Talk:BT Tower

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BT Tower is included in the 2007 Wikipedia for Schools, or is a candidate for inclusion in future versions. Please maintain high quality standards, and make an extra effort to include free images, because non-free images cannot be used on the CDs.

	This article is part of WikiProject London, an attempt to expand, improve and standardise the content and structure of articles related to London. If you would like to participate, you can improve the article attached to this page or sign up and contribute in a wider array of articles.
Start	This article has been rated as start-Class on the quality scale.
High	This article has been rated as high-importance on the importance scale.

	Architecture Portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Skyscrapers, which aims to create, expand, and maintain articles that relate to skyscrapers, high-rises and towers. To participate, visit the project page for more information.
Start	This article has been rated as start-Class on the assessment scale.
???	This article has not yet received an importance rating on the assessment scale.

	Architecture Portal This article covers subjects of relevance to Architecture. To participate, visit the WikiProject Architecture for more information. The current monthly improvement drive is Johannes Itten.
Start	This article has been rated as start-Class on the assessment scale.
???	This article has not yet received an importance rating on the assessment scale.

---

"When the GPO telecommunications services were privatised in 1981 the tower was renamed the London Telecom Tower " -- wasn't that just the split of the BT from the post office? AFAIK, privatization didn't occur till the 90s. -- Tarquin 17:48 Feb 7, 2003 (UTC)

MMmm. Dunno, but it must be possible to find out ... a couple more thoughts to mull over: the thing about a "stab" of aerial - is that poetic, or just a mistake?? Also I didn't understand the "of its time" sentence and added "typically": I hope this helps. Also I hate to nitpick but I wondered where the 0.17km/h came from - is it the speed at the outside? Oh well. Nevilley 18:20 Feb 7, 2003 (UTC)

I've been in it when it was rotating -- that's just about right: you can walk over the seam in the floor between the core and the restuarant without being in any danger of falling over. Nice food, too. The Anome 09:47 Feb 26, 2003 (UTC)

Thanks for sorting out the speed - I found the 0.17km/h a bit meaningless unless qualifed by where it was ... once in 22 mins is clear enough. Oh and can you also tell us who we have to be nice to to get invited in ??? :) Nevilley 19:41 Feb 26, 2003 (UTC)

Clarified current uses a bit. The Anome [ BT was separated from the Post Office in 1981, and privatised in three stages - the most famous being the first 50.2% of the shares in November 1984. The other two tranches were sold in 1991 and 1993 [1]. So the date of privatisation is 1984 for most purposes. --rbrwr

The Guardian's article on the listing [2] says that "unknown to the public, the tower was secretly designed to withstand a nuclear attack on London". Does anyone know any more? --rbrwr

Why has this been moved to "BT Tower (London)"? How many other "BT Tower"s are there in the world? To my knowledge, this is the only one. -- Anon.

• BT Towers in Birmingham and on Cannock Chase,, as I noted on the page. Andy Mabbett 13:19, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)

There are other large telecommunications towers in the UK, but as far as I know the London one is the only one called 'BT Tower'. There is an office block in Swansea called 'BT Tower', however. Secretlondon 13:20, Nov 1, 2003 (UTC)

There is a whole chain of hill top towers in the UK. Look at Subterranea Britannica for their article on the so-called 'Backbone' Secretlondon 13:23, Nov 1, 2003 (UTC)

Yes, BT has towers (with various names) all over the place, but there is only one famous structure whose official name is "BT Tower". I suggest the page goes back to BT tower, with disambiguation header

For information on other towers owned by BT see ...; this article is about the BT Tower in London

-- Anon.

• Official name of the tower in Birmingham, which is famous, is "BT Tower". Andy Mabbett 13:42, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)

[edit] BT Tower, Official Secret, Survivability and Backbone.

I haven't verified this yet but it is commonly said that the BT Tower (London) was originally on the Official Secrets Act which meant it was not marked on maps (landmark or otherwise) and there would technically be a penalty for taking a photography of it (almost definitely never enforced) - Presumably, the Tower was recently taken off the Official Secrets Act.

Yes, it was. I've added a link to the Hansard report from http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1993-02-19/Debate-5.html Mnbf9rca 00:07, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

I have also read that the towers inner core (not the glass bits) is rounded to aid the survivability of a nuclear explosion. However, I would guess that by the time the structure was finished, the science of nukes had overtaken the science of buildings.

And I've also read of one of BT Towers' uses being an element of 'backbone'; the Cold-War defense network.

So, the question is, who really knows enough about these elements of the Tower to write on them? - A good start might be a wikipedia writer who happens to have a late '60s or '70s Ordanence Survey map of London ;)

Cold war use you say?I remember a BT worker telling me back in 2001 that there is a bomb shelter underneath the tower. He had to go in every six months and replace all the stocks of food held there. No references available of course.. --Anonymous Coward

I've done some original research into these matters, and therefore can't put it on Wikipedia! But a few comments: (1) The idea that taking a photo of the tower was an offence under the OSA was comprehensively thrown out in 1978 in the ABC Secrets case. (2) A cylindrical structure makes for low wind resistance, which minimises the tower's deflection in a gale. It would also reduce its vulnerability to bomb blast, but I've not seen any evidence that it was designed for that reason. (3) The tower was not part of the "Backbone" chain, which circumvented the big cities in order to avoid bomb damage. It did however handle links for air defence radar. (4) The tower is connected to the BT deep level tunnel network under London. There is even a 1965 Pathe newsreel showing the connection between the two. Harumphy 21:46, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Clearly taking a photo of the tower can't have been considered a threat - otherwise the makers of Bedazzled (as actually mentioned in the article) would have been in big trouble. -88.109.255.229 20:59, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

most of these points are fact, referenced in the article. It's also in Hansard. Obviously some elements are not always enforced. That law applies to many different things and obviously has no exception for the tower. OS maps didn't show the tower, neither does the deed for the land. Almost all civil buildings had stocked bunkers during the cold war - plenty of public evidence. Artlondon 22:02, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

I find this "secret" aspect to be very strange. The 1966 Doctor Who serial "The War Machines" showed the tower, even people working inside the tower (although I'm sure the actors were actually in a sound studio). If the state-owned BBC could show the tower, how could there have possibly been a law against doing so? 70.20.211.100 (talk) 20:07, 1 June 2008 (UTC)