Heron Tower
skyscraper in the City of London, England
Heron Tower (formally 110 Bishopsgate, and informally known as Salesforce Tower) is a commercial skyscraper in London. It stands 230 metres (755 ft) tall including its 28-metre (92 ft) mast making it the second tallest building in the City of London financial district and the fifth tallest in Greater London and the United Kingdom, after the Shard in Southwark, 22 Bishopsgate, One Canada Square and Landmark Pinnacle both at Canary Wharf. 110 Bishopsgate is located on Bishopsgate and is bordered by Camomile Street, Outwich Street and Houndsditch.
Construction of the building started in 2007 and was completed in 2011. It is owned by Heron International and is still popularly known as Heron Tower, though following a naming dispute in 2014 involving the tenant Salesforce.com the City of London planning committee made it clear they would rule in favour of the property being officially named 110 Bishopsgate, although the application was withdrawn before it went to committee. The tower initially struggled to attract tenants in the depths of the Great Recession, but is now fully let.
Design and planning
Designed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox, 110 Bishopsgate was initially planned to reach a height of 183 metres (600 ft), the same as the NatWest Tower (officially Tower 42), which had been the tallest building in the City of London since 1977.
It attracted some controversy when first announced due to its proximity to St Paul's Cathedral when viewed from Waterloo Bridge. English Heritage was notably vocal in expressing concerns. A public inquiry was subsequently held, the outcome of which was decided by deputy prime minister John Prescott, who ruled in the developers' favour.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Heron Tower” is skyscraper in the City of London, England. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Heron, Tower and skyscraper, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “skyscraper in the City of London, England” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1613853. Authority coordinates are 51.516, -0.081. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007, 2011, 2014 and 1977.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Heron Tower”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Heron Tower primary sources, Heron Tower archive and Heron research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Heron Tower”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Heron Tower” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.