94-625: Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey . A Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Originally built by John Johnson and Alfred Meeson , it opened in 1873 but following a fire two weeks after its opening, was rebuilt by Johnson. Intended as "The People's Palace" and often referred to as " Ally Pally ", its purpose
188-613: A municipal borough , of Middlesex . In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963 , the Municipal Borough of Wood Green was abolished and its area merged with that of the Municipal Borough of Tottenham and the Municipal Borough of Hornsey to form the present-day London Borough of Haringey . The constituency of Wood Green was created in 1918 and existed until 1983 when it was split. Some of
282-546: A charitable trust was created; representatives of the purchasing local authorities became the trustees with the duty to keep both building and park "available for the free use and recreation of the public forever". In 1921 a plaque was erected at the entrance of the south terrace in honour of Burt. The Palace passed into the hands of the Greater London Council in 1967, with the proviso that it should be used entirely for charitable purposes, and their trusteeship
376-409: A concert hall, art galleries, a museum, lecture hall, library, banqueting room and large theatre. The stage of the theatre incorporated machinery which enabled special effects for the pantomimes and melodramas then popular – artists could disappear, reappear and be propelled into the air. The theatre was also used for political meetings. An open-air swimming pool was constructed at the base of the hill in
470-460: A couple of hundred. It was intended that the theatre would reopen, but much costly restoration would be required first. It will never again reach a seating capacity of 3,000 (not least because one balcony was removed in the early part of the 20th century as a fire precaution, when films started to be shown there). A major season of the theatre company Complicité was planned for 2005 but the project, which would have included some repair and access work,
564-476: A fire started under the organ and quickly spread. It destroyed half the building. Again the outer walls survived and the eastern parts, including the theatre and the BBC Television studios and aerial mast, were saved. Parts of the famous organ were destroyed, though it had been dismantled for repairs so some parts (including nearly all the pipework) were away from the building in store. Some of the damage to
658-632: A handful of smaller estates. In the early Seventeenth Century, the lord of Tottenham Manor, the Earl of Dorset , conducted a major survey of his land. It showed that Wood Green, at the time roughly the Western half of Tottenham , had only sixteen houses and 50 inhabitants. At around the same time as the Dorset Survey, the New River was constructed through Wood Green. Winding through the area,
752-553: A large fireworks display is scheduled there as part of London's Bonfire Night celebrations. The Observer ' s Wildlife Exhibition held here in 1963 was an important early event in highlighting awareness of worldwide endangered species, and it gained a large attendance (46,000). In April 1967, a benefit event took place at the Palace. The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream , organised by the International Times , demonstrated
846-549: A line running in a northwesterly direction as far as Westbury Avenue. The area rises from 66 ft (20 m) to 98 ft (30 m) above sea level. The shopping area and residential areas of Wood Green all offer quite different identities. The area to the west of the High Road, near Alexandra Palace, was developed as a mainly middle-class residential area, whereas the area to the east, towards Tottenham, mainly comprises smaller dwellings that were either built for railway workers in
940-414: A major commercial district of north London . Formerly lying within the western part of Tottenham and the county of Middlesex , it became part of both Haringey and Greater London in 1965. Wood Green lies directly east of Alexandra Palace . It is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from Charing Cross in central London. The name Wood Green derives from ‘Woodlegh’ or 'Woodlea', a Saxon word meaning open ground near
1034-687: A new design by architect E.T. Spashett during renovation of bomb-damaged public buildings by the Ministry of Works . During the 1940s and 1950s the Palace also housed a public roller-skating rink and the Alexandra Palace Roller Skating Club . In the early 1960s, an outside broadcast was made from the top of the tower, in which the first passage of a satellite across the London sky was watched and described. It continued to be used for BBC News broadcasts until 1969, and for
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#17327657940621128-551: A new transit connection—either a monorail line or a branch of the Piccadilly line —and private funding. The proposal was rejected by the GLC after local opposition cited the potential for hooliganism in the area. Early in 1980, Haringey council took over the trusteeship of Alexandra Palace from the GLC, insuring it for £31 million, intending to refurbish the building but just six months later, during Capital Radio 's Jazz Festival,
