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Twin Towers, Wembley

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Coordinates: 51°33′20″N 0°16′47″W / 51.55556°N 0.27972°W / 51.55556; -0.27972
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Twin Towers
The Twin Towers at Euro 1996
Map
Former namesTwin Towers at Wembley
General information
StatusDemolished
TypeFootball stadium
ClassificationGrade II
LocationWembley
Town or cityLondon
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°33′20″N 0°16′47″W / 51.55556°N 0.27972°W / 51.55556; -0.27972
Groundbreaking1922
Completed1923
Closed2000
Demolished2003
OwnerThe Football Association
Height124 ft (38 m)
Technical details
Materialferro-concrete
Design and construction
Architect(s)Sir Robert McAlpine
Known forWembley Stadium

The Twin Towers were part of the original Wembley Stadium in London, England. They were constructed in 1923 on the site of Watkin's Tower in Wembley, and came to be recognised as one of the iconic symbols of English football in general and of Wembley Stadium in particular. They became grade II listed buildings in 1976. They were demolished in 2003 to make way for the new Wembley Stadium.

Construction

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The towers were designed by Sir Robert McAlpine for the construction of Empire Stadium (later known as Wembley Stadium) in time for the British Empire Exhibition on the site of the demolished Watkin's Tower. They were 126 feet (38 m) high and built of ferro-concrete with concrete flagpoles topped with concrete crowns constructed above them.[1] Initially they were only intended to be a temporary construction, and the plan was to demolish them after the exhibition, but the chairman of the exhibition committee Sir James Stevenson requested that they be preserved.[2]

The towers continued to remain a part of Wembley Stadium and they became a distinctive symbol of Wembley, framing the approach to the stadium from Wembley Park tube station to the north. They were world-famous as the landmark symbols of Wembley Stadium.[3]

The Twin Towers were granted Grade II listed status in 1976.[4] As they were originally built as temporary structures, and were "treated to resemble masonry", several alterations were required over the years to preserve the Twin Towers.[4]

Demolition

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In 1994, there were rumours that Wembley Stadium would be redeveloped to build a new English national stadium. English Heritage responded critically to the reports, writing to Brent London Borough Council stating that they expected the Twin Towers to be preserved but would not object to the rest of the stadium being demolished.[5] In 1998, the Football Association considered plans on how to update Wembley and replacement was considered the best option, despite an offer from Arsenal F.C. to buy the stadium and restore it.[6] When the new designs were unveiled, it was announced that the Twin Towers would be demolished to make way for the new 90,000 capacity stadium. The reasons given to English Heritage were that they would be in the middle of the pitch of the new stadium plans and served no practical purpose. The Minister for Sport, Tony Banks described them dismissively as "concrete blocks".[7] It was also claimed that it would be impractical to move the towers elsewhere because the ferro-concrete would crumble easily and unevenly, making it impossible for them to be dismantled and reassembled somewhere else in any solid form.[1] English Heritage opposed the demolition and Brent London Borough Council stated that they would not approve any new stadium that did not include the Twin Towers.[8] Brent Council later granted planning permission on the understanding that the Twin Towers would be preserved, however the final designs for the new stadium reverted to the originals without the Twin Towers in place.[9] English Heritage also withdrew their objections, thus paving the way for the Twin Towers to be demolished.[10] Proposals in early 2000 to move the towers to Widnes, to become part of a new national rugby league museum, were not realised.

The Twin Towers were the last structure of Wembley to be demolished. Preliminary demolition work started in December 2002 with the concrete crowns being removed from the top of the flagpoles.[11] The towers were demolished in 2003 by a large Liebherr 974 crawler excavator referred to as "Goliath" and nicknamed "Alan the Shearer", made in Germany specifically for the task.[12] The original foundations of Watkin's Tower were rediscovered during the demolition.[13] The top of one of the towers was moved to be installed as a memorial at St Raphael's Estate, Neasden,[14] and the "iconic" tower flagpoles are now located at the late Sir William McAlpine's Fawley Hill estate.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Wembley Stadium – Old and New" (PDF). Brent London Borough Council. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ^ Paul Hirst (19 October 2013). "Scotsman who saved Wembley from being demolished". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Final whistle for Wembley's towers". BBC News. 7 February 2003. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Olympic stadiums and Cultural heritage: on the nature and status of heritage values in large sport facilities" (PDF). University of Liège. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  5. ^ "LAC Paper 1999" (PDF). Historic England. 30 July 1999. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  6. ^ Guy Hodgson/Andrew Yates (13 March 1998). "FA infuriated by Arsenal's bid for Wembley". The Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Twin towers facing demolition". BBC News. 11 November 1998. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Reprieve for Wembley's towers". BBC News. 11 November 1998. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Twin towers 'have to go'". BBC News. 7 December 1998. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Goodbye, twin towers". The Guardian. 29 July 1999. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Wembley twin towers' crowns removed". The Daily Telegraph. 6 December 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Wembley falls to German giant". Construction News. 13 February 2003. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  13. ^ Tim de Lisle (14 March 2006). "Tim de Lisle on the past and present of Wembley stadium". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Wembley Stadium architectural salvage to be auctioned by the Brooking Trust". SalvoNEWS. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  15. ^ "The Honourable Sir William McAlpine Bt 1936 – 2018". SalvoNEWS. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
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