An icon of engineering design – Paternoster lifts

Have you ever heard of a Paternoster lift? If not, you are not alone, as these icons of design are not very common these days. However, if you have been to the University of Sheffield, or the University of Exeter, you will no doubt have seen one or even experienced it. There are only 3 left in existence in the UK, the third of which can be found at Northwick Park Hospital in London.

A Paternoster lift comprises individual open-door compartments for one or two people. They travel on a continual loop, with one side going up and the other side coming down so passengers can step on and off as the lift moves. The unusual name allegedly comes from the resemblance to rosary prayer beads and is Latin for Our Father, which begins the Lord’s Prayer.

It is a fascinating bit of engineering with the first lifts that could be described as ‘Paternoster’ installed in Liverpool in 1868, with a patent obtained in 1877 by British engineer Peter Hart. In  1884, a UK engineering firm installed its first ‘Cyclic Elevator’, using Hart’s patent, in a London office block.

The lift in the Arts Building of the University of Sheffield was installed in the 1960s and is believed to be the biggest Paternoster still in use in Europe with 38 two-person compartments serving 22 floors. If you visit Sheffield, be sure to have a look at it in action, and if you feel inclined, you can always ‘step in’ and experience it for yourself.