1222-483: A public square for markets and events. Wood Green is also one of the suggested stations on the new Crossrail 2 transport development. Wood Green stretches from Turnpike Lane in the south to the borough boundary in the north. Its eastern and western boundaries have changed over time and today people have varying senses of what exactly is included in Wood Green. One definition sees the western boundary as formed by
1316-767: A recording of portions of all three shows was released as part of the Dick's Picks series in March 1997. The Campaign for Real Ale held the Great British Beer Festival there from 1977 to 1980 (the 1980 edition taking place in tents outside the fire-damaged Alexandra Palace). On the afternoon of 10 July 1980 (an accidental) fire destroyed the Great Hall, Banqueting Suite, Dressing Rooms and Ice Rink during contractors routine repairs and maintenance. From 27 July to 5 August 1973, The London Music Festival '73
1410-441: A six-day siege during which one of the hostages was killed. The British SAS finally stormed the building in a 17-minute operation, bringing out the hostages and the one surviving gunman who was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison for his part in the offences. The first church to rise among the fields at Brompton was the socially notable, but widely considered architecturally ugly, Holy Trinity Brompton in 1829. It served
1504-583: A wide area from the Kensington Canal in the west to the Kensington Turnpike in the north. The first incumbent, one Percival Frye, just happened to be the nephew of Archdeacon Alfred Pott , vicar of the neighbouring Kensington parish. It was followed by: The area is the subject of Donovan 's song "Sunny South Kensington", about the area's reputation as the hip part of London in the 1960s. Roman Polanski 's film, Repulsion (1965)
1598-508: A wood, which in this case relates to an opening in Tottenham Wood, an extensive area of woodland which formerly covered most of this area and westward to Muswell Hill. The earliest surviving written record of ‘Woodlegh’ is a reference in documentation dating from 1256, which relates to a grant for Ducketts Manor, (a sub-manor of Tottenham) which used to be located just to the east of the present-day Wood Green High Road, roughly opposite
1692-672: A £27m refurbishment of the long-abandoned Alexandra Palace theatre and east wing. In 2018, it was announced that the Theatre would open for a BBC Proms performance on 1 September before officially reopening to the public on 1 December 2018 following the completion of the East Wing Restoration Project by the contractor Willmott Dixon . The opening programme included performances from Dylan Moran , Horrible Histories , Gilbert & George , Gareth Malone and an evening of jazz presented by Ronnie Scott's . During
1786-581: Is a busy urban activity centre with a sizeable shopping area with two cinemas, bars, nightclubs, numerous restaurants and cafes and a shopping area, The Mall , close to the tube station . The High Road, the main shopping spine, stretches from the Wood Green tube station to the next stop on the Piccadilly line , Turnpike Lane , and is lined with shops along its route. It joins with Green Lanes at both its northern and southern ends. As of 2012, Wood Green has 120,757 square metres (1,299,820 sq ft) of total town centre floorspace. The Chocolate Factory
1880-681: Is a semi-professional rugby league team that compete in the Kingstone Press League 1 based at New River Stadium in Wood Green. They annually hold the Middlesex 9s rugby league tournament which also takes place at the New River Stadium. South Kensington South Kensington is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . Historically it settled on part of
1974-563: Is alluded to by the rays in the modern coat of arms of the London Borough of Haringey . Two competing systems, Marconi-EMI's 405-line system and John Logie Baird 's 240-line system, were installed, each with its own broadcast studio and were transmitted on alternate weeks until the 405-line system was chosen in 1937. After the BBC leased the eastern part of the Palace the theatre was only used for props storage space. The Palace continued as
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#17327657940622068-564: Is furthermore criss-crossed by the Exhibition Road and the stately Queen's Gate and Prince Consort Road . Until road lay-out improvements in 2012, the area was afflicted with traffic congestion and likened to a series of traffic islands. Modern development of the area is the result of the creation of the temporary Albertopolis reached by Exhibition Road, whose terrain now includes the Natural History Museum ,
2162-455: Is now a branch of the Halifax . The now-demolished bus depot at Wood Green was used for location filming by London Weekend Television for their 1970s situation comedy On The Buses . As of 2018, Wood Green is the focus of two major regeneration programmes by the London Borough of Haringey . The Haringey Heartlands initiative covers an area to the west of the town centre, including
2256-572: Is on Lordship Lane . Schools include: St Michael's Church of England Church was built in 1844 and became an independent parish in 1866. St Paul's Roman Catholic Church was first founded in Station Road in 1882, and was rebuilt in 1971. St Mary's Greek Orthodox Church, Wood Green also known as The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Wood Green Fatih Mosque
