Did you know that...
The name Wembley HA9 derives from “Wemba”, an Anglo-Saxon proper name, and “lea” which means clearing. The first mention of this area comes from an 825 document. Wambeleye is an old variant of the name. In 1547, there were only six houses here.
In the 16th century, the Page family owned Wembley HA9. Wembley Park was designed by landscape gardener Humphry Repton.
The original Wembley Stadium, previously known as the Empire Stadium, was constructed as the centrepiece of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition at the end of the First World War. Before it was demolished in 2003 and reopened in 2007 after the reconstruction, it hosted the 1948 Olympics and 1966’s historic World Cup Final.
In 1924, the stadium hosted its first FA Cup final and about 200,000 people watched the legendary ‘White Horse final’ match when Bolton Wanderers FC defeated West Ham United FC 2-0 and a mounted policeman had to take to the pitch to hold fans at bay. One year later, it was officially opened by King George V.
Wembley Stadium is known to be the largest fully covered stadium in the world thanks to its iconic sliding roof covering every seat in the stadium and its 1-km circumference. It is so big that you can place 25,000 double-decker buses inside of it. With its incredible seating capacity of 90,000 fans, the new stadium covers twice the footprint of the original and has nearly four times higher.
The stadium boasts of the world’s longest roof structure. Its single span arch is equivalent to the length of three football pitches. This mighty arch is so large that the London Eye, Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel, could roll underneath it, assuming that such is ever possible.
Green Day, Spice Girls, Robbie Williams, and Bruce Springsteen are just a few of the famous artists who performed here.
Drummer and founding member of Rolling Stones Charlie Watts, F1 engineer John Barnard, actor Riz Ahmed, and musician John Lingwood were born in the area. Other famous residents include Keith Moon of The Who, actor Lenny Henry, and footballer Raheem Sterling.
