LIFT GUIDE
This is a guide to what lifts can be found in the UK.
I made this guide because there is very little information about lifts.
I made this from what I have found out while going to places and riding in lifts. I had to use a lot of guess work because there is not much information available. The Information in this guide may NOT be accurate, because I based this guide on my observations, while going in lifts.
This guide is NOT about the "famous events" and the famous lifts (e.g. the tallest, fastest etc) because its the same old thing. What I am interested in is the history of the individual lift companies and the the design of lifts.
The few programs on TV that have been about lifts are always about the same few "famous lifts" (e.g. Taipei 101). In my opinion, the best lifts are the ones often found in town centers, but NOT necessarily in the shops, but in the buildings you may not have noticed even existed. near the shops the are often 1960s and sometimes 1930s buildings that everyone just walks by not noticing, it is in these buildings the best lifts are found. these lifts are sometimes original to the building and may not even have been altered in any way (the oweners of these building proberly don't know how rare their lift actually is).
BAD NEWS
Dover castle is owned by English Heritage and is listed as an "ancient monument" which is the top most listing and means that nothing is allowed to be alterd. BUT ENGLISH HERITAGE HAVE REPLACED THERE OLD 1960s OTIS LIFT. It seems like even the top most listing is not enough to stop a wonderfull old lift being replaced with a modern piece of crap.
many other many other heritage buildings have replaced there old lifts as if the original lift isn't part of the heritage.
Guide to lift companies
NOTE: Quite often lifts have been modernized, this part of the Guide is only about original lifts. When you find a lift, don't take it at face value, it might be an older lift in disguise! If so then it can be hard to tell what the lift could have been originally.
---Past Companies---
Aldous & Campbell (1900s - 1967)
ALS (1979 - 2000)
Bennie (1900s - 1986)
Deve (1940s - 1990s?)
Etchells Congdon & Muir (1900s - 1961)
Evans (1900s? - 1997)
Express (1770s - 1997)
Furse (1970s - 1980s)
General Hydraulic Power Company (1882 - 1967)
Hammond & Champness (1905 - 1997)
Medway Safety lift & J & E hall (1878 - 1925 - 1968)
Keighley (1950s - 1980s?)
Marryat & Scott (1860 - 1979)
O&K (1950s - 1980s)
Wadsworth (1950s - 1988)
---Past Small Companies---
Becker (1970s)
Jensen (1930s - 1960s)
The United lift company (1960s)
---Present Day Large Companies---
Otis (1853 - present)
Kone (1910 - present)
Schindler (1874 - present)
ThyssenKrupp
Mitsubishi
---Present Day Small Companies---
Lutz (1927 - Present)
Pickerings (1854 - Present)
Stannah (1860 - Present)
Small Generic Companies
More info about lifts
Unknown Lifts
Lifts that I don't know what make they are. Click Here
Modernization Guide
Don't just take lifts at face value, some lifts are older than they look. Don't just think the lift is made by the company advertised - they might have just modernized it. Click Here
Lift photos
A while ago I made a lifts A-Z photo section of the website
I have stopped adding to this section. CLICK HERE
Click here to goto the Beno homepage
ALL THE PICTURES ON THIS WEBSITE CAN BE PUT ON OTHER WEBSITES AS LONG AS THERE IS A LINK TO THIS WEBSITE