The tallest building in Swindon, the David Murray John Tower is often the first part of Swindon you see - much more so if you live in it.

It is said to “dominate the Swindon skyline” and visitors often are surprised to find it is flats rather than offices - and residents imagine the views from the top.

One person asked on Reddit: “Are you allowed to just walk in? I just want to see what’s inside but I don’t want to get in trouble.”(Image: Rightmove)

Thanks to the internet, you can take a peak inside without having to physically enter the tower. One flat that sits on the twelfth floor sold for £110,000.

The 120-year leasehold was put up for sale in August 2022, with one bedroom and one bathroom.

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Inside is an open-plan kitchen and sitting room with leather-look sofas, small dining table and a “modern fitted kitchen with island”.(Image: Rightmove)

The bedrooms and bathrooms are pretty standard affairs - the interest is from looking out of the building, not in.

Panoramic windows offer wide views of Swindon, with church spires and autumnal looking trees laid out below.

It may not be the most iconic or recognisable view, but it is certainly as big a view of Swindon as you could get from any of its buildings.(Image: Rightmove)

Another listing for a flat in the tower states: “A large one bedroom 14th floor flat with fantastic views over Swindon.”

It adds: “Better known as the Brunel Tower in honour of the founder of the Swindon works, Swindon's tallest building is in fact named after the Swindon politician whose energy contributed to the influx of small industry to Swindon after WWII.

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“At 83m high, the DMJ dominates the Swindon skyline (alongside Old Town's Christchurch) and was the last action of David Murray John, Clerk of Swindon Borough Council from 1938-1974.”(Image: Rightmove)

Jonathan Meades, an authority on architecture, wrote in the Telegraph (quoted by Born Again Swindonian): “Designed by Douglas Stephen and built in the Seventies, this tower is a sleek, slick return to the smooth white grace of Twenties and Thirties Modernism. 

“It’s a mixed-use building, incorporating social housing, offices and retail, which is rare in Britain. Stephen was a communist and believed in architecture as a power for social good.”

He placed it alongside Marseille Cathedral, the Walhalla Temple in Bavaria, Cothay Manor in Somerset and Edinburgh’s Stewart’s Melville College.

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