2350-423: Is on Caxton Road, sharing premises with Haringey Council of Asian People. There are a number of sports facilities in the local area. Indoor and outdoor tennis, all-weather football, an athletics track and gym are available at New River Stadium. The local parks offer a variety of options for running and other sports, and many also have tennis courts. There are various gyms in the Wood Green area. London Skolars
2444-625: Is on the East Coast Main Line . It has services in to Kings Cross and Moorgate and out to Hertford and Welwyn Garden City . Bowes Park serves the Hertford Loop Line branch of the East Coast Main Line. London Buses routes 29 , 67 , 121, 123 (24-hour operation, weekends), 141 , 144, 184, 221, 230, 232, 243 (24-hour operation), 329, N29, N91, W3 and W4 serve the area. Wood Green Crown Court
2538-433: Is the focus of a second significant regeneration plan entering the final stages of consultation in early 2018. The Wood Green Area Action plan would see the transformation of Wood Green Town Centre with the creation of 6,400 new homes, 4,000 new jobs and a redeveloped town centre with a significant amount of high-rise building. Blue House Yard is a redevelopment of a former car park including creative work and retail space,
2632-804: The Alliance française , as well as the Consulate General of France, not far from the French Embassy in Knightsbridge . With a French bookshop and many international cafés in the area, it has been called "Paris's 21st arrondissement". In April and May 1980 a group of six Iranian Arabs entered the Iranian Embassy in South Kensington and took the staff, visitors and a diplomatic policeman hostage. There followed
2726-606: The BBC and Yahoo! During the event, the building was struck by lightning, causing the fire vents to open (and then get stuck open), and it rained inside the building. Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey , London , England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London , and today it forms
2820-534: The Edgware, Highgate and London Railway to connect the site to Highgate station . Work on both the railway and the Palace was completed in 1873 and, on 24 May of that year, Alexandra Palace and Park was opened. The structure covers some 7.5 acres (3.0 ha). The Palace was built by Kelk and Lucas , who also built the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington at around the same time. Sims Reeves sang on
2914-758: The First World War it has become a cosmopolitan area attracting Belgian and French refugees, but also Poles during the Second World War and after, as well as latterly Spanish, Italian, and American expatriates. Some residents also have a Middle Eastern origin. The French presence is emphasised by the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle , the French Institute , housing a theatre now used as the Ciné Lumière with nearby
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3008-884: The Geological Museum , the Science Museum , the Victoria and Albert Museum, London Oratory and since 1915, the Lycée Français . Other local institutions include the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum , Polish Hearth Club , London Goethe-Institut , the Royal Albert Hall , Imperial College London , the Royal Geographical Society , the Royal College of Art , the Royal College of Music and between 1903 and 1991,
3102-493: The Great Northern Railway Line station at Wood Green in 1859 encouraged further development. By the end of the nineteenth century, much of Wood Green had been built up. What remained was built over during the first part of the twentieth century. The Victorian development was both residential and commercial in nature. Wood Green's industrial development was centred on the area bounded by Wood Green Common,
3196-407: The Great Northern Railway Line. Others argue that Alexandra Park is still within Wood Green's boundaries. Less contentious is the eastern boundary. A common definition would roughly describe it by a line running from the southwestern corner of Tottenhall Park, to the junction of The Roundway and Lordship Lane, then along Downhills Way as far as Belmont Avenue. This part of the boundary is completed by
3290-916: The Harringay Racers , the Haringey Greyhounds , the London Racers and now the Haringey Huskies , as well as a figure skating club, the Alexandra Palace Amateur Ice Skating Club. In June 2004, the first performances for about 70 years took place in the theatre, first in its foyer then in July in the theatre itself. Although conditions were far from ideal, the audience was able to see the potential of this very large space – originally seating 3,000, it could not be licensed for more than
3384-648: The Open University until 1981. The antenna mast still stands and is used for local terrestrial television transmission, local commercial radio and DAB broadcasts. The main London television transmitter is now at Crystal Palace in south London. The GLC considered a £20 million proposal in 1977 to redevelop the Alexandra Palace grounds into a multi-sport complex constructed around a shared football ground for North London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur . The 75,000-seat stadium would have required
