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Heritage opposed the demolition and Brent London
Borough Council stated that they would not approve any new stadium that did not include the Twin Towers. Brent Council later granted planning permission on the understanding that the Twin Towers would be preserved, however the final designs for the new stadium reverted to the originals without the Twin Towers in place. English Heritage also withdrew their objections, thus paving the way for the Twin Towers to be demolished. Proposals in early 2000 to move the towers to
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to buy the stadium and restore it. When the new designs were unveiled, it was announced that the Twin Towers would be demolished to make way for the new 90,000 capacity stadium. The reasons given to
English Heritage were that they would be in the middle of the pitch of the new stadium plans and
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described them dismissively as "concrete blocks". It was also claimed that it would be impractical to move the towers elsewhere because the ferro-concrete would crumble easily and unevenly, making it impossible for them to be dismantled and reassembled somewhere else in any solid form. English
363:
974 crawler excavator referred to as "Goliath" and nicknamed "Alan the
Shearer", made in Germany specifically for the task. The original foundations of Watkin's Tower were rediscovered during the demolition. The top of one of the towers was moved to be installed as a memorial at
293:
with concrete flagpoles topped with concrete crowns constructed above them. Initially they were only intended to be a temporary construction, and the plan was to demolish them after the exhibition, but the chairman of the exhibition committee Sir
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The Twin Towers were the last structure of
Wembley to be demolished. Preliminary demolition work started in December 2002 with the concrete crowns being removed from the top of the flagpoles. The towers were demolished in 2003 by a large
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The Twin Towers were granted Grade II listed status in 1976. As they were originally built as temporary structures, and were "treated to resemble masonry", several alterations were required over the years to preserve the Twin Towers.
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The towers continued to remain a part of
Wembley Stadium and they became a distinctive symbol of Wembley, framing the approach to the stadium from
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stating that they expected the Twin Towers to be preserved but would not object to the rest of the stadium being demolished. In 1998,
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considered plans on how to update
Wembley and replacement was considered the best option, despite an offer from
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477:"Olympic stadiums and Cultural heritage: on the nature and status of heritage values in large sport facilities"
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on the site of the demolished Watkin's Tower. They were 126 feet (38 m) high and built of
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In 1994, there were rumours that
Wembley Stadium would be redeveloped to build a new English
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to the north. They were world-famous as the landmark symbols of
Wembley Stadium.
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731:"Wembley Stadium architectural salvage to be auctioned by the Brooking Trust"
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in London, England. They were constructed in 1923 on the site of
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Former buildings and structures in the London
Borough of Brent
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in 1976. They were demolished in 2003 to make way for the new
706:"Tim de Lisle on the past and present of Wembley stadium"
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Grade II listed buildings in the London
Borough of Brent
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for the construction of Empire Stadium (later known as
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753:"The Honourable Sir William McAlpine Bt 1936 – 2018"
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423:"Scotsman who saved Wembley from being demolished"
325:responded critically to the reports, writing to
781:Demolished buildings and structures in London
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528:"FA infuriated by Arsenal's bid for Wembley"
821:Buildings and structures demolished in 2003
526:Guy Hodgson/Andrew Yates (13 March 1998).
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685:. Construction News. 13 February 2003
657:"Wembley twin towers' crowns removed"
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261:in particular. They became grade II
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448:"Final whistle for Wembley's towers"
351:, to become part of a new national
18:Football stadium in London, England
338:served no practical purpose. The
298:requested that they be preserved.
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811:2003 disestablishments in England
507:. Historic England. 30 July 1999
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826:Art Deco architecture in London
683:"Wembley falls to German giant"
579:"Reprieve for Wembley's towers"
553:"Twin towers facing demolition"
397:"Wembley Stadium – Old and New"
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806:1923 establishments in England
704:Tim de Lisle (14 March 2006).
421:Paul Hirst (19 October 2013).
402:. Brent London Borough Council
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374:the late Sir William McAlpine
801:Association football culture
327:Brent London Borough Council
277:The towers were designed by
355:museum, were not realised.
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605:"Twin towers 'have to go'"
245:were part of the original
303:Wembley Park tube station
287:British Empire Exhibition
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331:the Football Association
186:The Football Association
376:'s Fawley Hill estate.
215:Design and construction
195:124 ft (38 m)
631:"Goodbye, twin towers"
51:Twin Towers at Wembley
482:. University of Liège
134:51.55556°N 0.27972°W
661:The Daily Telegraph
366:St Raphael's Estate
279:Sir Robert McAlpine
224:Sir Robert McAlpine
130: /
56:General information
35:The Twin Towers at
585:. 11 November 1998
559:. 11 November 1998
340:Minister for Sport
285:) in time for the
139:51.55556; -0.27972
663:. 6 December 2002
611:. 7 December 1998
454:. 7 February 2003
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200:Technical details
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283:Wembley Stadium
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234:Wembley Stadium
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637:. 29 July 1999
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757:. Retrieved
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710:The Guardian
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427:The Scotsman
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404:. Retrieved
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353:rugby league
335:Arsenal F.C.
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273:Construction
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220:Architect(s)
95:Town or city
48:Former names
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796:Twin towers
755:. SalvoNEWS
733:. SalvoNEWS
243:Twin Towers
137: /
112:Coordinates
24:Twin Towers
775:Categories
380:References
344:Tony Banks
313:Demolition
174:Demolished
122:51°33′20″N
64:Demolished
230:Known for
158:Completed
125:0°16′47″W
37:Euro 1996
737:5 August
715:5 August
667:5 August
641:5 August
615:5 August
609:BBC News
589:5 August
583:BBC News
563:5 August
557:BBC News
537:5 August
511:5 August
486:5 August
458:5 August
452:BBC News
432:5 August
406:5 August
361:Liebherr
205:Material
85:Location
80:Grade II
689:10 July
370:Neasden
255:Wembley
106:England
103:Country
89:Wembley
759:2 July
349:Widnes
192:Height
166:Closed
98:London
61:Status
505:(PDF)
480:(PDF)
400:(PDF)
182:Owner
761:2018
739:2016
717:2016
691:2021
669:2016
643:2016
617:2016
591:2016
565:2016
539:2016
513:2016
488:2016
460:2016
434:2016
408:2016
241:The
177:2003
169:2000
161:1923
153:1922
69:Type
253:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
