Best football images
- Thread starter offside
- Start date
Wembley Stadium's iconic twin towers being constructed.
In the early 1920s, the construction of Wembley Stadium was in full swing, highlighted by the rising outline of its now-iconic twin towers.
Built for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924, this ambitious project showcased impressive architectural and engineering feats, with workers assembling the reinforced concrete structure that would soon become England’s premier venue for sports and large events.
The twin towers quickly transcended their functional role, becoming powerful symbols of national pride and progress.
Their soaring presence dominated the skyline around the construction site, embodying the optimism and ambition of the post-war era.
Beneath these towers, the stadium took shape, promising to host some of the most memorable moments in sports history.
For decades, Wembley’s twin towers stood as a beloved emblem of English football heritage.
They bore witness to countless legendary matches and events, cementing their place in the nation’s cultural memory.
Even after their removal, the towers remain a symbol of Wembley’s golden era, evoking nostalgia and respect for the spirit and history they represent.
Last edited by a moderator:
Watkin's Wembley folly: London's 'Eiffel Tower' that never was
IMAGE SOURCE, ALAMY
Image caption,
Sir Edward Watkin's Tower would have been the centrepiece of his new park in Wembley
ByDuncan Leatherdale
BBC News
Before Wembley got its world famous football stadium, a Victorian railway magnate had even grander plans to turn the borough's marshy fields into London's answer to the Eiffel Tower.
Sir Edward Watkin's plan was simple but ambitious - build the tallest structure in the world.
The railway magnate had been inspired by the 984ft (300m) tall Eiffel Tower, which was unveiled beside the River Seine in 1889.
He wanted London to have one of its own.
"Like other Victorian men of the era he wanted to make his impact on the world," said Jason Sayer, of the London School of Architecture. "The tower was to be his legacy."
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Sir Edward Watkin ran a number of railways in England and Canada
The Eiffel Tower was the world's tallest man-made structure when construction finished in 1889.
Initially derided by some for being a monstrous addition to the city's fine architecture, it went on to become a global tourist attraction, recouping its £260,000 construction costs in the first seven months and becoming the perennial back drop for Parisian postcards.
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world
Sir Edward wanted Great Britain to have an equivalent. But, instead of building a rival tower in central London, he believed a marsh on the city's outskirts would be the perfect spot.
He had bought 280 acres of land in the Wembley area as part of his grand scheme to build an entire new community, connected to the city of London by the Metropolitan Railway, of which he had been chairman since 1872.
His tower was meant to be the beacon for his new suburban paradise, comfortable homes set in pleasant parklands just a 12 minute train ride from Baker Street station.
The poor would be able to swap the over-crowded disease-infested streets of central London for healthy country air. His park would also encourage city-dwellers to enjoy days out on his railway, with a trip up the tower being the icing on the cake.
IMAGE SOURCE, ALAMY
Image caption,
The park opened in 1894 with the tower still under construction
"There was a lot of British pride going around at the time and he wanted to typify the country's global achievements,"
Mr Sayer said. "Part of it was down to him trying to do some public good, although how much the public needs a tower is debatable, but mostly it was down to his own ego."
His park, which included a boating lake, waterfall and various sporting grounds, opened in May 1894 and quickly became popular with some 100,000 visitors in its first few months.
Those ambling lazily around the large green gardens would have heard the heavy clanking of metal as work continued on Sir Edward's tower.
But work was not going well.
It had been designed by the London architects Stewart, McLaren and Dunn, who had seen off 67 competitors for the 500 Guinea prize.
IMAGE SOURCE, PUBLIC DOMAIN REVIEW
Image caption,
Some of the proposed towers were somewhat fantastical
Sir Edward had actually approached Gustave Eiffel to take on his tower, but the architect of the Parisian masterpiece politely declined, fearing his compatriots might think him "not so good a Frenchman as I hope I am" if he helped the English build a bigger tower than France's.
