Editing Wembley (section)

==History==
{| class="wikitable"  style="float:right; font-size:85%; margin-left:10px; width:50%"
|+'''Wembley (civil parish then Metropolitan Borough from its inception) population'''
|-
|colspan="2" | [[Harrow on the Hill|◄]] Split from Harrow on the Hill
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1901
| style="text-align:center;"| 4,519
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1911
| style="text-align:center;"| 10,696
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1921
| style="text-align:center;"| 16,187
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1931
| style="text-align:center;"| 48,561
|-
|colspan="2" | [[Kingsbury, London|◄]] From abolition, 1 April 1934, of Kingsbury Urban District ({{convert|1827|acres|km2}}) until 1965 about, that is if static as at 1931, 16,636 residents, absorbed<ref>1931 Census of England and Wales, Table B, 'Areas altered between 26th April, 1931 and 30th June, 1934, showing constitution as at the latter date, in terms of constitution as at the former date, together with particulars of acreage and population'.; M. of H. Order No. 78096. The Middlesex Review Order, 1934; 8.2.1935. M. of H. Declaration under Section 145 of the LGA, 1933</ref>
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1939
| style="text-align:center;"| 112,563
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1951
| style="text-align:center;"| 131,384
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1961
| style="text-align:center;"| 124,892
|-
|style="font-size:smaller" colspan=2|Note no 1941 census due to war
|-
| colspan="2" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"|source: [[Census#United Kingdom|UK census]]/The 1939 Register<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10153050/cube/TOT_POP |title=Wembley MB/UD through time &#124; Population Statistics &#124; Total Population |publisher=Visionofbritain.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2021-10-05}}</ref>
|}

===Toponymy===
Wembley is derived from the [[Old English]] proper name "Wemba" and the Old English "lea" for meadow or clearing. The name was first mentioned in the charter of 825 of Selvin. A further instance may be seen in the [[Plea rolls|Plea Rolls]] of the Common Pleas, as Wambeleye.<ref>aalt.law.uh.edu; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/E3/CP40no357/aCP40no357mm1toEnd/IMG_7441.htm; third entry, line 3, "apud Wambeleye"; in 1349</ref>

===The old manor===
The village of Wembley grew up on the hill by the clearing with the [[Harrow Road]] south of it. Much of the surrounding area remained wooded. In 1547 there were but six houses in Wembley. Though small, it was one of the wealthiest parts of Harrow. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1543, the manor of Wembley fell to Richard Andrews and [[Sir Leonard Chamberlain|Leonard Chamberlain]], who sold it to Richard Page, {{abbreviation|Esq.|Esquire}}, of [[Harrow on the Hill]], the same year. There was a mill on Wembley Hill by 1673.

The Page family continued as lords of the manor of Wembley for several centuries and eventually commissioned [[Humphry Repton]] (1752–1818) the landscape gardener to design what is now [[Wembley Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-environs/vol2/pp559-588|title=Harrow on the Hill &#124; British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol4/pp203-211|title=Harrow, including Pinner : Manors &#124; British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> Wembley Park thus derived its name from Repton's habit of referring to the areas he designed as "parks".

The former Barley Mow pub was recorded in 1722 thus was the earliest long-lasting pub of Wembley.<ref name=conservation>{{cite web|url=http://brent.gov.uk/media/16402730/wembley-high-street-conservation-area-appraisal.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314150202/https://www.brent.gov.uk/media/16402730/wembley-high-street-conservation-area-appraisal.pdf |archive-date=2020-03-14 |url-status=live |title=Appraisal |publisher=brent.gov.uk |date= |accessdate=2021-10-05}}</ref>

===Railways, parish formed and development===
In 1837, the [[London & Birmingham Railway]] (now part of the [[West Coast Main Line]]) was opened from [[Euston railway station|London Euston]] through Wembley to [[Hemel Hempstead railway station|Hemel Hempstead]], and completed to [[Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (1838-1966)|Birmingham Curzon Street]] 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 [[1948 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]].

[[File:St John the Evangelist, Wembley - geograph.org.uk - 5022706.jpg|thumb|St John the Evangelist church was built in 1846]]
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 railway station (England)|Broad Street]] started in 1917. Electric trains to London Euston began running in 1922. Since 1917, there have been six platforms at what is now [[Wembley Central railway station|Wembley Central station]]. In 1880, the [[Metropolitan Railway]] opened its line from [[Baker Street tube station|Baker Street]] through the eastern side of Wembley, but only built a station, [[Wembley Park tube 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.

