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Once Europe's Tallest Place To Call Home
Locksmith Barbican Towers: Three Towers That Set A Continental Record
Cromwell, Lauderdale and Shakespeare towers were, briefly, the tallest residential buildings anywhere in Europe. Call 020 8534 4949 for a locksmith who knows these towers and their shared entry systems well.
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Covering Cromwell, Lauderdale and Shakespeare towers within the Barbican Estate. Open in Google Maps
Why These Towers Are Different
Three names, one engineering achievement
So, Cromwell Tower, Lauderdale Tower and Shakespeare Tower rise above the wider Barbican Estate, in that order. They were completed in 1973, 1974 and 1976. Each stands 404 feet tall across 42 storeys. Briefly, they held a genuinely remarkable title: the tallest residential towers anywhere in Europe. Reaching that height for ordinary flats, not offices, demanded close collaboration between the estate's architects and structural engineers. After all, nothing quite like it had been attempted for housing at this scale before.
Each tower carries its own small piece of history in its name. Cromwell honours Oliver Cromwell. Shakespeare needs no explanation. Lauderdale is named for the Earls of Lauderdale. Their own London residence, Lauderdale House, once stood nearby on Aldersgate Street, a direct link between the tower and the ground it now occupies. Lauderdale Tower itself holds 114 flats, plus three penthouse maisonettes tucked at the very top.
A View Painted From A Precarious Balcony
One early resident left behind more than just a flat's worth of memories. In 1977, the year after the estate's completion, an artist named Richard I. Walker painted a panoramic view of the City. He worked from what he described as a small and rather precarious balcony, high on Cromwell Tower's top floor. Even so, the finished painting is simply titled after that vantage point. It captures Shakespeare Tower and the church of St Giles Cripplegate both within the same frame, a snapshot of the estate practically fresh out of scaffolding.
Eventually, the towers earned Grade II listed status in 2001. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner would likely have approved. He once described their profile as genuinely unmistakable. We're considerably less concerned with silhouettes. We just want the locks on every flat to keep working properly. It doesn't matter what record the building once held.
Need something sorted now? Lockout help for a shut door, a repair booking for one that's just tired, our night line at any hour.
What Barbican Towers Residents Call About
What these three towers bring us
Shared Tower Entry Systems
Even so, each tower runs its own access system, shared by dozens of flats a floor. A fault here affects everyone on it, so we treat it with that urgency.
Same-day priorityIndividual Flat Locks
Even so, past that shared entry, each flat still has its own door and lock. A considered repair treats each one on its own merits.
Book aheadPenthouse & Upper-Floor Flats
Some maisonettes near the top of these towers still carry original hardware from decades ago. A careful replacement respects that rather than treating it as standard stock.
Book aheadConcierge & Managed Access
Even so, a managed concierge system runs several entrances across the estate. Installation work gets coordinated around that, not against it.
Book aheadBroken Or Snapped Keys
Older hardware in these towers can grip a snapped key tight. Our broken keys page explains how we free one carefully.
Call nowEvening Lockouts
These towers stay residential around the clock, unlike much of the City nearby. We turn out whatever the hour, estate or not.
Call nowTwo things sit outside our work: cutting spare keys, and configuring a tower's own access-card or intercom system centrally. Those stay with the estate's own managing team.
Locked Out Of A Barbican Tower
A genuinely residential estate, day and night
Unlike much of the surrounding City, these towers stay lived-in around the clock. That's true every day of the week.
So, a lockout here is never just a weekday problem. It's never just a daytime one either.
Whatever the hour, our approach doesn't change: every gentle option tried first, with a drill kept strictly as a last resort.
A key that's snapped clean is a different problem from one that's gone missing entirely. Our broken keys and lost keys pages explain how each gets handled.
Around Barbican Towers
What this estate connects to
The wider estate, arts centre and St Giles Cripplegate.
The neighbouring estate, just north.
The wider postcode covering this estate.
South of here.
North-east of the estate.
East, towards the Bank area.
What We Do
Services across Barbican Towers
A Record That Eventually Passed On
What it meant to live at the top of Europe, briefly
Height records rarely last. These towers held theirs just long enough to be painted, then listed. Eventually, the next generation of tall buildings overtook them elsewhere.
The estate's fuller architectural story is covered by this account of its design and construction. The 1977 painting made from Cromwell Tower is discussed in more detail by this piece on the estate's early years.
We take a similarly grounded view of a lock. Its record or reputation doesn't matter much. What matters is whether it's doing its job right now, forty-two floors up or at street level.
Not sure what your own lock needs? Describe how it's behaving and we'll give you a straight answer.
The Process
Booking a locksmith at Barbican Towers
- Get in touchWhich tower, which floor, and a line on what's wrong.
- Access confirmedWe arrange any concierge or estate sign-off before the visit.
- Looked at firstA price follows the engineer's own inspection, never before it.
- Tested on the spotLock and door are both checked working before we leave.
Access & Traffic
Getting to you within the estate
Even so, there's no vehicle access within the estate itself, with car parks limited to its outer edges. Our engineers plan routes in on foot accordingly.
Even so, Barbican and Moorgate stations both sit within easy reach, offering the most practical route in for most callouts.
Even so, the estate stays genuinely residential around the clock, without the sharp daytime-to-evening shift the surrounding City experiences. We plan accordingly.
Why People Call Us
What Barbican Towers residents rely on us for
- We respect original hardware. Period fittings in these towers get repaired wherever genuinely possible.
- Patient before forceful. Every gentle option gets tried first, always.
- Comfortable with shared systems. Tower-wide entry setups are routine for us, not a complication.
- Every flat gets equal care. A ground-floor flat and a penthouse get exactly the same attention.
- Clear about our limits. Spare keys and centralised access-system setup go to the estate's own team.
- Reachable at any hour. Quiet weekday morning or a busy evening, it's the same to us.
Nearby
Areas around Barbican Towers
Common Questions
Three Towers, One Height Record
Were these towers genuinely record-setting when they were built?
Yes, at completion they were the tallest residential towers in Europe.
Who were the towers actually named after?
Cromwell, Lauderdale and Shakespeare, each with a specific historical connection to the area.
Did building this tall require unusual engineering input?
Yes, the architects worked closely with structural engineers to make towers of this height possible.
A View Captured From A Precarious Balcony
Is there a genuine piece of art connected to these towers?
Yes, a 1977 oil painting made from a small balcony high up on one of the towers.
What does that painting actually show?
A panoramic view of the City, with a neighbouring tower and the nearby church both visible.
Are the towers officially protected today?
Yes, along with the wider estate, they carry Grade II listed status.
Booking At Barbican Towers
Which part of the estate does this page actually cover?
The three residential towers specifically, within the wider Barbican Estate.
Do tower flats here have different access needs to other properties?
They do. This page focuses specifically on the shared entry systems these towers use.
Can you reach a lockout here during a busy period?
We can, though access within the estate itself may take a little longer given the layout.
Is weekend cover realistic for a residential estate like this?
Yes, every day, regardless of how quiet or busy the estate is.
Do you handle commercial premises as well as flats here?
Yes, though residential work accounts for most of what we're called out for in these towers.
What if my tower has its own entry or concierge system?
Let us know how it works beforehand and we'll plan the visit around it.
These towers once held a continental height record. We'd settle for your lock holding up through the next decade.
Flat in Cromwell, Lauderdale or Shakespeare Tower — get in touch, and we'll send the right engineer.