 New Brighton Tower was a steel lattice observation tower at New Brighton in the town of Wallasey , Cheshire ( now in the Borough of Wirral , in Merseyside ) , England . It stood 567 feet ( 173 m ) high , and was the tallest building in Great Britain when it opened some time between 1898 and 1900 . Neglected during the First World War and requiring renovation the owners could not afford , dismantling of the tower began in 1919 , and the metal was sold for scrap . The building at its base , housing the Tower Ballroom , continued in use until damaged by fire in 1969 . 
