Thanks to architects like Foster, Rogers, Piano and Vinoly, London's put on a growth spurt of late. Yet, the city has been ascending into the skies since the days of Londinium.
In our 60 second animation, watch the vertical growth of the capital — from the first major building of the Roman era, through saintly spires and monumental monuments, to that great big glass pointy thing.
The story is more complex if we discount 'structures' such as the Crystal Palace mast, and instead only consider buildings (towers with floors that you can readily walk around). If we did that, then the Millbank Tower, BT Tower and Tower 42 (to give them their modern names) would also make an appearance. At this point, real pedants can wrangle over whether to include communication masts and spires in the measured heights, but we're not going to.