Some of the designs had been fantastical and patently impractical, if not impossible.
One was a 2,000ft high tower shaped like a multi-tiered wedding cake with a working railway spiralling up it.
Another was described as an "aerial colony" complete with hanging vegetable gardens and a scale replica of the Great Pyramid on its summit.
Stewart, McLaren and Dunn's winning entry closely resembled the Eiffel Tower, although it was made of steel as opposed to iron and, at 1,150ft (350m), was some 165ft (50m) taller than the Parisian centrepiece.
It was to feature a 90-bedroom hotel, restaurant, theatre, shops, Turkish baths, winter gardens and promenades, as well as a weather station and observatory at the top.
IMAGE SOURCE, PUBLIC DOMAIN REVIEW
Image caption,
The winning design on the left received a 500 guinea prize, the runners up 250 guineas
But Wembley was the wrong place for such a project for two main reasons. Firstly, the ground was muddy and marshy and prone to subsidence.
The first stage of the tower, consisting of four giant legs supporting a plateau 155ft (47m) in the air, was completed a short while after the park's opening.
But it was soon developing an ominous lean that was even more pronounced two years later.
IMAGE SOURCE, ALAMY
Image caption,
The first stage was the only section of the tower to be finished
Secondly, it was too far from central London.
"Wembley was not the equivalent of the location of the Eiffel Tower to put it mildly," said Christopher Costelloe, director of the Victorian Society. "People would get there and find there was not much to see, certainly no panoramic view of London.
"If he had built it in Hyde Park it would probably have been a roaring success."
Sir Edward's hopes that his even partially built tower would enjoy the same immediate success as the Eiffel Tower were quickly dashed.
Public interest in it waned with visitors donating only £27,000 of the £220,000 required. Sir Edward ploughed £100,000 of his own money into it, but by the end of 1894, work had ceased.
In a bid to reignite public excitement, lifts were installed in 1896 to allow people to get up to the platform. However, during its first six months only 18,500 people paid to do so.
The tower once mooted to be named after Queen Victoria became known instead as the "Shareholders' Dismay", "London Stump" and "Watkin's Folly".
IMAGE SOURCE, ALAMY
The footprints of Sir Edward's tower can be clearly seen as work was beginning on Wembley stadium in the 1920s
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
The first football match at the original Wembley stadium, complete with its famous twin towers, was the FA Cup Final in 1923
Sir Edward, who had also made an ill-fated attempt to dig a Channel tunnel in the 1880s, died in 1901. The following year his much-vaunted tower was closed to the public and in 1906 it was finally torn down.
Though Sir Edward's tower was a failure, his vision for Wembley was not. The park's leisure facilities proved popular and became a venue for large-scale gatherings.
Wembley's place in the list of global icons would be assured when, in 1923, a magnificent new stadium, complete with twin towers, opened to host the FA Cup final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.
In 2002, when the stadium was torn down to be replaced by another landmark ground, workmen found large concrete foundations beneath the pitch.
They were the first and last pieces of London's answer to the Eiffel Tower.
The new Wembley stadium opened in 2007
- Published 26 December 2019
www.bbc.co.uk
Image caption,
Sir Edward Watkin's Tower would have been the centrepiece of his new park in Wembley
ByDuncan Leatherdale
BBC News
Before Wembley got its world famous football stadium, a Victorian railway magnate had even grander plans to turn the borough's marshy fields into London's answer to the Eiffel Tower.
Sir Edward Watkin's plan was simple but ambitious - build the tallest structure in the world.
The railway magnate had been inspired by the 984ft (300m) tall Eiffel Tower, which was unveiled beside the River Seine in 1889.
He wanted London to have one of its own.
"Like other Victorian men of the era he wanted to make his impact on the world," said Jason Sayer, of the London School of Architecture. "The tower was to be his legacy."
Image caption,
Sir Edward Watkin ran a number of railways in England and Canada
The Eiffel Tower was the world's tallest man-made structure when construction finished in 1889.
