Coordinates: 51°33′22″N 0°18′15″W / 51.5560°N 0.3042°W
| Wembley | |
 Wembley is synonymous with the stadium |
|
  Wembley
Wembley shown within Greater London |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Brent |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WEMBLEY |
| Postcode district | HA0, HA9 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Brent North |
| London Assembly | Brent and Harrow |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Wembley is an area of northwest London, UK, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena. It is the most ethnically diverse area of London, and has Indian, Sri Lankan, Afro-Caribbean and Polish communities that make up the area's majority.
In recent years, there has been a major considerable re-development. Central Square is one of the finished developments in Wembley Central. Another development takes place in Wembley Park in the Engineers Way and Empire Way junction.
Contents |
Wembley is derived from the Old English proper name "Wemba" and the Old English name for meadow "Lea". Hence, Wembley means Wemba's lea, or Wemba's clearing and was first mentioned in the charter of 825 of King Beornwulf.
The village of Wemba Lea grew up on the hill by the clearing with the Harrow Road south of it. Much of the surrounding area remained wooded. By 1547 there were only six houses in Wembley but though small it was one of the richest parts of Harrow. There was a mill on Wembley Hill by 1673. In 1837, the London and Birmingham Railway (now part of the West Coast Main Line) was opened from London Euston, through Wembley, to Hemel Hempstead, and completed to Birmingham the following year. The changing names of the local station demonstrated the increasing importance of the 'Wembley' name. 'Sudbury' station opened in 1845, renamed as 'Sudbury and Wembley' in 1882, renamed as 'Wembley for Sudbury' in 1910, renamed as 'Wembley Central' in 1948, at the time of the Olympic Games. To modernise the service, a new Watford DC Line was built alongside the main lines, and Bakerloo line trains, and electric trains to Broad Street started in 1917. Electric trains to Euston began running in 1922. (Since 1917 there have been six platforms at what is now Wembley Central station.) In 1880, the Metropolitan Railway opened its line from Baker Street through the eastern side of Wembley, but only built a station, Wembley Park, in 1894. (There are now three physically separate services, the London to Aylesbury Line, the Metropolitan line, and the Jubilee line. Only the latter two services have platforms at Wembley Park station.)
In November 1905, the Great Central Railway (now, in this section, part of the Chiltern Main Line) opened a new route for fast expresses that by-passed the congested Metropolitan Railway tracks. It ran between Neasden Junction, south of Wembley, and Northolt Junction, west of London, where a new joint main line with the Great Western Railway began. Local passenger services from Marylebone were added from March 1906, when new stations were opened, including 'Wembley Hill', next to what later became the site of Wembley Stadium. Wembley Hill station was renamed 'Wembley Complex' in May 1978, before getting its present name of 'Wembley Stadium' in May 1987.[1]
The area around the current Wembley Stadium was the location of the British Empire Exhibition[2][3][4] of 1924-1925.[5][6][7][8] Until the 2000s, remnants of the many reinforced concrete buildings, including the original Wembley Stadium, remained, but nearly all have now been removed, to make way for redevelopment.
Wembley, in common with much of north west London, has had an extensive manufacturing industry, but much of it closed in the 1980s. Factories in the area included Glacier Metals (bearings), Wolf Power Tools, Sunbeam Electrical Appliances, Griffin & George (laboratory equipment) and GEC (whose research plant was one of the first of its type in the UK). The retail centre of Wembley (the High Road and Ealing Road) has suffered from chronic traffic congestion, and from the opening of neighbouring purpose-built shopping centres, first Brent Cross in the early 1970s, and later the Harrow and Ealing Broadway Shopping Centres. During the 1960s rebuilding of Wembley Central station, a block of flats, an open-plan shopping plaza and a car park were constructed, on a concrete raft over the railway. The shopping plaza suffered a slow decline and was therefore poorly maintained but is being redeveloped. The first phase, including 85 homes and reconstruction of the central square, has been completed.[9] Most of Wembley housing consists of inter-war semi-detached houses and terraces, and of modern apartment blocks, with a significant minority of detached housing.
