In London, there is a legal requirement to limit high-rise developments and protect vistas from different locations. There are thirteen protected views, lot’s linking to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill. The view from the Horniman Bandstand is not currently protected, but we think this remarkable skyline of London is worth savouring.
Wembley Stadium
Sports and entertainment fans will be very familiar with the iconic Wembley Stadium, rebuilt between 2000 and 2007. With a capacity of 90,000 people, it is the largest sports stadium in the UK, and the second largest in Europe behind Barcelona’s Camp Nou.
Before 2000, the old Wembley stadium had stood since 1923, which saw five European cup finals and England win a World Cup. Pele described the old Wembley as the ‘Cathedral of football, the heart of football’, with its iconic twin tower entrance and long history.
It hosts yearly FA Cup finals in the men’s and women’s game, England international games, divisional playoff finals, NFL, occasional European finals and various large concerts including Harry Styles, The Weeknd and Bruno Mars in 2026 alone.
Battersea Power Station
To the Northwest of the Bandstand, you might be able to spot the imperious Battersea Power Station against the skyline. Beginning in 1929 and completed by 1955, the fabulous art deco construction was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, one of the most prominent architects of the time.
At its peak, it was producing a , including for some of London’s most recognisable landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament.
Those of a certain generation may remember the album ‘Animals’ by Pink Floyd in 1977, which featured an inflatable pink pig floating between the two southern chimneys. We’d like to think the photo was taken from the Horniman Bandstand, but it is in fact by Roger Waters with graphics by Nick Mason.
The Power Station ceased to operate in 1983 and sat derelict for decades. Now, Battersea Power Station has been repurposed and includes flats and a shopping centre. It remains an imposing figure on the skyline at the Bandstand Terrace.
Dawson’s Heights
Another dominant view from the Bandstand Terrace is the famous housing estate, Dawson Heights. This unique structure in Dulwich remains much-loved by many in South London, despite its brutalist architecture.
It was designed by Scottish architect Kate Macintosh, and built between 1964 and 1972. This is particularly notable as she was so young when she was commissioned by Southwark council. The ‘streets in the sky’ design and stepped ‘ziggurat’ shape is striking. Kate Macinosh wanted to echo the shape of the hill rather than build a typical square block against it.
Budget cuts at the time meant that only some flats have balconies, but Kate Macintosh was determined to give each of them some outside space. Each flat needed a fire escape, which just happened to also be a balcony. There is also a community garden.
Strata SE1
A more contemporary addition to the London skyline, Strata SE1 in Elephant and Castle, was built in 2010 and is London’s tallest residential tower.
Strata is nearly 150 metres high, and was the first building in the world with integral wind turbines. However, the wind turbines at Strata SE1 were soon shut down as they were extremely noisy and expensive to maintain. This has led to criticism of the building, while perhaps good intentioned and achieving , many cite Strata as a cautionary tale for biophilic design.
St. Pauls Cathedral
St Paul’s Cathedral has occupied London’s skyline as far back as 604 CE. It is the largest cathedral or church in London, and the second largest in the UK behind Liverpool Cathedral. The current structure sits on the same site as the medieval cathedral, which was destroyed as the Great Fire of London that gutted Old St Paul’s in 1666.
After the fire, the Cathedral was re-designed by Christopher Wren, building the new structure with a dome rather than a steeple. Wren himself was buried there after his death in 1723.
A beacon of Christianity and famed for its architecture, St Paul’s has also become a symbol of London’s resilience. This is the fifth iteration of St Paul’s since 604AD and it also survived the Blitz during the Second World War. In a famous photograph from London’s Black Saturday in 1940, the cathedral stands firm under siege from German forces.
The Shard
At just under 310 metres high, The Shard in London Bridge is the tallest building in the capital and it is prominently visible from the Horniman Bandstand.
Completed in 2012, The Shard was conceived as a vertical city where people could live, eat, shop and work. It is covered by 11,000 panes of glass and you can see for around 40 miles from its peak on a clear day. Perhaps you can spot the Horniman! Look for the Crystal Palace mast, then Dawson’s Heights – and tell us if you can spot us.
20 Fenchurch Street
Colloquially nicknamed ‘The Walkie Talkie’ because of its resemblance to a handset, 20 Fenchurch Street is another recent addition to the city’s unique skyline.
The building was designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, but the structure has received some criticism. As a result of its concave glass exterior, the building has experienced issues with sun glare. This glare was even reported to have melted parts of a businessman’s car! This led to a very embarring refit and it now can no longer cause damage.
At its summit is the Sky Garden, billed as ‘London’s Highest Public Garden’. This is another facet of 20 Fenchurch Street that has been met with criticism. Whilst positioned as a public park, the Sky Garden has restricted access and was likened more to a departure lounge than Kew Gardens by the Guardian. However, it does provide a free viewing platform – great for those on a budget.
The Scalpel
Some of us may have been duped by the colloquially named ‘Play Button’ or ‘Clickbait Tower’, a building on the London skyline that looks like a play button when photographed to those in South London.
It was named The Scalpel as a nickname by the Financial Times, but it later became its official name. This is because of it’s sharp mirrored edges that have made it famous amongst instagrammers using its reflections in photos. Another building in London’s Square Mile financial district, it houses insurance company W.R Berkley as well as other leased spaces for businesses in the financial sector.
The Leadenhall Building
Another skyscraper with a nickname, The Leadenhall Building is commonly referred to as the Cheese Grater because of its tapered glass façade on one side which reveals steel bracings resembles a classic grater.
The buildings tapered view was a design feature implemented to protect the views of St Paul’s Cathedral, protecting the long heritage of a landmark with a long history.
The building has great views of its own, and is mainly used as business space for finance and insurance companies.
The Gherkin
From cheese graters to gherkins, the view from the Horniman is rounded off by this blimp-shaped landmark that has come to characterise the London skyline in the 21st Century.
In 1995, when clearing the land for the beginning of the construction process, the tomb of a roman teenage girl was discovered. The girl was estimated to be around 1600 years old, when London was known as the Roman city of Londinium. There is a memorial at the bottom of the Gherkin today, reading:
To the spirits of the dead / the unknown young girl / from Roman London / lies buried here.
Opening in 2004 as a commercial skyscraper in the financial district of London, The Gherkin is a good example of sustainable design. It uses energy-saving methods which allow it to use only half the power that a similar tower would typically consume. Fresh air is drawn up through the spiralling light-wells to ventilate the interior building, minimising reliance on air conditioning and central heating.
