On Friday 23 December 2016, the day that most people in the UK were rushing to finish tasks, manage projects and clear desks before taking off for Christmas holiday week, an article appeared in the Guardian newspaper entitled The meteoric rise of lifts: will a new breed of elevator transform our cities? It described how new technology (such as solar panel lifts, magnet cable-less lifts, horizontal lifts, lifts without buttons) will transform the urban environment in ways that go beyond simply constructing taller homes and offices. The following day, the usual large crowd of people from the UK and around the world made their way to Westminster Abbey for traditional Christmas Eve services. Some would have found their usual entry to the Abbey grounds blocked by tall hoardings and locked gates and it is likely that few would have known the reason. For the first time in 300 years, a new tower is being constructed at this iconic building – and it is being built to accommodate a lift. This lift is rather more than a platform to enable the less mobile to negotiate changes of level or a flight of steps. This is a lift that will carry people up to the eastern triforium 70ft above the high altar, which will be transformed into a new museum and exhibition space housing a wealth of treasures and curiosities. Named The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, the project is the most significant addition to the building since Nicholas Hawksmoor's iconic west towers were completed in 1745. The Westminster Abbey project is a reminder that from 1311, when the spire of Lincoln Cathedral surpassed the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza, until 1884, when the Washington Monument was constructed, Christian churches were often the world’s tallest buildings. The religious monopoly of tallest building title was taken over by the skyscraper phenomenon, made possible by the safety passenger lift. Ironically, just a few days before the Guardian’s article foretelling dramatic advances in lift technology, the Washington Monument was closed until further notice whilst the elevator is repaired and updated, thanks to a generous donation from a prominent US businessman and philanthropist. It is a combination of public fundraising and generous donations that is making the Westminster Abbey project possible. The triforium was built in the 13th century by Henry III and offers spectacular views of the rest of the Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, but only a select few have been afforded the opportunity to see them, such as art conservators, visiting historians and academics. But enthusiasm for seeing the triforium is so widespread that £11m of the £19m project has already been raised. The new tower has been designed in sympathy with the Gothic style of the Abbey by architect Ptolemy Dean, the Abbey's Surveyor of the Fabric. It will fit unobtrusively into a courtyard outside Poets' Corner between the Abbey's 13th-century Chapter House and 16th-century Lady Chapel. The historic and architectural significance with making them more fit for worship and community use and capable of developing revenue from visitors and activities. Winchester Cathedral is another beneficiary of this approach. Like Westminster Abbey the project features a lift to gain access to the triforium gallery above the high altar of this ancient building. However, unlike Westminster Abbey, the lift will not be contained in a new tower, but within the South Transept of the early 11th Century building itself. “Installing a lift into a medieval cathedral is pretty challenging – and exciting!” says Cathedral Architect, Nick Cox. “I don’t think it has ever been done in this country before, but it reflects our commitment to opening up the spaces to everyone who visits.” Gaining major support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and many As lift technology makes it possible to open up the wonderful spaces in cathedrals and churches built of stone hundreds of years ago, the construction of their ancient spires and steeples are inspiring engineers and scientists to develop ‘space elevators’. The concept of extending a tether from the surface of Earth into space and then travelling along it was first suggested by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1895. Just as the pyramids and spires of a cathedral taper towards the top to support the weight efficiently - the cable would need to taper towards the ground. British engineer and science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke made a space elevator the central concept in his 1974 book Fountains of Paradise published in 1974, drawing on technical concepts proposed by US engineer Jerome Pearson. The development of super materials such as Onwards and upwards making historic buildings accessible Winchester Cathedral. È Watercolour by Alexander Creswell showing the east elevation of Westminster Abbey, with the new tower located between the Chapter House (left) and Henry VII’s Lady Chapel (right). È LEIA ANNUAL REVIEW 2017 tower's design reflects a pattern often found in the Abbey, an octagonal star shape derived from two rotating squares. The lift will sit centrally, the oak stairs wrapping around it with views from canted leaded light windows, taking visitors six storeys high to a doorway into the elevated cavern of the triforium. Westminster Abbey is not the only religious building to benefit from successful fundraising and other forms of finance for new projects. Reminiscent of the flurry of support for new museum and gallery schemes of five years ago (see LEIA Focus 2012), grants are being offered for innovative projects in religious buildings that combine preserving