List of tallest buildings and structures in London

This list of the tallest buildings and structures in London ranks skyscrapers and towers in London, United Kingdom by height. Since November 2010 the tallest structure in London has been the Shard London Bridge. It was topped out at approximately 306 m in March 2012, making it the tallest habitable building in Europe. The second tallest building is the 50-storey One Canada Square, which rises 235 m in Canary Wharf and was completed in 1991. It is the 19th-tallest building in Europe. The third-tallest completed building in London is Heron Tower in the City of London which was topped out in 2010, and stands at a height of 230 metres, including a 28-metre spire.

The history of tall structures in London began with the completion of the 27-metre (90 ft) White Tower, a part of the Tower of London, in 1098. The first structure to surpass a height of 100 m was Old St Paul's Cathedral. Completed in 1310, the cathedral stood at a height of 150 metres (493 ft). It was the world's tallest structure until 1311, when its height was surpassed by Lincoln Cathedral in Lincoln, England. It regained the title when the spire of the Lincoln Cathedral fell in 1549. Although the spire of the Old St Paul's Cathedral was destroyed by lightning on 4 June 1561, it still stood as the tallest structure in London, while the world's tallest structure became Strasbourg Cathedral in Strasbourg, France. Old St Paul's was severely damaged by the Great Fire of London in September 1666 and the remains subsequently demolished. The title of tallest structure in London passed to Southwark Cathedral, which stands at a height of 50 metres (163 ft) and no structure in London again rose above 100 m until 1710, when the current St Paul's Cathedral was completed. At 111 metres (365 ft), the cathedral remained the tallest building in London until overtaken in 1962 by the BT Tower, which was topped out in July 1964 and officially opened in October 1965.

Few skyscrapers were built in London before the end of the last century, owing to restrictions on building heights originally imposed by the London Building Act of 1894, which followed the construction of the fourteen-storey Queen Anne's Mansions. Though restrictions have long since been eased, strict regulations remain to preserve protected views, especially those of St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London and The Palace of Westminster, as well as to comply with the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority.

The lifting of height restrictions caused a boom in the construction of tall buildings during the 1960s. One of London's first notable tall buildings was the 117 m Centre Point, completed in 1966. The NatWest Tower followed in 1980, which at 183 m became London's first genuine "skyscraper" by international standards. It was followed in 1991 by the 235 m One Canada Square, which formed the centrepiece of the Canary Wharf development. Following a 10-year gap, several new skyscrapers appeared on London's skyline: 8 Canada Square, 25 Canada Square, the Heron Quays buildings, the Barclays headquarters, the Broadgate Tower and the award-winning 30 St Mary Axe. Some of the awards given to 30 St Mary Axe include the Emporis Skyscraper Award in 2003 and the RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2004.

With the precedent set by the towers of Canary Wharf and with the encouragement of former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, a renewed trend for building tall has been established in recent years. There are 9 structures actively under construction in London that will rise at least 100 m in height, besides the South Bank Tower which is being increased in height by 11 storeys. The 288-metre "Pinnacle", planned to form the centrepiece of the City skyscraper cluster, has been on hold since January 2012.



Tallest buildings and structures
This list ranks externally complete London skyscrapers and free-standing towers that stand at least 100 m tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

* Indicates still under construction, but has been topped out



Under construction


This lists buildings that are under construction in London and are planned to rise at least 100 m. Under construction buildings that have already been topped out are listed above.

Approved
This lists buildings that are approved for construction in London and are planned to rise at least 100 m.

* Table entries without text indicate that information regarding a building's expected year of completion has not yet been released.

** Approximate figure.

Proposed
This lists buildings that are proposed for construction in London and are planned to rise at least 100 m. Once a planning application has been submitted, a decision by the relevant authority may take two or three years.

* Approximate figure.



Cancelled constructions
This lists proposals for the construction of buildings in London that were planned to rise at least 100 m, for which planning permission was rejected or which were otherwise withdrawn.

Demolished buildings
This lists all demolished buildings in London that stood at least 100 m tall.

Visions of skyscrapers
* Estimated height.

Timeline of tallest buildings and structures


This lists free-standing structures that have at some point held the title of tallest structure in London.