Millbank Tower
Millbank Tower seen from the South
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Location	21-24 Millbank, Westminster, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°29′32.0″N 0°07′33.5″W / 51.49222°N 0.125972°W / 51.49222; -0.125972Coordinates: 51°29′32.0″N 0°07′33.5″W / 51.49222°N 0.125972°W / 51.49222; -0.125972
Completed	1963
Height
Roof	118 metres (387 ft)
Technical details
Elevators	11 4x low rise Otis 411 Elevonics 5xHigh Rise Otis 411 Elevonics 1x Otis 411 fire/goods all floors 1 x Otis 10UCL Ground to Basement Goods
Design and construction
Owner	David and Simon Reuben
Main contractor	John Mowlem & Co.
Architect	Ronald Ward & Partners

Millbank Tower is a 118-metre (387 ft) high skyscraper in the City of Westminster at Millbank, on the banks of the River Thames in London, in the United Kingdom. The Tower was constructed in 1963 for Vickers and was originally known as Vickers Tower. It was designed by Ronald Ward and Partners and built by John Mowlem & Co. It is a landmark on the London skyline, sitting beside the River Thames, half a mile upstream from the Palace of Westminster. The tower has been owned by David and Simon Reuben since 2002,^[1] while still being managed by its former owner Tishman Speyer Properties. It is a Grade II listed building.

The 2003 edition of the Pevsner architectural guide says that Millbank Tower is "one of the few London office towers to have won affection", and contrasts it with the "boxy structure" of the Shell Tower at Waterloo.

In November 2010, Conservative Party offices in nearby building 30 Millbank were damaged and illegally occupied by protesters as part of a demonstration against cuts to education funding.

Occupants[link]

Throughout its history, Millbank has been home to many high profile political and other organisations. From 1995 the Labour Party rented two floors in the base at the south of the site for use as a general election campaign centre, including the ground floor, which had a lecture theatre, and also a meeting space that was used for press conferences. Labour ran its 1997 General Election campaign from these offices; after the election, the party vacated its headquarters at John Smith House, Walworth Road SE17, to move to Millbank. Just five years later, however, the £1 million per annum rent forced the party to vacate the tower and relocate to 16 Old Queen Street.

The United Nations also had offices in Millbank Tower, but moved out in June 2003, also citing high rents. Other public bodies have continued to occupy the building, including the Central Statistical Office, the predecessor of the Office for National Statistics, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsman, the UK India Business Council and the Ministry of Justice Records Management Service.^[2] Since 2006, the Conservative Party have based their campaign headquarters at 30 Millbank, in the same complex as Millbank Tower.

Other floors in the tower are occupied by various organisations and commercial companies, including Environment Agency, Altitude 360 London, free software promotion company Canonical Ltd., - the company that sponsors the Ubuntu project; the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the UK India Business Council, the Audit Commission (soon to be wound up by Eric Pickles), event caterers Salt and Pepper, Private Food Design and the firm Lewis PR.

In popular culture[link]

The tower featured in the 1973 film, The Vault of Horror, in which several characters are trapped in a lift in the building. It was also used for the location filming of the Doctor Who serial The Invasion to represent the London offices of International Electromatics.^[3]

On 28th November, 2011, Canadian DJ and dance music producer Deadmau5 performed in a sound and light show at the tower for the launch of Nokia's new Lumia 800 smartphone. Each of the tower's 800 windows were covered with vinyl, while 16 powerful projectors on the other side of the river beamed images onto it.^[4][5]

Gallery[link]

• Millbank Tower Base - Millbank - Westminster - London - 240404.jpg

  Millbank Tower base, from the south.

• 

  Millbank Tower from Vauxhall, with Thames House and the Palace of Westminster visible in the background.

• Millbank Tower - Millbank - Westminster - London - 240404.jpg

  Millbank Tower from the south, taken from Vauxhall bridge. The London Eye is to the right.

