The Wembley Tower, Or, Watkin’s Folly

It should have been the most amazing building in London...
For more on Watkin, see: • The Circle Line Slapfight
Or • Metropolitan Line to P...
ko-fi.com/jagohazzard
/ jagohazzard

[@ojigbo]

His voice is perfect for the style of video he's making. Very informative video, I'll gladly watch more!

[@TheIronArmenianakaGIHaigs]

I was not expecting a prequel meme :D

[@Gordons1888]

I love the Darth Plaguis reference at the start

[@McRocket]

That was a great story - and well told, IMO.

[@crossleydd42]

Way out of Jago's geographical area, another impressive tower was actually built near Liverpool. New Brighton Tower was a steel lattice observation tower at New Brighton in the town of Wallasey, on the Wirral. It stood 567 feet high, and was the tallest building in Great Britain when it opened around 1900. However, it only lasted until 1921, when it was discovered that maintenance neglect, necessitated because of World War One, had made it unsafe and meant it had to be demolished, with associated buildings going as late as 1969. Yet virtually nobody has ever heard of it. The story is on KZbin/Wiki.

[@highpath4776]

I see in the London Transport Collection there is a poster from 1980 showing special services (A stock or C stock ?) from Wembley to Barking for West Ham's FA Charity Shield Match v Liverpool

[@hirundine44]

Growing up in 1950's - 60's. That part of Wembley could be seen from second storey of our house. Could see from lower floor but not so well. Every event at Wembley Stadium was heard on the air. Hendon airdrome was used for parachute training and the road north was at bottom of hill. Happy days..? Some!

[@theguvnor6434]

No dislikes, straight facts and a interesting story

[@oliverlindon4072]

The tower is mentioned on the John Betjeman "Metropolitan Line", but I like the extra detail you give here :) Keep up the excellent documentaries!

[@MylesHSG]

There used to be a pub a short walk from Wembley Park station called Watkins Folly.

[@spurioustransients]

Having been born in Penge and living my early years in that area, I always had a fondness for the Crystal Palace television transmitter mast which I thought of as a British version of the Eiffel Tower.

[@MattMcIrvin]

"Trolley parks" at the ends of transit lines were a common way to drive ridership in the 19th- and early 20th-century US as well. Often the line would work well as a commuter line on weekdays, but the park could be used to bring in some extra revenue on weekends, and they would gradually evolve from mere gardens to amusement parks. Only a few of these are still around--my home amusement park, Canobie Lake Park, is one of them, though the associated trolley line is long gone.

[@panzerkami2381]

Your subs have exploded, it seems. On your way to 50K. Well deserved.

[@julianaylor4351]

Hello from Wembley. ❤️

[@YetAnotherGeorgeth]

A football pitch? At Wembley Park? That would never catch on!

[@Jules_Diplopia]

Poor Watkin, visionary, but also shortsighted, No point copying the Eiffel tower. It had to have its own purpose as Wembley Stadium later showed.

[@thomasw1]

Sir Edward Watkin was my great-great-great grandfather!

[@fenlinescouser3898]

With 2020 hindsight it becomes obvious that Watkins backed the wrong horse. Had he opted to build the world's biggest Ferris wheel imagine what he would have started.

[@lapiswake6583]

Awesome, never knew of this. I went to wembley in 2013 for the capital one cup final, 2 years before I started trainspotting so I didn't note numbers down (annoying to me now). More recently, I was surprised that I could see wembley stadium so clearly from near the end of the met/pic branch of the tube, around Ruislip which is about 7 miles away. Or more recently on my trip to Greenford, which is almost 5 miles from wembley stadium.

[@billburton7188]

A public house near the beginning of Empire way running up to the stadium was named “Watkins folly”, but that had to close due to lack of support also.