3478-550: The Piccadilly line . Alexandra Palace is also served by London Buses route W3. The "Palace of the People" was conceived by Owen Jones in 1859. The Great Northern Palace Company had been established by 1860, but was initially unable to raise financing for the construction of the Palace. Construction materials were acquired and recycled from the large 1862 International Exhibition building in South Kensington after it
3572-572: The Royal College of Organists there. The market gardens of the rural area began to make way for a series of hospitals, such as the Brompton Hospital and the New Cancer Hospital along nearby Fulham Road. Adjacent landowners began to develop the land in the 1860s as a result of the transport hub and the general urbanisation boom west of London, and led to the eventual absorption of Brompton and its station into Kensington. It
3666-596: The Royal College of Organists , West London Air Terminal , the Ismaili Centre, London and the late comer 1960s Baden-Powell House some of which are administratively within the City of Westminster , but considered to be "within range of South Kensington". Although the SW7 postcode mainly covers South Kensington, it goes into Knightsbridge . The only Royal Mail Post Office in South Kensington closed in 2019. Following
3760-608: The Victoria and Albert Museum ). To the north is the Kensington Gore , to the south the winding Fulham Road and streets leading to Sloane Square and to the west, the residential and hotel area of Gloucester Road . South Kensington station lies on the junction of several thoroughfares: principally the Old Brompton Road , Harrington Road and Pelham Street and a stone's throw from the arterial Cromwell Road . It
3854-633: The coronavirus pandemic , Alexandra Palace was used as a food distribution hub by Edible London for local residents. Alexandra Palace has hosted a number of significant events. Recurring events held there include the Great British Beer Festival (1977–1980), the Brit Awards (1993–1995), the PDC World Darts Championship (2008–present) and the Masters snooker tournament (2012–2020 and 2022–2024). In November every year,
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3948-461: The home of the BBC's first regular public television service. The broadcasting system was 405-line monochrome analogue television – the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting. Although other facilities soon superseded it after the Second World War , Alexandra Palace continued to be used by the BBC for many years and its radio and television mast is still in use. The original studios 'A' and 'B' still survive in
4042-538: The 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park , an 87-acre (35 ha) area, west of what is now Exhibition Road, was purchased by the commissioners of the exhibition, in order to create a base for institutions dedicated to the arts and sciences, leading to the foundation of the Royal Albert Hall , three museums, the Royal School of Mines later a world renowned technological university, the Royal College of Music and
4136-413: The 1860s. However, by the early 1880s retail activity was clearly shifting to the High Road. At first, it focussed on the area between White Hart Lane and Truro Road. As the population grew, retail growth south of Lordship Lane began to exceed that north of it and by the end of the first decade of the twentieth Wood Green, High Street had become a popular shopping centre for North London. By 1976 Wood Green
4230-414: The 1960s and buildings were cleared to construct Shopping City, now known as The Mall Wood Green , which is one of London's major shopping centres. The Alexandra Palace , which is within Wood Green parish, played a leading role in the development of public service television. It is now an events and entertainment venue hosting exhibitions, concerts and sporting events. Wood Green also played its part in
4324-414: The 19th century or as social housing in the 20th. The High Road and the shopping mall host a variety of shops. There are regeneration plans approved for the old Marks and Spencer, and BHS buildings. There are a number of new restaurants which have opened along the High Road in recent years. Behind the High Road, Wood Green's streets include a high proportion of attractive high-quality Victorian houses. To
4418-490: The BBC's main transmitting centre for London until 1956, interrupted only by the Second World War when the transmitter found an alternative use jamming German bombers' navigation systems . In 1944, a German doodlebug exploded just outside the organ end of the Great Hall and the Rose Window was blown in, leaving the organ exposed to the elements. In 1947 some of the pieces of the shattered rose window were incorporated in
4512-525: The Charity Commission's order authorising a 125-year lease of the entire building to Firoka Ltd. In September 2009, Alexandra Palace main hall was allowed 2,000 more occupation, up to 10,250 ("still saddled by a £37 million debt it owes its guardian, Haringey Council"). A masterplan for the future of the site was drawn up in 2012, comprising six 'big ideas' to restore and redevelop the Palace. The first of these to be implemented aims to transform
