The structure was commissioned in 1978 with construction commencing in 1980 and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 November 1982.

The area is named after Northampton Abbey, an Augustinian monastery dedicated to St James, which was founded in 1104–1105.

[3] When the former Express Lift factory, which included the lift-testing tower, was redeveloped for housing in 1999–2000, excavations were carried out to determine the location and remains of any parts of the abbey.

In January 1997, the tower fell out of use after Express was taken over by Otis (who typically used its test facilities in the United States).

Safety Gear testing involved putting the lift cars (frame) into free fall conditions with rated mass at tripping speeds as required by the designers of the safety gear to ensure the lift cars decelerated and stopped within the requirements of the standard.

Buffer testing involved impacting them with the maximum and minimum mass at tripping speeds to ensure decelerations were within that requirement by the standard in both cases the aim was to ensure if the lift ever went into free fall or uncontrolled downward movement the safety components stopped the lift without causing any serious injury to the occupant.