See also[link]

• Tall buildings in London

References[link]

• Emporis.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

Coordinates: 51°29′58″N 0°08′00″W / 51.4995°N 0.1333°W / 51.4995; -0.1333

Millbank
Millbank  Millbank shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ295795
London borough	Westminster
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW1
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Cities of London and Westminster
London Assembly	West Central
List of places: UK • England • London

Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. The area derives its name from a mill house belonging to nearby Westminster Abbey.

History[link]

Millbank's general appearance dates from the 1930s, when the area was extensively rebuilt to repair damage caused by the 1928 Thames flood disaster, following the collapse of a 25 metre-long section of the Thames Embankment.

Tate Britain (Millbank)

Chelsea College of Art and Design (Millbank)

Jeté (Enzo Plazzotta)

Millbank shares the name of the main road (A3212) along the north bank of the River Thames, extending northwards from Vauxhall Bridge to Abingdon Street, just south from Parliament Square. There are parliamentary offices situated across this road, notably No.7, built as the headquarters of British American Tobacco. The road was created as part of the Thames Embankment in the mid 19th century and lies above a large interceptor sewer.

The former Royal Army Medical College, situated at Millbank, is the site where the vaccine for typhoid was first developed, and in the late 19th century, was where the world’s first modern prison was established. The listed site has since been renovated as a purpose built arts college for the Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2005. The Tate Britain art gallery is situated directly opposite near the end of Vauxhall Bridge, providing a distinct arts presence in the area.

The headquarters of the British chemicals giant ICI was originally located at Nobel House in Millbank before it relocated to Manchester Square, also situated in London. The headquarters for the Northern Ireland Office, MI5 and Thames House are also nearby.

Before the 1997 General Election, the Labour Party acquired two floors of the Millbank Tower as its headquarters. The £1 million per annum rent, however, forced the party to vacate the tower in 2001 for 16 Old Queen Street. In British politics, the term 'Millbank Machine' or 'Millbank tendency' (a play on 'Militant tendency') has been linked with the activities of spin doctors.

Millbank Studios reside in the area as an independent broadcast company, owned by ITV. The studio is situated opposite the Houses of Parliament. The BBC Parliament broadcasting channel is also situated nearby (intended to broadcast parliamentary and general political coverage on behalf of the BBC). No.4 is the location commonly used by broadcasters for producing coverage of the Westminster area, including the BBC,^[1] Sky News^[2][3] and ITV. RTÉ News and Current Affairs also have their London bureau at the same location.^[4] Neighbouring College Green is used as a setting for interviewing politicians outdoors.

Notable buildings[link]

Millbank Estate is a large but highly regarded Grade II listed red-brick housing estate that gives the area behind Tate Britain a distinct character. The bricks were recycled from Europe's largest prison that was demolished in the late 19th century. The 17 buildings, comprising one of London's earliest social housing schemes, are named after distinguished painters such as Turner, Gainsborough, Millais, etc. The estate has 562 flats, all managed on behalf of Westminster City Council by MEMO, the largest tenant management organisation (TMO) in Westminster. The estate's management board is elected annually from the resident population. Half of the estate's flats are private leaseholds, the other half are rented from Westminster City Council. The estate's buildings are maintained by a regular works program.

Hide Tower is a 20-storey building of 162 flats with an extensive garden, a mini-golf facility and a community hall. Approximately a quarter of the accommodation is privately rented; half is rented from Westminster City Council and the remainder is owner-occupied. The name was derived from "hide", an old English land measure (used in the Domesday Survey of 1086).

Millbank Tower is a large, modernistic office complex between the River Thames, Millbank Estate and Tate Britain Gallery. The tower building formerly housed the Labour Party and now hosts the Conservative Party. There are also various restaurants and a public garden.

Public transport[link]

Millbank Millennium Pier is a modern River Thames pier structure. A regular service by a Damien Hirst-designed riverboat connects Tate Britain with Tate Modern.

The nearest London Underground stations are Westminster, Pimlico and Victoria. London Victoria station is also a National Rail mainline terminus with an adjacent national coach station. Waterloo and Charing Cross stations are also nearby. Millbank is well connected with the rest of Central London and districts south of the river by bus services such as number 87, 88, C10, 507, 2, 36, 365 and 185.

References[link]

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