Wembley formed part of the large ancient parish of Harrow on the Hill in the Gore hundred of Middlesex. In 1894 Wembley was split from Harrow, creating a new parish and urban district. It included Alperton, Preston, North Wembley, South Kenton, Tokyngton, Sudbury, Wembley Park and Northwick Park. The urban district included the neighbouring parish of Kingsbury until 1901 and again from 1934. In 1937 it was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Wembley. The fire brigade headquarters of Middlesex County Council were located on Harrow Road and is now a fire station of the London Fire Brigade. Wembley Town Hall on Forty Lane, built in 1938, became Brent Town Hall when the municipal boroughs of Wembley and Willesden were amalgamated in 1965 to form the London Borough of Brent and transferred to Greater London.
Since the 2006 elections, Brent Council has been controlled by a coalition of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. Wembley falls within the UK Parliament constituency of Brent North, and the London Assembly constituency of Brent and Harrow.
Wembley is bounded on the south and east by the River Brent and the A406 North Circular Road, separating it from Neasden, Willesden and Park Royal. To its west and northwest are Sudbury and Harrow. To the north it is separated from Kingsbury by Barn Hill Open Space and Fryent Country Park. To the east lies Hendon.
Up to the nineteenth century Wembley was rural and it has retained a number of green spaces. These include Barham Park (10.5 hectares) in Sudbury Town, King Edward VII Park, established in 1914 behind the High Road (10.5 hectares) and Sudbury Green. Less managed spaces include Fryent Country Park, Barn Hill (19.87 hectares) and Vale Farm sports ground (30 hectares). Brent River Park / Tokyngton Recreation Ground (20.26 hectares) has recently been restored returning the river to a more natural course. Nearby Sudbury Golf Course backs onto the Grand Union Canal with its towpath running into central London. Sudbury Squash and Tennis Club has outdoor tennis courts, an indoor squash court and a clubhouse. Wembley is a short distance away from the Welsh Harp reservoir and open space, created in the early 19th century by damming the River Brent to provide water for the Grand Union Canal.
The area is identified in the Mayor of London's London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.[10]
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Harrow on the Hill | North Wembley | Wembley Park | |
| Sudbury |  |
Brent Park | ||
 Wembley  |
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| Perivale | Alperton | Tokyngton |
The main shopping area is centred on Wembley High Road, Central Square, which is also undergoing redevelopment, and Ealing Road. The industrial and commercial estate close to Wembley Stadium includes warehouse-style outlets and retail sheds, and at 'Brent Park' further south on the A406 North Circular Road, there is a large Ikea Store, Tesco, other stores and industrial units. A large market is held on most Sundays in the car park in front of Wembley Stadium, continuing a long tradition.
The 'Wembley City' development in the area of Wembley Stadium has a number of stakeholders, in particular Quintain Estates and Development, which owns much of the proposed site. It is to include new leisure facilities (e.g. the first new swimming baths being built in the borough in 60 years, and a multiplex cinema), residential and retail units and a new Civic Centre, incorporating council offices and assembly hall, a library and other community facilities and some retail space, and is due to be completed by 2013.[11][12].[13] 'Wembley Central Square' is being redeveloped with new leisure and retail facilities and residential units by St. Modwen. The first two phases of the development were completed by July 2009, and the final phase will see the replacement of the old central square by an improved Wembley Central station and new shops.
The prime landmark is Wembley Stadium, rebuilt 2003-2007 at a cost of £827 million (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/oct/15/football.wembleystadium), which is approached via the White Horse Bridge designed by the London Eye architects. Nearby are Wembley Arena, a concert venue built in 1934 as the Empire Pool, a swimming pool for the Empire Games, and Fountain Studios, one of the country's largest purpose built television studios and host to X Factor, Bremner, Bird and Fortune and Britain's Got Talent. Brent Town Hall is a Grade-2-listed building located on Barn Hill facing Wembley Stadium; its future is uncertain due to plans to move the town hall function, including council chamber, to a new civic centre as part of the Wembley redevelopment.
Chiltern Railways services are provided at Wembley Stadium railway station. London Underground services are provided on the Metropolitan line and Jubilee line at Wembley Park tube station. London Midland, London Overground and London Underground Bakerloo line services are available at Wembley Central railway station. Southern trains also pick up here, but are deliberately not advertised, for contractual financial reasons.
