower.
Went to London yesterday - or is it 'up' to London. One of my mates is writing a book about architecture and I'd been asked to tag along during a trip around the Post Office Tower to take some photographs of the floors that are no longer used - and have not been touched since the 70's and 80's. Amazing stuff, It's like steppong back in time - can't believe it's all still there!.
I started the day with a train ride on the fast link - half an hour to Ashford, a five minute wait and then 28 mins to London St Pancras - amazing trip - very fast and comfortable - lovely carriage, polite staff, and the new St Pancras is beautiful. It wasn't cheap at 60 quid return - but I was in London before 9am feeling fresh and relaxed - on the hottest day I can ever remember.
The PO tower is still quite an impressive landmark. When I first came to London at 17 I got off the train and walked straight towards it - expecting to find the streets full of pop stars. We went up to the top floor ( after security ) in a super fast lift and into the reception lounge - stunning view - really quite breathtaking. It seems twice as high as I expected, and the weather was so clear you could see so far into the distance that it was like flying.
Radio control room - if you flick a switch... the lights still come on.
Possibly the secret headquarters of S.M.E.R.S.H
After a look around and a chat with the Archivist we were taken to floor 14 where all the radio and telephonic equipment is still sitting, untouched. The actual floorspace is very limited - and although the ceilings are very height - it's only about 10 feet in diameter so it's quite cramped. Lots of valve loaded radio equipment, cables, bulbs, lights and fuses. An amazing control desk that looked like something from a Bond movie and lots of forgotten files and paperwork. I even found a salt and pepper set from the 70's that must have lain untouched since the last time they were used.
Later - we were taken on a tour of the foundations. It was built before pile driving technology - so they dug a giant hole and built a huge concrete pyramid - and then just rested the PO tower on top like a cardboard tube or toilet roll - the pyramid took the strain and distributed the weight. There were concrete stalagtites and water running in a moat around the base - possibly from one of the old, forgotten London streams.
"You get an 'ology' - you're a scientist!!!"
Really amazing experience - nobody has been in there for years so I was very lucky - big thanks to John for inviting me along and the people at the PO tower who were really friendly and helpful.
Spent the rest of the day in London taking photographs for John's book and just enjoying the stunning weather - and I was back home on the fast train by 5.15pm. Brilliant.
6 comments:
My pleasure! Love the photos. It was a pretty amazing day.
pics are brilliant R x
That was great, thanks for that! Incredible to think all that stuff has been lying there for years. I'm jealous!
Woah, all this memorabilia AND a quote from Beattie. I was explaining to someone here only the other day about how those BT ads had become to quotable - remember the one where Maureen Lipman's son tunrs up unexpectedly and she opens the fridge which is just groaning with food, and goes, 'I haven't got a thing in....' ?
AND...yes, we were taught at primary school (back in the days when you just spent your mornings doing maths and your afternoons parsing sentences), that it was always UP to London.
Ah, gentler days.
Although before (theoretically)equal pay or marriage (almost) equality. So, actually, fairly crap days really.
yep - you go 'up' to the Capital!
I actually quite liked the BT adds, the one with the fridge was brilliant - they probably wouldn't be allowed now, racially stereotyping etc.
I was a 'VIP guest' at the Post Office Tower in 1975 (I was living in a children's home run for employees of the Civil Service and we were invited for a day out) and these photos definitely ring a bell. I think it had been closed to the public by then because of the IRA.
Sadly, we never got to visit the 'Revolving Restaurant'.
It's a shame that some wankers renamed it the 'Telecom Tower' and then 'BT Tower' - I hope that it will eventually get its original name back.
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