Initially derided by some for being a monstrous addition to the city's fine architecture, it went on to become a global tourist attraction, recouping its £260,000 construction costs in the first seven months and becoming the perennial back drop for Parisian postcards.
Image caption,
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world
Sir Edward wanted Great Britain to have an equivalent. But, instead of building a rival tower in central London, he believed a marsh on the city's outskirts would be the perfect spot.
He had bought 280 acres of land in the Wembley area as part of his grand scheme to build an entire new community, connected to the city of London by the Metropolitan Railway, of which he had been chairman since 1872.
His tower was meant to be the beacon for his new suburban paradise, comfortable homes set in pleasant parklands just a 12 minute train ride from Baker Street station.
The poor would be able to swap the over-crowded disease-infested streets of central London for healthy country air. His park would also encourage city-dwellers to enjoy days out on his railway, with a trip up the tower being the icing on the cake.
Image caption,
The park opened in 1894 with the tower still under construction
"There was a lot of British pride going around at the time and he wanted to typify the country's global achievements,"
Mr Sayer said. "Part of it was down to him trying to do some public good, although how much the public needs a tower is debatable, but mostly it was down to his own ego."
His park, which included a boating lake, waterfall and various sporting grounds, opened in May 1894 and quickly became popular with some 100,000 visitors in its first few months.
Those ambling lazily around the large green gardens would have heard the heavy clanking of metal as work continued on Sir Edward's tower.
But work was not going well.
It had been designed by the London architects Stewart, McLaren and Dunn, who had seen off 67 competitors for the 500 Guinea prize.
Image caption,
Some of the proposed towers were somewhat fantastical
Sir Edward had actually approached Gustave Eiffel to take on his tower, but the architect of the Parisian masterpiece politely declined, fearing his compatriots might think him "not so good a Frenchman as I hope I am" if he helped the English build a bigger tower than France's.
Some of the designs had been fantastical and patently impractical, if not impossible.
One was a 2,000ft high tower shaped like a multi-tiered wedding cake with a working railway spiralling up it.
Another was described as an "aerial colony" complete with hanging vegetable gardens and a scale replica of the Great Pyramid on its summit.
Stewart, McLaren and Dunn's winning entry closely resembled the Eiffel Tower, although it was made of steel as opposed to iron and, at 1,150ft (350m), was some 165ft (50m) taller than the Parisian centrepiece.
It was to feature a 90-bedroom hotel, restaurant, theatre, shops, Turkish baths, winter gardens and promenades, as well as a weather station and observatory at the top.
Image caption,
The winning design on the left received a 500 guinea prize, the runners up 250 guineas
But Wembley was the wrong place for such a project for two main reasons. Firstly, the ground was muddy and marshy and prone to subsidence.
The first stage of the tower, consisting of four giant legs supporting a plateau 155ft (47m) in the air, was completed a short while after the park's opening.
But it was soon developing an ominous lean that was even more pronounced two years later.
Image caption,
The first stage was the only section of the tower to be finished
Secondly, it was too far from central London.
"Wembley was not the equivalent of the location of the Eiffel Tower to put it mildly," said Christopher Costelloe, director of the Victorian Society. "People would get there and find there was not much to see, certainly no panoramic view of London.
"If he had built it in Hyde Park it would probably have been a roaring success."
Sir Edward's hopes that his even partially built tower would enjoy the same immediate success as the Eiffel Tower were quickly dashed.
Public interest in it waned with visitors donating only £27,000 of the £220,000 required. Sir Edward ploughed £100,000 of his own money into it, but by the end of 1894, work had ceased.
In a bid to reignite public excitement, lifts were installed in 1896 to allow people to get up to the platform. However, during its first six months only 18,500 people paid to do so.
The tower once mooted to be named after Queen Victoria became known instead as the "Shareholders' Dismay", "London Stump" and "Watkin's Folly".