The following table shows all the London Buses running in Wembley Central, including its destinations and operator.
| 18 | Euston | Sudbury Swan | First Centrewest |
| 79 | Alperton Sainsburys | Edgware | First Centrewest |
| 83 | Ealing Hospital | Golders Green | First Centrewest |
| 92 | St. Raphael's North | Ealing Hospital | First Centrewest |
| 182 | Harrow Weald Oxhey Lane | Brent Cross | Metroline |
| 204 | Sudbury Town | Edgware | Metroline |
| 223 | Wembley Central | Harrow | First Centrewest |
| 224 | Wembley Stadium | Harlesden Willesden Junction | First Centrewest |
| 297 | Willesden Bus Garage | Ealing Broadway | Metroline |
| H17 | Wembley Central | Harrow | Transdev London |
| N18 | Trafalgar Square | Harrow Weald Bus Garage | First Centrewest |
Wembley lies near to the A40 Western Avenue and A406 North Circular Road. Wembley town centre is served by three pay-and-display car parks. The largest in Ealing Road is located south of the High Road, at a lower level. The second is accessed from London Road and is beneath the central square, and the third and smallest is located at St John's Road.
Three possible transport services have been proposed for the area; the West London Orbital, Fastbus and the North and West London Light railway.[14][15][16][17]
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North London is the outer northern district of London.
Many outer areas of North London was once part of the county of Middlesex which no longer exists for administrative purposes. However, Middlesex is sometimes used as part of the postal address for these areas.
North London consists of the following boroughs:
This is a large, thriving metropolitan area in North West London and can be divided into several areas including Finchley Central, East Finchley and West Finchley.
Finchley Central is one of the only areas within London to be fortunate enough to have a city farm. College Farm is an attraction for locals and tourists alike and one can expect to see horses, cows, yaks, pigs and other farmyard animals (a rare sight in London!). Finchley Central is also home to the famous 'naked lady' statue at the Henly's Corner. There are a number of hotels situated in the district ranging from smaller bed and breakfasts to the Holiday Inn Finchley.
Finchley Central contains an odd mix of upper-middle class suburbia enfused with some working class aspects too, thus giving it a rather unique vibe. There is a strong Jewish community in Finchley, however, this does not contain many Orthodox Jews who generally choose to make the neighbouring areas of Hendon and Golders Green their home. The Jewish community is represented by a number of synagogues in the area, the most prominent being the New North London Synagogue which is situtated on East End Rd. This also acts as a local hub for Jewish culture.
There are a number of restaurants in Finchley Central which are reasonably priced and these include specialist restaurants such as Kosher and Halal establishments. Finchley also has a number of bohemian and lively bars/pubs some of which have late licensing laws(very handy). Travel in and out of central London is a breeze via the Northern Line and a variety of bus routes. Although Finchley has a distinctly urban feel, one can venture close by to the neighbouring Mill Hill area in order to experience some of the great British countryside.
Kilburn is a busy, diverse area situated along a stretch of the Roman Watling Street that makes up the local Edgware Road. Northern Kilburn encompasses the smaller area of Brondesbury. Kilburn spans the boroughs of Brent and Camden.
Being surrounded by generally wealthier areas, Kilburn is a mixture of influences. Historically, it was a focus point for Irish immigration (at some point it was even referred to as "County Kilburn"), and although there are few remaining in Kilburn, their influence is felt in the naming and styling of some of Kilburn's cafes and pubs. The community is currently very diverse, both ethnically and socially, with a mix of wealthy and poor streets.
Tottenham is mentioned in the Domesday book as the homestead of a man named Tota. The village of Tottenham grew up around the area of High Cross, on the junction with the High Road (the Roman road Ermine Street) and what is now Monument Way.
As a rural village this was a popular destination for the wealthy, and Henry VIII is believed to have visited the Tudor Bruce Castle, then in the hands of the Bruce family (descended from Robert the Bruce). The area stayed semi-rural until the late 19th Century when the railway (with its new, reduced, workmen's rates) brought new trade and the need for more housing to the area. The area rapidly became built up, and by the time of World War II was a major target for Luftwaffe bombing campaigns.