Anne and Frances Copland, who in 1843 inherited Sudbury Lodge and its lands, gave a plot for a church to serve the southern part of Harrow parish.<ref name=vch>Diane K Bolton, H P F King, Gillian Wyld and D C Yaxley, 'Harrow, including Pinner : Modern churches', in [[Victoria County History|A History of the County of Middlesex]]: Volume 4 ed. T F T Baker, J S Cockburn and R B Pugh (London, 1971), pp. 257-260. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol4/pp257-260</ref> In spite of less support from local farmers, who preferred part of Lord Northwick's property on Wembley Hill, the sisters' offer was accepted since they would bear all the cost of building.<ref name=vch/> The church of Saint John the Evangelist, Wembley, designed by [[George Gilbert Scott]] and W. B. Moffatt, was consecrated in 1846, in which year Wembley became a parish.<ref name=vch/> It was built of flint with stone dressings, in the Gothic style, and comprised chancel, nave, northeast chapel, and wooden bell turret.<ref name=vch/> A north aisle was added in 1859 and a south aisle in 1900; extensions were made to the west to designs of G. P. Pratt in 1935.<ref name=vch/> It has one church bell.<ref name=vch/>

[[File:Harrow Road, Sudbury postcard.jpg|thumb|left|Harrow Road, c. 1910, showing Sudbury Park Farm on the left and Crabs House on the right (now buildings of [[Barham Park]])]]
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 railway station|London Marylebone]] were added from March 1906, when new stations were opened, including 'Wembley Hill', next to what later became the site of Wembley Stadium – the national stadium of English sport – which opened for the [[1923 FA Cup Final|FA Cup Final]] of April 1923, remaining open for 77 years until it closed for reconstruction in October 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wembleystadium.com/gloriouspast/historyintroduction|title=History Introduction|last=TheFA|access-date=9 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017232053/http://www.wembleystadium.com/GloriousPast/historyIntroduction|archive-date=17 October 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> After a long planning and redevelopment process dogged by a series of funding problems and construction delays, the new stadium finally opened its doors in March 2007.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6459415.stm | work=BBC News | title=Doors finally open at new Wembley | date=17 March 2007}}</ref> Wembley Hill station was renamed 'Wembley Complex' in May 1978, before getting its present name of '[[Wembley Stadium railway station|Wembley Stadium]]' in May 1987.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Mitchell |first1=Vic |last2=Smith |first2=Keith |title=Marylebone to Rickmansworth |series=Midland Main Lines |date=February 2005 |publisher=Middleton Press |location=Midhurst |isbn=1-904474-49-7 |chapter=Figure 51 }}</ref>

Wembley was also served by [[Trams in London|tram]] (route 62) and later [[Trolleybuses in London|trolleybus]] (route 662) which ran through the [[Harrow Road]] from Sudbury to [[Paddington]] until the abandonment of the networks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trolleybus.net/crich3.htm|title=David Bradley Online - Anniversary Parade of London Tram and Trolleybus abandonment|website=www.trolleybus.net}}</ref> The route is now mostly served by [[London Buses route 18|bus route 18]] which is also one of the busiest bus routes in all of London today.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/11-busiest-london-bus-routes-17210691|title=The 11 busiest bus routes in London where finding a seat is a real challenge|first=Qasim|last=Peracha|date=8 November 2019|website=MyLondon}}</ref>

[[File:Wembley Fire Station - geograph.org.uk - 3845548.jpg|thumb|Wembley Fire Station]]
The 1937-built fire brigade headquarters of [[Middlesex County Council]] on Harrow Road, in Moderne style, is now a fire station of the [[London Fire Brigade]]. It is statutorily recognised and protected in the initial category, Grade II, of [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1247236|desc=Fire Station}}</ref>

Wembley, in common with much of northwest London, had an extensive manufacturing industry, but much of it closed in the 1980s. Its factories included Glacier Metals (bearings), Wolf Power Tools, Sunbeam Electrical Appliances, Griffin & George (laboratory equipment) and GEC (whose research laboratories, opened in 1923, were one of the first of their type in the United Kingdom<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clayton |first1=Robert |last2=Algar |first2=Joan |title=The GEC Research Laboratories 1919–1984 |publisher=Peter Peregrinus | year=1989 |isbn=0-86341-146-0}}</ref>).

