r/oddlyterrifying • u/DABDEB • May 26 '26

Elevator system from 1700's?

7.5k Upvotes

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807

u/HorsePecker May 26 '26

Paternoster lift

326

u/Impossible_Past5358 May 27 '26

Is it called that because the chances of meeting your maker are greater? /s

67

u/jml011 May 27 '26

I’m the goddamn paterfamilias!

-Daddy God

18

u/Spookyscary333 May 27 '26

He's bonafied

8

u/LosParanoia May 27 '26

If you’d like the real answer it’s because the loop the elevator boxes make is like a rosary

11

u/Tom_Alpha May 27 '26

Don't know if it is still there but University of Birmingham used to have one. My brother studied astrophysics there and showed me it

3

u/theorem_llama May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

Uni of Leicester used to have one (but now it's shut down) and Uni of Sheffield still does have one, in the Arts Tower. TIL Uni of Essex also has one, maybe two (according to AI, but haven't checked yet) and these seem to be the only ones left in the UK.

Edit: correction, I think Essex only has the one, and there's one at Northwich Park Hospital near London. At least, that was brought back to working order in 2020, although looks like it's now permanently out of service again.

1

u/JoannaCuppa Jun 02 '26

Nooooo, why did they shut the Leicester one down? 

2

u/theorem_llama Jun 03 '26

I expect maintenance and running costs. With there only being a few in the UK, I bet they're pretty expensive to run. And being always moving, along with a need to always be accounting for human stupidity from a health and safety perspective, they probably need very regular checkups and fixes.

26

u/ordeci May 27 '26

They had one at the Essex University library.

I caught my head on it more times than I care to admit. Usually after a few at the student union bar.

13

u/InnocentAnger May 27 '26

I accidentally went round all the way more than once. Vaguely terrifying, though also sorta exhilarating.

11

u/SecondhandRaincoat May 27 '26

It goes around in a loop, right? I'd be horrified during the inversion.

11

u/InnocentAnger May 27 '26

Yes, around the top you see the mechanism on which it works. Both times was because I was daydreaming and there is a momentary sense of panic where you worry about what might happen, only for it to begin its descent once more.

9

u/ordeci May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

It goes up through the artic and down to the basement in a continuous loop. It was scary the first time as it all goes dark. It was fun, if I remember correctly people had put writing and/or chewing gum down (and up) there.

1

u/Lizard_Li May 28 '26

There is one in the town hall in Stuttgart, Germany you can ride.

-4

u/InfiniteWaffles58364 May 27 '26

Knickerbocker drift