Since then, Tottenham has become most notorious for being one of the most deprived areas of North London and the scene of the Broadwater Farm riots in 1985. Since then, the area has done much to recover, and is now reputed to be the most ethnically diverse part of Western Europe.
North London is well served by Tube connections with several lines running through and terminating within the district:
Golders Green Underground Station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line. A large number of buses stop in Golders Green.
Harrow on the Hill Underground Station is on the Metropolitan Line. Outside the station is a fairly large bus station.
Although Harrow and Harrow on the Hill are technically the same area they feel totally different. Harrow town centre is a bustling shopping and business area while Harrow on the Hill has remained almost unchanged for a hundred years.
Neasden is served by the Jubilee Line on the Tube network (coloured silver). Metropolitan Line trains sometimes stop here but don't depend on it. Generally there is no access to the Metropolitan platforms. The station has 3 gates, a ticket office, automatic ticket machines and passenger information. There is also male and female toilets but you should not use these only unless you really need to. The toilets can be dirty and sometimes infested with rats and drug dealers.
Travellers coming by road can follow these routes:
From the North: M1/A1 > A406 > A404
From the East: M11 > M25 (J23) > A1 > A41 > A406 > A404
From the South: M25 (J8) > A217 > A240 > A24 > A3 > A306 >A205 > A406 > A404
From the West: M4 > A312 > A40 > A406 > A404
Tottenham is served by two tube stations on the Victoria line, Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters.
Seven Sisters, Bruce Grove and White Hart Lane stations are on the National Express line between Enfield Town and Liverpool Street.
South Tottenham station is on the London Overground route between Gospel Oak and Barking. Tottenham Hale station is on the Stansted Express [6] between Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport.
Buses: 123 Wood Green to Ilford 149 Liverpool Street to Edmonton) 243 Wood Green to Waterloo and many more services come through Tottenham.
Two London Underground stations are within a short walk of the venues. Wembley Park is on the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines, and Wembley Central on the Bakerloo line (it is also a mainline station – see below). Access to the venues are via Olympic Way and the White Horse Bridge respectively. London Underground services typically run every 5 minutes in each direction until midnight, seven days a week.
Two mainline stations are within a short walk of the venues. Wembley Central is served by Silverlink trains on the Watford DC Line, providing services to Watford Junction northbound and London Euston southbound. Services typically run every 20 minutes in each direction Mon-Sat, and every half hour on Sundays. Southern trains also run Mon-Fri peak hour services on the West London Line, also to Watford Junction northbound but to Clapham Junction and Gatwick Airport railway station southbound. Whether matchday services will run at the weekends on this route remains unclear.
Wembley Stadium station is next to the stadium. Services are provided by Chiltern Railways on the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebon(one stop away) southbound. Services are every half-hour seven days a week. Northbound, trains only run up as far as High Wycombe and are every half-hour seven days a week. However, if travellers go first to Marylebone, there are northbound services that go all the way up to Birmingham Snow Hill. These run every half-hour, seven days a week.
There are several specialised shops in the area, as well as large shopping centres. Of course, there are hundreds of other shops and shopping centres nearby in London.
Large number of charity/thrift shops in the area. The haul is pretty good if you are looking for ladies' vintage and the Norwood shops often have shipments of castoffs from high street mainstays (Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, and Charles Tyrwhitt), but for actual designer stuff, go to St. John's Wood instead.
There are plenty of good quality restaurants in Crouch End to choose from.
Wembley is noted for its large ethnic minority commmunities, particularly people of Indian orgin. As such, there are many Indian takeaways. There are also, of course, many other takeaways, restaurants and pizza parlours.
The are numerous bars in the area, although it should be noted that alcohol is not permitted in the arena or stadium.
There are several inns and hotels in the area, ranging for the cheap and cheerful to 5 star.
Golders Green has a fair number of small hotels and Bed and Breakfasts within walking distance of the Underground Station.
The area has a justified reputation for being blighted with crime. Gangs of male youths are responsible for the majority of crime and disorder, in particular robbery and burglary. Hartington Park is to be avoided from the evening onwards. Keep to the well-lit streets and the High Rd, and avoid flashing jewellery or mobile phones. Tottenham Police Station is located at 398 High Road N17: 5 min walk north from Seven Sisters underground station.
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