===Empire Exhibition and the Stadium===
[[File:GB British Empire Exhibition Postage Stamps.jpg|thumb|left|British Empire Exhibition postage stamps]]
What had been Wembley Park hosted the [[British Empire Exhibition]]<ref>[http://disused-rlys.fotopic.net/p49262227.html Photograph of exhibition site]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>[http://disused-rlys.fotopic.net/p49002875.html Map of exhibition site]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040905/spectrum/art.htm Sunday Tribune of India (newspaper)] Article on exhibition (2004)</ref> of 1924–1925.<ref>[http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75167 British Pathe (agency)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611090756/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75167 |date=11 June 2011 }} Film of British Empire Exhibition, reel one</ref><ref>[http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75168 British Pathe (agency)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611090732/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75168 |date=11 June 2011 }} Film of British Empire Exhibition, reel two</ref><ref>[http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75169 British Pathe (agency)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611090812/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75169 |date=11 June 2011 }} Film of British Empire Exhibition, reel three</ref><ref>[http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75170 British Pathe (agency)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611090829/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75170 |date=11 June 2011 }} Film of British Empire Exhibition, reel four</ref> Until the 2000s, remnants of the many [[reinforced concrete]] buildings, including the [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|original Wembley Stadium]], remained, but nearly all have now been removed, to make way for redevelopment.

Most of the rest of Wembley's housing consists of inter-war semi-detached houses and terraces and of modern apartment blocks, with a significant minority of detached houses.

Expansion in the town centre continued. In 1929 the Majestic Theatre was opened, later becoming [[Odeon Cinemas|Odeon]] Wembley cinema. It closed in 1961 and was demolished, replaced by a [[C&A]] store (today a [[Wilko (retailer)|Wilko]] store).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/13739|title=Odeon Wembley in Wembley, GB - Cinema Treasures|website=cinematreasures.org}}</ref> Another cinema in the town was an ABC cinema originally opened as The Regal in 1937, on Ealing Road, which operated until 1976. After this it operated for some years as an independent cinema showcasing [[Bollywood]] films. The building was demolished in 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/23644|title=ABC Wembley in Wembley, GB - Cinema Treasures|website=cinematreasures.org}}</ref>

===Post-war===
[[File:Office block on Park Lane, Wembley - geograph.org.uk - 4470314.jpg|thumb|Chesterfield House, demolished in 2017]]
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 retail centre of Wembley (the High Road and north end of Ealing Road) has suffered from chronic traffic congestion and from the opening of neighbouring purpose-built shopping centres, first [[Brent Cross Shopping Centre]] in the 1970s and later the [[Harrow, London|Harrow]] and [[Ealing Broadway]] shopping centres.

Following continuing decline, Wembley had become unattractive and increasingly derelict by the century's end. However the large Indian community in the town maintained a growing jewellery market with their shops on Ealing Road.<ref name="brent.gov.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.brent.gov.uk/services-for-residents/culture-leisure-and-parks/brent-museum-and-archives/find-out-about-your-local-area/history-of-wembley-and-tokyngton/|title=Brent Council - History of Wembley and Tokyngton|website=www.brent.gov.uk}}</ref>

A [[British Army]] recruitment centre led away from the High Road and came under attack by an [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] bomb in 1990, seeing a soldier die and four people injured (see [[1990 Wembley bombing]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/257998235/|title=The Observer from London, Greater London, England on June 3, 1990 · 3|website=Newspapers.com|date=3 June 1990 }}</ref>

===Recent regenerations===
{{multiple image
 |total_width=400
 |image1=Central Square, Wembley - geograph.org.uk - 216341.jpg
 |width1=200
 |image2=Wembley Central Square - geograph.org.uk - 4470255.jpg
 |width2=200
 |footer= Central Square during vacancy in 2006 (left) and in 2015 (right) after regeneration
}}
The town's regeneration is one of the major development projects in [[London]] in the early 21st century, as specified in the London Plan published by the [[Mayor of London]] [[Ken Livingstone]] in 2004. A shopping plaza along High Road, an attractive shopping district in the 1950s, suffered slow decline by the 1980s and was therefore poorly maintained.<ref name="brent.gov.uk"/> Its [[Marks & Spencer]] department store closed in 2005 after 71 years trading.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/marks-spencer-returns-to-wembley-and-creates-55-jobs-3709598|title=Marks & Spencer returns to Wembley and creates 55 jobs|first=Stephanie|last=Harrison|date=21 October 2013|website=Kilburn Times}}</ref>

In a bid to reverse Wembley's fortunes, in the mid-2000s plans were created and approved to completely regenerate the place, carried out by construction company St. Modwen. The first phase, including construction of eighty-five homes, reconstruction of the plaza as a new [[public square]] and opening of new retail units including a [[TK Maxx]], was completed in 2009.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.brentbrain.org.uk/brain/brainzones.nsf/nsgnews/NT00056C82 | title=Public square reopens in Wembley Central|last=Brent Resource and Information Network (BRAIN)|publisher=Brent Council|access-date=25 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.stmodwen.co.uk/new-public-square-launched-at-wembley-central/ |title = New Public Square Launched at Wembley Central|date = 9 October 2009}}</ref> The rest was completed in phases until 2015 after nine years' time, with additional retail and housing units.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/business/wembley-central-invites-you-fun-filled-8912022 |title = Wembley Central invites you to fun-filled day to mark shop openings|date = 27 March 2015}}</ref> The local [[Argos (retailer)|Argos]] store also moved to a new unit in the redeveloped Central Square.

Purpose-built [[Brent Civic Centre]] near the stadium was completed in 2013, with all Brent administration moving to this complex. As a result, other offices were closed. The Chesterfield House block on Park Lane that was used as council offices, built in the 1960s replacing a Methodist church that moved further down the road, was demolished in 2017 and replaced by 21 and 26 storey blocks of apartments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.plmc.org.uk/about-us-1/history-of-park-lane/|title=Park Lane Methodist Church|website=www.plmc.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nla.london/projects/chesterfield-house|title=Chesterfield House|website=New London Architecture}}</ref> Brent House, an office complex on High Road, was sold by the council sold Brent House to a developer called Henley Homes who demolished the building and also replaced it with residential apartments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/parents-shock-as-building-in-wembley-crashes-down-next-to-3768842|title=Parents' shock as building in Wembley crashes down next to school playground|first=Lucy|last=Mansfield|date=17 March 2017|website=Kilburn Times}}</ref> Mahatma Gandhi House on Wembley Hill Road, another council office block, was also sold off.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/new-homes-bid-for-former-council-building-in-wembley-sold-3737554|title=New homes bid for former council building in Wembley sold for almost £10m|first=Lorraine|last=King|date=13 July 2015|website=Kilburn Times}}</ref> The listed [[Brent Town Hall]] was also disposed and became a French school, [[Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill]].

The regeneration project is focused on the "[[Wembley Park]]" site which includes [[Wembley Stadium]] and [[Wembley Arena]], about a mile northeast from Wembley town centre. The [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Original Wembley Stadium]] closed in October 2000 and was demolished in 2003.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nce.co.uk/features/nce-insite/wembley-towers-to-arches/8609503.article|title=Wembley: Towers to arches|magazine=New Civil Engineer|date=22 December 2010|access-date=2016-07-03}}</ref> The new Wembley stadium was designed by a consortium including engineering consultant Mott MacDonald and built by the Australian firm Multiplex. It cost £798 million and opened in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wembleystadium.com/Press/Press-Releases/2013/4/90-Years-Of-Wembley-Stadium.aspx|title=90 Years of Wembley Stadium {{!}} Wembley Stadium|last=Stadium|first=Wembley|website=www.wembleystadium.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-07-03|archive-date=11 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611000017/http://www.wembleystadium.com/Press/Press-Releases/2013/4/90-Years-Of-Wembley-Stadium.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Grade II-listed Wembley Arena, now the SSE Arena, has been sensitively refurbished in keeping with its [[Art Deco]] style.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnsiskandson.com/uk/expertise/historic-building-restoration/wembley-arena|title=Wembley Arena {{!}} John Sisk and Son|website=www.johnsiskandson.com|access-date=2016-07-03|archive-date=16 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816221059/http://www.johnsiskandson.com/uk/expertise/historic-building-restoration/wembley-arena|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2004, Brent Council approved a mixed use plan by [[Buro Happold]] for the development of 55 [[acres]] (223,000 m<sup>2</sup>) adjacent to the stadium, which was presented by [[Quintain Estates and Development|Quintain Limited]].