The footprints of Sir Edward's tower can be clearly seen as work was beginning on Wembley stadium in the 1920s
The first football match at the original Wembley stadium, complete with its famous twin towers, was the FA Cup Final in 1923
Sir Edward, who had also made an ill-fated attempt to dig a Channel tunnel in the 1880s, died in 1901. The following year his much-vaunted tower was closed to the public and in 1906 it was finally torn down.
Though Sir Edward's tower was a failure, his vision for Wembley was not. The park's leisure facilities proved popular and became a venue for large-scale gatherings.
Wembley's place in the list of global icons would be assured when, in 1923, a magnificent new stadium, complete with twin towers, opened to host the FA Cup final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.
In 2002, when the stadium was torn down to be replaced by another landmark ground, workmen found large concrete foundations beneath the pitch.
They were the first and last pieces of London's answer to the Eiffel Tower.
The new Wembley stadium opened in 2007
Wembley Roof Extension Work Underway.
Cranes and construction machinery as a new roof, made from aluminium and translucent glass, is added to Wembley Stadium, the stadium's twin towers in the background. 30th October 1962.
The new roof will extend further out than the original roof, providing protection from the elements to the front rows. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Wembley Stadium construction site in September 1922.
(From Geoffrey Hewlett’s 2002 book “Wembley”)
The Rising Sun
An Untouchable
- Messages
- 9,169
- Reaction score
- 8,203
Terrific! Michael Palin always makes me laugh! . The film in which he has a stutter ( the title eludes me) , and in the "life of Brian" when he pronounces the letter "r" as a "w" ! are comedy classics.
A wet morning up here. Not unusual.
Saw a couple of pictures recently, that reminds me of playing on such wet pitches as a youngster.
The dreaded West of Scotland red blaes football pitch!
The dreaded West of Scotland Red Blaes pitches.
It was said that any player making a sliding tackle on these pitches, was worthy of a Victoria Cross.
And we sometimes played when they were frozen…
The old grassy pitch shown above is the one we all used to play on regularly as youngsters. It was actually a decent enough pitch.
It hadn’t been used for a few years and the old goalposts had been taken away.
It was also reasonably sheltered by large trees on two sides. We thought it was brilliant.
And the pitch surface was actually in better condition than some of the pitches we played on for the School teams!
Keepers could dive and outfield players could make sliding tackles, without any problems!
Last edited by a moderator:
The Rising Sun
An Untouchable
- Messages
- 9,169
- Reaction score
- 8,203
West Ham Stadium This was a greyhound and speedway venue a few miles from Upton Park. There was a doomed attempt to use it as a football stadium for a team called "Thames" something or other at one time. The stadium lasted till 1971. I wasn't aware it even existed! !
The West Ham Stadium existed between 1928 and 1972.This photo was taken in 1950.
The stadium was designed by the famous football stadium designer Archibald Leitch.
Archibald Leitch was responsible for the design of most of the major football stadiums in Britain at the time.
There was a large two tier stand accommodating 80,000 spectators with a smaller stand able to hold a further 20,000 bringing the capacity for the stadium up to 100,000.
The greyhound track was the largest in Great Britain,with a circumference of 562 yards and 123-yard straights!
To fill the stadium on weekends a football team called Thames Association FC was founded.
After two years in the Southern Football League, Thames were elected to the Football League Third Division South in 1930.
The stadium could hold 120,000, but Thames shared a catchment area with Charlton, Orient, Millwall and West Ham United.
So the club had difficulty attracting crowds and created the lowest recorded attendance in Football League history when just 469 people turned up to watch Thames take on Luton Town on 6 December 1930.
Thames only stayed two seasons in the football league, coming 20th and 22nd out of 22 teams during their brief stay.
They resigned from the Football League in May 1932 after finishing bottom and were dissolved soon afterwards.
They were replaced by Aldershot in 1933.
Last edited by a moderator:
