100-601: Wembley ( / ˈ w ɛ m b l i / ) is a large suburb in the London Borough of Brent , north-west London , 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Charing Cross . It includes the neighbourhoods of Alperton , Kenton , North Wembley , Preston , Sudbury , Tokyngton and Wembley Park . The population was 102,856 in 2011. Wembley was for over 800 years part of the parish of Harrow on the Hill in Middlesex . Its heart, Wembley Green,
200-421: A stagecoach shuttle service linking the two parts to allow through journeys to London. The line was officially fully opened on 17 September 1838, with the first passenger train from London to Birmingham arriving that day. The first London-to-Birmingham trains took 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours to complete the 112 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (181.1 km) journey. It has often been claimed that initially, owing to
300-603: A 1000-yard stretch of road (High Road). In 1971 the High Road was seen as being the 11th best place to shop in London. However, it had fallen to 24th place by 1987. Ealing Road remains important as a centre of South Asian jewellery and gold shops, attracting people from as far afield as Leicester , but otherwise the focus of shopping has shifted north and east to the more recent development of London Designer Outlet in Wembley Park , which
400-505: 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 and Ealing Broadway shopping centres. Following continuing decline, Wembley had become unattractive and increasingly derelict by
500-415: A choice, 47.71% described themselves as Christian , 17.71% as Hindu , 12.26% as Muslim and 10% as having no religion . Among residents, 39.96% were in full-time employment and 7.86% in part-time employment – compared to a London average of 42.64% and 8.62%, respectively. Narrowly most residents included an owner-occupier in their household, with 23.17% of households owning their house outright, and
600-617: 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 . Wembley is made up of six wards: Wembley Central , Alperton , Tokyngton , Barnhill, Preston and Sudbury . The town takes up the south-western quarter of the borough of Brent, being west of Harlesden and Willesden and south of Kenton . It
700-450: A fixed engine and endless rope are used, for they can and have done so, but because the Company are restricted, by their Act of Parliament, from running locomotive engines nearer London than Camden Town." The railway opened from Euston on 20 July 1837; the stationary engines and rope haulage did not commence until 27 September, and handled all trains from 14 October 1837. Until then, and whenever
800-511: A further 31.33% owning with a mortgage. 10.59% were in local authority housing , with a further 13.29% renting from a housing association , or other registered social landlord. The 2021 census found that the borough has England and Wales's lowest proportion of people born in the UK, at 43.9%. The borough of Brent is extremely ethnically diverse, having changed greatly since 1951. In the 2011 census, those who identified as White British made up 18% of
900-593: 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. Wembley Hill station was renamed 'Wembley Complex' in May 1978, before getting its present name of ' Wembley Stadium ' in May 1987. Wembley was also served by tram (route 62) and later trolleybus (route 662) which ran through the Harrow Road from Sudbury to Paddington until
1000-485: A mixture of residential , industrial and commercial land. It includes many districts of inner-city character in the east and a more distinct suburban character in the west, part of which formed part of the early 20th century Metroland developments. The London Borough of Brent was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 , covering the combined area of the former Municipal Borough of Wembley and
1100-539: A mixture of residential, industrial and commercial land. Wembley National Stadium is in the borough; on match days the fire safety of over 90,000 people falls to the London Fire Brigade. The Wembley station covers the largest area in the borough, 19.1 km (7.4 sq mi). Two pumping appliances, a fire rescue unit and an aerial ladder platform are based there. Willesden, for its more typical area covered (10.5 km (4.1 sq mi)), responded to over
SECTION 10
#17328441358221200-678: A more direct line from London to Liverpool and Manchester by avoiding the original route through Birmingham. The Rugby and Stamford Railway , a further branch into the Eastern Counties was approved in 1846. In July 1846 the L&;BR merged with the Grand Junction Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway to form the London and North Western Railway , which in turn was later absorbed into
1300-596: A new joint main line with the Great Western Railway began. Local passenger services from 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 FA Cup Final of April 1923, remaining open for 77 years until it closed for reconstruction in October 2000. After
1400-497: 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. Brent House, an office complex on High Road,
1500-513: A petition calling for Wembley to regain its independence or else join with the London Borough of Harrow with which it had historic administrative links, had better transport integration and had shared common suburban interests. The 1994, the Boundary Commission considered this, and other requests, considering a wide range of options including restoring independence to the districts, or joining them to different neighbouring boroughs – an option
1600-534: A south aisle in 1900; extensions were made to the west to designs of G. P. Pratt in 1935. It has one church bell. 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
1700-654: A thousand incidents in 2006/2007. Two pumping appliances reside there. Park Royal, with its one pumping appliance and an incident response unit covers 8.1 km (3.1 sq mi). Within the borough, 4,105 incidents occurred in 2006/2007. Like most of northwest London, Brent is served extensively by the London Underground . 21 tube stations are located in Brent, all served by either the Metropolitan, Jubilee, Bakerloo or Piccadilly Lines. All of them are surface level, with
1800-468: A wide array of shops and Wembley was a large suburb of London . Wembley then, within three decades, became an integral outer district of London, in density and contiguity. Wembley formed a separate civil parish from 1894, incorporated as a municipal borough of Middlesex in 1937. In 1965, when local government in London was reformed , the area merged with the Municipal Borough of Willesden , which
1900-693: Is a borough in north-west London , England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium , the Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre . It also contains the Welsh Harp reservoir and the Park Royal commercial estate. The local authority is Brent London Borough Council . Brent's population was estimated to be 339,800 as at 2021. Major districts are Kilburn , Willesden , Wembley and Harlesden , with sub-districts Stonebridge , Kingsbury , Kensal Green , Neasden , and Queen's Park . Brent has
2000-436: Is a 21-storey building next to Stonebridge Park station . It was Brent's first skyscraper, built in 1965, and is visible from a radius of several miles. The building has had various uses, including partly as a gym and offices. Brent's only English Heritage blue plaque is on Forty Lane, commemorating the comedian and entertainer Arthur Lucan . London Borough of Brent Brent ( / b r ɛ n t / )
2100-643: Is a sales channel for 15 European countries, is in Brent Civic Centre in Wembley Park. Wembley has two local non-League football clubs, Wembley F.C. and South Kilburn F.C. , that both play at Vale Farm stadium in nearby Sudbury . Nearby is Vale Farm Sports Centre. There once were two golf clubs in Wembley. Wembley Golf Club, founded in 1896, was situated north of the Metropolitan Railway line in what
SECTION 20
#17328441358222200-422: Is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb ". (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). Behind Tower Hamlets , Brent has the highest poverty rate in London after housing costs. It was the borough with the highest average unemployment rate in 2022 with 7%. More than one in three households live in poverty, 9% above the London average, and 14% above
2300-584: Is also east of Greenford and Northolt in the neighbouring London Borough of Ealing . The area is identified in the Mayor of London 's London Plan as one of thirty-five major centres in Greater London. Wembley is part of both HA0 and HA9 post codes , and has its own post town. Wembley is known for its high degree of ethnic and religious diversity, and the population includes a large number of people of Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Eastern European origin. According to
2400-498: Is focused on the " Wembley Park " site which includes Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena , about a mile northeast from Wembley town centre. The Original Wembley Stadium closed in October 2000 and was demolished in 2003. 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. Grade II-listed Wembley Arena, now
2500-504: Is integral to and archetypal of the once well-advertised – mainly Middlesex – Metroland . After years of debate, the 1923 stadium was replaced by a modernised stadium with a grand, skyline arch which opened in 2007; it is home to the England national football team , hosts latter and/or final stages of annual competitions such as the FA Cup and has the greatest capacity nationwide. In
2600-408: Is located one mile (1.6 km) outside the town centre, at Boxmoor . Peter Lecount, an assistant engineer of the London and Birmingham railway, produced a number of – possibly hyperbolic – comparisons in an effort to demonstrate that the London and Birmingham Railway was "the greatest public work ever executed either in ancient or modern times". In particular, he suggested that the effort to build
2700-646: Is now the Fryent Country Park . The club closed in the late 1920s. Wembley Park Golf Club was founded in 1912 in Sir Edward Watkin 's Wembley Park pleasure gardens, improving on the 9-hole course that had opened, along with Watkin's Wembley Park, in 1896. The course itself became the site of the British Empire Exhibition. The rugby union club, Wasps RFC , was based at Repton Avenue in Sudbury from
2800-539: Is part of the Stadium's complex and also includes a fully pedestrianised street near the Stadium. The regenerations were co-funded by Brent Council to add an attractive shopping destination. The Wembley Sunday Market was a popular market held weekly from the 1970s until 2014 and run by Wendy Fair Markets. The market was ousted by the landowners, Quintain, in favour of the London Designer Outlet development. The market
2900-458: The 1991 census , 49.2% of the Wembley Central ward identified themselves as Asian (39% Indian). The ward along with neighbouring Tokyngton (eastern Wembley) and Alperton were in the top 10 most diverse in London. In the 2001 census , 78.6% of the ward identified themselves as being of black or minority ethnic ( BME ) groups. The White British population of Wembley Central (792 people, 5.3% of
3000-561: The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway at Hampton-in-Arden between Coventry and Birmingham. In 1845, the Northampton and Peterborough Railway , a 47-mile (76 km) branch from the main line, was opened from Blisworth . Also in 1845 branch lines, from Bletchley to Bedford and from Leighton to Dunstable , were leased; they opened in 1846 and 1848. The ' London and Birmingham Railway Act 1845 ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. clvi) authorised
3100-399: The Grand Junction Railway (GJR), whose adjacent platforms gave an interchange with full connectivity (with through carriages) between Liverpool , Manchester and London. As early as 1823, a company was formed with the objective of building a railway between London and Birmingham, and in 1826, the engineer John Rennie surveyed a route through Oxford and Banbury , a route later taken by
Wembley - Misplaced Pages Continue
3200-646: The Great Pyramid of Giza amounted to the lifting of 15,733,000,000 cu ft (445,500,000 m ) of stone by 1 foot (0.305 m). The railway, excluding a long string of tasks (drainage, ballasting, and so on) involved the lifting of 25,000,000,000 cu ft (710,000,000 m ) of material reduced to the weight of stone used in the pyramid. The pyramid involved, he says, the effort of 300,000 men (according to Diodorus Siculus ) or 100,000 (according to Herodotus ) for twenty years. The railway involved 20,000 men for five years. In passing, he also noted that
3300-435: The Great Western Railway . In 1829 a rival company was formed by Francis Giles who proposed building a line through Watford Gap and Coventry . Neither company obtained backing for its scheme, and in late 1830 the two companies decided to merge. The new company appointed Robert Stephenson chief engineer, and after preparing a detailed survey, he chose the route through Watford Gap, largely to avoid possible flooding from
3400-462: 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 Leonard Chamberlain , who sold it to Richard Page, Esq. , of Harrow on the Hill , the same year. There was a mill on Wembley Hill by 1673. The Page family continued as lords of
3500-460: The House of Lords to "the forcing of the proposed railway through the land and property of so great a proportion of dissentient landowners." The L&BR company's first application for an act of Parliament to construct the line was rejected in 1832, due to pressure from landowners and road and canal interests. The railway route proposals through Hertfordshire were modified; a second parliamentary bill
3600-521: The Kilsby Tunnel in Northamptonshire delayed the opening. The first part of the line between Euston Station and Boxmoor ( Hemel Hempstead ) opened on 20 July 1837. Services were extended to Tring on 16 October 1837. On 9 April 1838 the company opened the north end of the line, between Birmingham and Rugby, and the south end from London to a temporary station at Denbigh Hall near Bletchley with
3700-633: The LNWR in 1846. The Warwick and Leamington Union Railway , a branch of almost nine miles (14 km) between Coventry and Leamington, was purchased by the L&BR in 1843 and opened in 1844. From 1840, when the Midland Counties Railway made a junction to its line at Rugby, the L&BR also provided through connections from London to the East Midlands and the North East. It also made connections to
3800-404: The London Borough of Camden . Before the 2010 United Kingdom general election it was divided into three constituencies contained wholly within the borough – Brent South , Brent East and Brent North . In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 2,022. This rose slowly throughout the nineteenth century, as the district became built up; reaching 5,646 in
3900-751: The London Midland and Scottish Railway , before finally passing into the hands of the nationalised British Railways in 1948 to become part of the West Coast Main Line as it is known today. The major change to the line during this period was electrification, which was carried out during the mid-1960s as part of BR's Modernisation Plan. Neither of the L&BR's original termini, both designed by Philip Hardwick , has survived in its original form. Curzon Street station in Birmingham closed to passenger traffic in 1854 (the original entrance building remains) when it
4000-516: The London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The 112-mile (180 km) railway line which the company opened in 1838, between London and Birmingham , was the first intercity line to be built into London. It is now the southern section of the West Coast Main Line . The line was engineered by Robert Stephenson . It started at Euston Station in London, went north-west to Rugby , where it turned west to Coventry and on to Birmingham. It terminated at Curzon Street Station , which it shared with
4100-501: The Municipal Borough of Willesden . The area was transferred from Middlesex to Greater London to become one of the 32 London Boroughs. The borough of Willesden had evolved from a local government district created in 1874 for the parish of Willesden. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894 . To coincide with the 1894 Act coming into force, an urban district called Wembley
Wembley - Misplaced Pages Continue
4200-587: The North Circular Road , which passed along the Brent valley, close to the boundary between the two, increased this sense of separation. The clash quickly turned political amid the plans to build Chalkhill Estate , as Wembley was Conservative while Willesden was Labour ; the balance of power between the two parties contributed to the borough council becoming a byword for polarised politics. The unpopularity persisted and in 1989 more than ten thousand people signed
4300-475: The River Thames at Oxford. The prospectus for the London and Birmingham Railway offered the following inducements to potential investors: First, the opening of new and distant sources of supply of provisions to the metropolis; Second, Easy, cheap and expeditious travelling; Third; The rapid and economical interchange of the great articles of consumption and of commerce, both internal and external; and Lastly,
4400-422: The West Coast Main Line ) was opened from London Euston through Wembley to Hemel Hempstead , and completed to 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
4500-489: The 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 Wembley cinema. It closed in 1961 and
4600-519: The 1920s until 1996. Apart from Wembley's earliest church, which is to St John the Evangelist of 1846 (see above) another listed building is what was Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church built in 1904, designed by Thomas Collcutt and Stanley Hemp. It is made mainly of brick and the design was influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement . It is listed in the initial, mainstream, Grade II category since 1993. It
4700-554: 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). What had been Wembley Park hosted the British Empire Exhibition of 1924–1925. Until the 2000s, remnants of the many reinforced concrete buildings, including
4800-560: The Commission preferred. Wembley and Harrow were felt to be a natural match, and the London Borough of Harrow supported these proposals and called for a boundary rationalisation with Barnet so that the A5 Road (Watling Street) formed the enlarged borough's entire eastern boundary. Willesden was harder to satisfactorily match with a neighbour, with Ealing considered the most natural choice,
4900-567: The England average. Diageo has its head office in Park Royal and in Brent, on a former Guinness brewery property. The brewery was closed in 2004; it had produced beer since 1936. Diageo planned to move its head office to Brent from Central London when the lease on the Central London office expired in 2010. Recycling has been compulsory in Brent since 2008. Brent has three fire stations: Park Royal , Wembley and Willesden . Brent has
5000-589: The L&BR to lease the West London Railway , and this took effect from 1846 (jointly with the GWR ). The West London Railway has opened in 1844 between Willesden Junction and the canal basin at Kensington. The L&BR purchased the Trent Valley Railway in 1846 on behalf of the LNWR ; this fifty-mile (80 km) line connected Rugby on the L&BR with Stafford on the Grand Junction Railway thus creating
5100-511: The London Assembly constituency of Brent and Harrow . 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
SECTION 50
#17328441358225200-569: The SSE Arena, has been sensitively refurbished in keeping with its Art Deco style. In 2004, Brent Council approved a mixed use plan by Buro Happold for the development of 55 acres (223,000 m) adjacent to the stadium, which was presented by Quintain Limited . Wembley falls within the UK Parliament constituency of Brent North , currently represented by Barry Gardiner MP ( Labour ). It falls within
5300-406: The Wembley Central ward, the unemployment rate stood at 5.3%. Of the 4,380 households, 2,065 of the properties were tenure owned, 1,469 was privately rented and 684 was socially rented from the council. The largest religion was Hinduism (45%) followed by Christianity (25%). The median age was 32. By far the most spoken foreign language was Gujarati . Wembley Central only covers Wembley town centre and
5400-637: The abandonment of the networks. The route is now mostly served by bus route 18 which is also one of the busiest bus routes in all of London today. 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 . Wembley, in common with much of northwest London, had an extensive manufacturing industry, but much of it closed in
5500-575: The borough's population. 18% identified as other White, 5% were of mixed heritage, those of South Asian heritage comprised about 33%, those of African and Caribbean heritage about 19%, and other ethnic groups about 7%. White ethnicities were relatively high in the wards of Mapesbury (straddling Willesden Green and Cricklewood ), Brondesbury Park, Queen's Park and Kilburn. Black ethnicities in highest proportion were in Stonebridge, Harlesden and Kensal Green wards. Asian ethnicities in highest proportion were in
5600-407: The century's end. However the large Indian community in the town maintained a growing jewellery market with their shops on Ealing Road. A British Army recruitment centre led away from the High Road and came under attack by an IRA bomb in 1990, seeing a soldier die and four people injured (see 1990 Wembley bombing ). The town's regeneration is one of the major development projects in London in
5700-617: The company would provide locomotives to Bury's specification, while he would maintain them in good repair and convey each passenger and each ton of goods for a fixed sum at a speed not to exceed 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles per hour (36.2 km/h). Bury provided specifications and drawings for a passenger and a goods engine, and by mid-1841 the L&BR was equipped with sixty 2-2-0 passenger engines and thirty 0-4-0 goods engines. They all had inside cylinders and dome-topped fireboxes, and were mounted on inside bar-frames; they were manufactured by seven different firms, including Bury's own. Working
5800-440: The connexion by railways, of London with Liverpool, the rich pastures of the centre of England, and the greatest manufacturing districts; and, through the port of Liverpool, to afford a most expeditious communication with Ireland. The company was created with an initial capitalisation of £5,500,000. Much of the subscribed funds came from Lancashire, where great profits were being made in the cotton industries. The construction of
5900-425: The cost of the railway in penny pieces, was enough to more than form a belt of pennies around the equator; and the amount of material moved would be enough to build a wall 1 foot (305 mm) high by one foot wide, more than three times around the equator. The line had been planned to open at the same time as the Grand Junction Railway which entered Birmingham from the north. However great difficulty in constructing
6000-689: The early 21st century the London Designer Outlet pedestrianised plaza was built. 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 of the Common Pleas, as Wambeleye. The village of Wembley grew up on the hill by the clearing with
6100-521: 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. Its Marks & Spencer department store closed in 2005 after 71 years trading. In a bid to reverse Wembley's fortunes, in the mid-2000s plans were created and approved to completely regenerate
SECTION 60
#17328441358226200-640: 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. 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. In spite of less support from local farmers, who preferred part of Lord Northwick's property on Wembley Hill,
6300-399: The exception of Kilburn Park tube station in the southeast of the borough. This number is the second highest of all London boroughs behind Westminster, which has 32 stations within its boundaries. The numerous London Underground , London Overground and National Rail stations in the borough are: In March 2011, the plurality of residents aged 16–74 were not in employment, 38.9%. After that,
6400-466: The lack of power available to early locomotives, trains from Euston were cable-hauled up the relatively steep incline to Camden by a stationary steam engine . However, this was denied by Peter Lecount , one of the L&BR engineers, who wrote in his 'History of the Railway connecting London and Birmingham' (1839), page 48: "It is not because locomotives cannot draw a train of carriages up this incline that
6500-555: The largest Jewish school in Europe. There is also an Islamic school called Islamia Primary School founded by Cat Stevens . The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Brent according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses. According to the House of Commons survey of female genital mutilation , in the year to 31 March 2016, Brent represented the highest number of attendees, by current residence or visiting location, to medical services, at 1,250, 545 more than
6600-600: The least deprived in the borough, especially Barn Hill estate and North Wembley's Sudbury Court Estate. Local news in Wembley is provided by the Brent & Kilburn Times and the Harrow Times in print and online forms. The main shopping area was generally centred on Wembley High Road, Central Square, and Ealing Road. Unlike typical British high streets Wembley does not have a town centre network or pedestrianised high streets, with almost all commercial high street businesses along
6700-492: The line by contract never worked in practice, because of the unforeseen ever-increasing traffic and the demand for higher speeds, so in July 1839 the contract was annulled, and thereafter Bury was engaged as manager of the Locomotive Department in the normal way, on a fixed salary with a profits bonus. By the end of the L&BR's separate existence in July 1846, the total stock was about 120 locomotives; some six-wheeled engines had been acquired, but some of these proved inferior to
6800-422: The line was the subject of much opposition by landowners, who organised a campaign in the early 1830s to prevent the L&BR from driving a line across their estates. Turbulent public meetings were held in towns in west Hertfordshire to protest against the project, including one held at the King's Arms public house in Berkhamsted . Another was held in Watford which was attended by wealthy and influential peers of
6900-406: The main forms of transport to work were: The Borough has three Non-League football clubs: Brent is twinned with: The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Brent. London %26 Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway ( L&BR ) was a railway company in the United Kingdom , in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of
7000-406: The main problem being the lack of a focal point, with the industrial areas of Park Royal , Old Oak Common and North Acton forming a relatively ill-connected barrier between the two. The Commission concluded that there was insufficient justification for the disruption caused by the changes, and that such changes should only be considered during a comprehensive review of London's boundaries. Until
7100-427: The manor of Wembley for several centuries and eventually commissioned Humphry Repton (1752–1818) the landscape gardener to design what is now Wembley Park . 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. In 1837, the London & Birmingham Railway (now part of
7200-504: The mergers occurring during the creation of the modern London boroughs . Reasons for this included the limited road links between the two main areas of Wembley and Willesden (with the A4088 and A404 Harrow Road, the only major road links across the Brent valley boundary), the lack of a focal point or ‘heart’ for the borough and the contrasting characteristics; with Willesden more inner-city in nature, and Wembley more suburban. Widening schemes for
7300-567: The middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased. The population took five decades to rebound to the more muted peak of the 1950s, when much industry relocated from London, further boosting the speed of the wave of new housing then built. Brent is the most diverse locality in the UK by country of birth. It in 2019 became the only local authority with over 50% of residents, namely 52%, born abroad. Large Asian and Indian, Black African, Black Caribbean, Irish, and Eastern European communities exist. 45 per cent of
7400-419: The neighbouring parish of Kingsbury until 1901 and again from 1934. In 1937 it was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Wembley . 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 . Brent proved to be one of the more unpopular of
7500-618: The next-highest local authority, Bristol . In 2015, the BBC reported that some wards of Brent and four other London boroughs had rates of tuberculosis over ten times the national average, and higher than rates seen in Iraq and Rwanda . This table shows the stated ethnic group of respondents in the 1991 to 2021 censuses and estimates for 1966 and 1981 in Brent. Major districts of Brent include Kilburn , Willesden and Wembley . Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there
7600-437: The nineteenth century, Wembley was rural. In broadest terms Wembley has eight main green spaces, all but the golf course being public (no farms or private parks exist). The formal five are King Edward VII Park, set out in 1914 slightly north of the centre (10.5 hectares), Barham Park (10.5 hectares), One Tree Hill Park, Sudbury Green and Brent River Park / Tokyngton Recreation Ground (20.26 hectares) has been restored, returning
7700-541: The original four-wheelers. The locomotive workshops were established in 1838 at Wolverton , roughly halfway between the two termini at London and Birmingham. These workshops remained in use for locomotive repairs until 1877, but had been gradually taken over by the Carriage Dept from 1864, and remained as a manufacturing facility up until the 1980s; today just a few parts of the original Wolverton railway works are used solely for rolling stock maintenance and repair. When
7800-399: 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. The rest was completed in phases until 2015 after nine years' time, with additional retail and housing units. The local Argos store also moved to
7900-426: The population was a minority ethnicity in the 1991 census, the most in England at the time. In 1991 17.2% were Indian, 10.2% were Black Caribbean and 9% were Irish. Brent was the only Outer London borough combining high proportions of Indian and Afro-Caribbean ethnicities. The 2001 UK Census found that the borough had a population of 263,464 residents, of whom 127,806 were male, and 135,658 female. Of those stating
8000-429: The population) in the 2011 census makes it the sixth least White British ward in London (seventh in the country). Other ethnicities include 7.0% Other White, 66.2% Asian (46.2% Indian), and 13.9% Black. In 2011, 86% of Wembley Central ward was of BAME background, which is the highest in Brent and 5th highest in Greater London. In Wembley the lowest BAME ward was Northwick Park, 68.8%. The 2011 census also showed that, in
8100-487: The population. It also has the largest Brazilian community in the UK; one of the largest Indian communities; a significant Afro-Caribbean community; and more recent Romanian , Polish and Somali communities. As of 2011, 41.5% identified themselves as Christian, 18.6% Muslim, 17.8% Hindu and 10.6% with no religion. Brent is home of the Neasden Temple , once the largest Hindu Mandir outside India; and JFS ,
8200-451: The railway was fully opened, it had sixteen intermediate stations between London and Birmingham. The "first-class" stations (served by all trains) were at Watford , Tring , Leighton , Wolverton , Blisworth , Weedon , Rugby and Coventry . Additionally, "second-class" intermediate stations (served by slower second-class trains only) were at Harrow , Boxmoor , Berkhamsted , Bletchley , Roade , Crick , Brandon and Hampton . Roade
8300-490: The realm who had property interests on the planned route of the line: the Earl of Essex was keen to protect his Cassiobury Estate from invasion by the " iron horse ", as was the Earl of Clarendon , who owned The Grove Estate . The anatomist Sir Astley Cooper was also in attendance, intent on preventing the new railway from cutting across his Gadebridge Estate. On 22 June 1832, Lord Brownlow of Ashridge voiced his opposition in
8400-556: The river to a more natural course. The informal three are Horsenden Hill , Vale Farm sports ground (30 hectares) and partly horse-grazed Barn Hill (19.9 hectares), east of which is its Kingsbury continuation: Fryent Country Park . Sudbury Golf Course abuts the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, with a towpath running into central London. Sudbury Squash and Tennis Club has outdoor tennis courts, an indoor squash court, and
8500-407: The rope system was stopped for repairs, locomotives hauled the trains up the incline. From November 1843 some expresses were worked without recourse to the rope, and from 15 July 1844 the rope working ceased permanently. Initially, it was decided that it would be cheaper to work the railway by a contractor, and Edward Bury was chosen and awarded the contract in May 1836. The contract stipulated that
8600-468: The sisters' offer was accepted since they would bear all the cost of building. 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. It was built of flint with stone dressings, in the Gothic style, and comprised chancel, nave, northeast chapel, and wooden bell turret. A north aisle was added in 1859 and
8700-539: 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 London 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
8800-454: The wards of Alperton, Wembley Central and Kenton. Those who ethnically identify as BAME (Black, Asian and minority Ethnic) was as high as 86% in Wembley Central – one of the highest in London – and most other Brent wards have a majority BAME population. Queen's Park had the lowest BAME proportion, at 37.0%. Brent has the highest proportion of Irish residents in Britain, with 4% of
8900-412: The whole district is represented by five other wards. There are varying levels of social deprivation in the area. Places such as the central area and Chalkhill have had relatively high deprivation, with the latter having been troubled for a long time. In more recent years, regeneration has helped these areas fare better albeit with a higher general cost of living. Some parts of the town meanwhile are among
9000-611: Was Wembley in 1937. The modern borough takes its name from the River Brent which runs through the borough and separated the former boroughs of Wembley and Willesden. The local authority is Brent Council, which is based at Brent Civic Centre in the Wembley Park area of the borough. Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly , the borough forms part of the Brent and Harrow constituency. The borough includes three parliamentary constituencies: Brent North , Brent Central and Hampstead and Kilburn , which includes part of
9100-607: Was approved in May 1833 as the London and Birmingham Railway Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4 . c. xxxvi), and the line received royal assent . Construction began in November of that year. The line would follow the River Bulbourne instead of the River Gade , skirting around the edge of Hemel Hempstead to protect Sir Astley Cooper's interests; for this reason, Hemel Hempstead railway station
9200-658: Was converted into the Central Mosque Wembley in the late 1990s. To the south on Ealing Road is the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir , a major mandir opened in 2010. The Catholic church of Saint Joseph , a post-war church, became equally listed in 2016. The Ace Cafe is unusually a transport café, opened in 1938 and re-opening in 1997 after decades of closure. This venue has been used to hold and plan car and bike events by motoring enthusiasts, nationally and internationally. Wembley Point, formerly Station House,
9300-467: Was created, covering the two parishes of Kingsbury and Wembley, the latter being created at the same time from areas formerly in the ancient parish of Harrow on the Hill . Kingsbury seceded from the Wembley Urban District in 1900 to become its own urban district, but was reunited with the Wembley Urban District in 1934. Willesden was incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1933, as
9400-438: Was demolished, replaced by a C&A store (today a Wilko store). 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. During the 1960s, rebuilding of Wembley Central station, a block of flats, an open-plan shopping plaza, and
9500-490: Was later redesignated as first-class due to its stagecoach connections. From about 1844 platforms were opened at Camden for tickets to be collected on southbound trains. This became a public station in 1851. The first branch from the main line was the Aylesbury Railway at Aylesbury Railway Junction , seven miles (11 km) of single track, which opened in 1839 and was leased to the L&BR until purchased outright by
9600-445: Was replaced by New Street station and the original Euston station in London was demolished in 1962 to make way for the present structure which opened in 1968. On the closure of Curzon Street as a passenger station, the site became the London and North Western Railway goods depot (Birmingham) and became fully operational in 1865. The Curzon Street goods site continued railway operations as a parcel depot until 1966. The remaining parts of
9700-659: Was separated by the River Brent , to create the London Borough of Brent , one of the 32 local government districts of Greater London. The estate of Wembley Park was largely pleasure grounds when the Metropolitan Railway reached this part in 1894. It was chosen to host the British Empire Exhibition in 1924, resulting in the development of landmarks including the Empire Stadium, later known as Wembley Stadium , which became an iconic football stadium. Suburban protection of public parkland and low-to-mid building density of all but high-rise western Wembley Park means most of Wembley
9800-399: 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. Mahatma Gandhi House on Wembley Hill Road, another council office block, was also sold off. The listed Brent Town Hall was also disposed and became a French school, Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill . The regeneration project
9900-431: Was surrounded by agricultural manors and their hamlets. The small, narrow, Wembley High Street is a conservation area . The railways of the London & Birmingham Railway reached Wembley in the mid-19th century, when the place gained its first church. Slightly south-west of the old core, the main station was originally called Sudbury, but today is known as Wembley Central . By the 1920s, the nearby long High Road hosted
10000-570: Was then set up at the former Unisys tower near Stonebridge Park station before it was closed within a year by the council citing traffic disruption. IKEA Wembley is in the Brent Park retail area near North Circular Road, Neasden . It opened in 1988 and was the Swedish retailer's second store in the UK after the initial store in Warrington . The Air France-KLM European Sales and Service Centre, which
#821178