Medieval and early modern period The history of tall structures in London began with the completion of the
White Tower, a part of the
Tower of London, in 1098. The first structure to surpass a height of was the
Old St Paul's Cathedral. Completed in 1310, it stood at a height of . It regained the title when the spire of Lincoln Cathedral fell in 1549. Although the spire of the Old St Paul's was destroyed by lightning in 1561, it still stood as the tallest structure in London, St Paul's was severely damaged by the
Great Fire of London in 1666. The title of the tallest structure in London passed to
Southwark Cathedral, which stands at a height of and no structure in London again rose above 100 metres until 1710, when the current
St Paul's Cathedral was completed at , becoming London's tallest building. Though restrictions have long since been eased, harsh regulations remain to preserve
protected views, especially those of St Paul's, the Tower of London and
Palace of Westminster, as well as to comply with the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority.
1960s and 1970s The lifting of height restrictions caused a boom in the construction of tall buildings during the 1960s. St Paul's Cathedral remained as London's tallest building until it was overtaken in 1963 by the
Millbank Tower at , which in turn was overtaken by the
BT Tower which topped out just one year later in 1964 at and officially opened in 1965 (then known as the Post Office Tower). One of London's first notable tall buildings was the
Centre Point, completed in 1966. Others completed in the 1960s include: the
Empress State Building at in 1961, the
Shell Centre at in 1961, the
London Hilton at in 1963,
Portland House at in 1963, and
Euston Tower at in 1970, all built on the west side of
Central London. In 1969,
St. Helen's at was completed in the
City of London, along with Britannic House in 1967 at 122 metres (400 ft), but the latter was refurbished in 2000, increased to 127 m in height and renamed
Citypoint. Cromwell Tower, completed in 1973, Lauderdale Tower, completed in 1974 and Shakespeare Tower, completed in 1976, all at , were built as part of the
Barbican Estate in the northern part of the City of London.
1980s, 1990s and 2000s The
NatWest Tower, later renamed Tower 42, was completed in 1980, which at and 42
storeys, was considered the first "skyscraper" in the City of London. Its height was controversial, being contrary to the previous height restrictions, it was the tallest building in the United Kingdom at the time and also the tallest
cantilever building in the world. Following another over 10-year gap,
8 Canada Square and
25 Canada Square, both standing at about , were completed at Canary Wharf in 2002. Several others of a smaller height followed at Canary Wharf including:
Heron Quays,
40 Bank Street in 2003 at ,
Heron Tower in 2007 at , and the
Broadgate Tower in 2008 at . and the
RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2004.
2010s to present Boris Johnson, who was Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, approved the construction of more skyscrapers in London. At the time of its completion in 2010,
Strata SE1 was the tallest residential building in London.
The Shard topped out in 2012 at
London Bridge and at remains London's tallest building. In 2014, the tall
122 Leadenhall Street,
nicknamed "the Cheesegrater", was completed in the City of London. In September 2016, a refit was completed of the 111 m King's Reach Tower, originally built in the 1970s, which included an 11-storey height increase to bring it up to tall and it was renamed the
South Bank Tower.
One Blackfriars, also located on the
South Bank, topped out in 2017 at .
The Scalpel, at was completed in the City of London in 2018 and it was designed to protect views of St Paul's Cathedral.
Newfoundland Quay, at and
Landmark Pinnacle at topped out in Canary Wharf in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
One Park Drive at and
South Quay Plaza at both also topped out at Canary Wharf in 2019.
22 Bishopsgate, at topped out in the City of London in 2019, after being approved by the current mayor of London,
Sadiq Khan, in 2016. It will be built on the site of the aforementioned 1969 St Helen's building which is currently being demolished.
100 Leadenhall, at , and already nicknamed the "Cheesegrater 2", is also planned for the City of London.
Spire London, at is planned for Canary Wharf. However, construction was halted after concerns that the building only had one escape stairwell for residents on the upper floors. The tall Aspen at
Consort Place (previously called Alpha Square), also at Canary Wharf, opened in 2025. There is another major skyscraper cluster emerging in the
Vauxhall and
Nine Elms districts of London. The first skyscraper to appear here was
St George Wharf Tower at and which was completed in 2014. The tallest tower in the cluster is the
One Nine Elms City Tower completed in 2022. Other notable skyscrapers in the district include
One Thames City No. 8 at , and the
DAMAC Tower at . In 2019, Sadiq Khan blocked the construction of the
Tulip that would have been built in the City of London. After an appeal was launched by the developers against Khan's decision, UK housing secretary
Michael Gove rejected the proposal in November 2021. == Map of tallest buildings ==