It has loomed large in Swindon's skyline for many years.

The 272-feet-high David Murray John Tower is the tallest structure in the town centre and houses 72 neighbours in the middle of Canal Walk.

Images from Swindon Libraries' Local Studies team show the immense effort it took to construct the tower in 1975.

The look of the 21-floor building has mainly stayed the same in the decades since then, though the layout of the Brunel Shopping Centre connected to it has gone through a few makeovers, as indicated by the photo from the 1980s.

In other shots, the DMJ tower stands out against the sky and can be seen for miles around, while one picture gives us an idea of what it's like to look out from inside the block of flats and view Regent Street and Granville Street from several storeys above the ground.

Our gallery also pays tribute to Mr David Murray John himself, a long-serving politician who played a key role in Swindon's regeneration after the Second World War.

Signing the final contract for the £2 million construction of the central tower named in his honour was his last action as Swindon Borough Council's town clerk in May 1974, when he stepped down after 36 years - but he sadly did not live to see it open in 1976.