4606-683: The Cromwell Road. In 1906 the new Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway company opened the Brompton Road tube station in the vicinity, thus adding a link directly to the political, commercial and financial heart of the capital in Westminster , the West End and the City of London , but owing to under use, it was shut in 1934. During the Second World War it was used by the 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade . Since
4700-487: The Grange, all of which were situated on the fringes of Wood Green Common and dated from the 17th Century. Later, Wood Green House (c. 1780), Chitts Hill House (c. 1805) and Bounds Green House were constructed at the perimeter of the common. Despite the development of these dwellings, by 1798 the population of Wood Green stood at just 100 inhabitants and remained scattered. It was centred at this period on Wood Green Common. At
4794-829: The Great Northern Railway, Turnpike Lane and the High Street. Amongst the first companies to arrive in the early 1860s was E Welch & Co Tobacco Manufacturer. Then in short order came the Hornsey Steam Laundry, Henry A. Ivory & Co Piano Manufacturers and Davis and Timmins Screw Factory. In 1880, Barratts arrived and grew to be one of the biggest confectionery manufacturers of the twentieth century. As Wood Green's population grew, so did its high street. The earliest retail developments had been in Commercial Road and Finsbury Road during
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#17327657940624888-410: The Hornsey Historical Society. A planned commercial development of the building into a mixed leisure complex including a hotel, replacement ice-skating rink, cinema, ten-pin bowling alley and exhibition centre, encountered opposition from public groups and was blocked by the High Court in 2007. The Great Hall and West Hall are typically used for exhibitions, music concerts, and conferences, operated by
4982-407: The Palace was repaired immediately but Haringey council overspent on the restoration, creating a £30 million deficit. It was then reopened to the public in 1988 under a new management team headed by Louis Bizat. Later the council was heavily criticised for the overspend in a report by Project Management International. In 1991, the attorney-general stated that the overspending by the council as trustee
5076-432: The People"; it and its park were renamed to honour the popular new Princess of Wales, Alexandra of Denmark , who had married Prince Albert Edward on 10 March 1863. The Palace of the People, or the People's Palace, remained as alternative names. In September 1865, construction commenced but to a design by John Johnson and Alfred Meeson rather than the glass structure initially proposed by Jones. In 1871, work started on
5170-414: The Stone Roses performed a concert at Alexandra Palace. Hugh Cornwell played his last performance with the Stranglers at Alexandra Palace in August 1990. This was documented by the Saturday Night, Sunday Morning album and video. Blur performed a major concert at the venue in October 1994 to promote their album Parklife . The recording of the concert was released on video in February 1995 with
5264-430: The area is contained within the Noel Park and Woodside wards. The population of those wards is given as 28,453 in the 2011 Census . The same census reports that white groups make up 55% of the population of Noel Park ward. The figures for the Woodside ward are 30% White Other, 23% White British, 14% Asian, 8% Black African, 6% Black Caribbean, 3% Black Other, 3% White Irish, 1% Arab and other ethnic groups. Wood Green
5358-438: The brick infills in the colonnade on the south-east face of the building, which the BBC constructed after 1936 to form their television studios within. Following a public consultation and advice from English Heritage, Planning and Listed Building Consent was given for the proposals and in March 2015 HLF awarded Round 2 major grant funding securing a positive future for the historic areas. In 2018, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios made
5452-468: The constituency was transferred to the neighbouring seat of Tottenham , but most was merged with the Hornsey parliamentary constituency to form the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency. Since 2015, the seat has been represented in the House of Commons by the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Catherine West . In mid century, Wood Green was known locally as the "Golden Mile of North London". Some shops and buildings were demolished in
5546-406: The derelict eastern end of the Palace, making accessible the Victorian theatre and historic BBC Studios. In 2013 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a Round 1 pass to develop the proposals, creating a new entrance in the restored East Court, re-establishing the theatre as a flexible performance space and re-opening the BBC Studios as a visitor attraction. There was controversy regarding plans to demolish
5640-429: The district, headed by Mr. Henry Burt JP , a member of the Middlesex County Council and of Hornsey District Council, at once embraced the opportunity of securing the Palace and the beautiful grounds for the people of London. A committee was formed by Burt and the consortium managed to raise enough money to purchase them just in time. By the Alexandra Park and Palace (Public Purposes) Act 1900 ( 63 & 64 Vict. c. cclix),
5734-560: The early decades of the 19th Century, the number of inhabitants in the area began to increase significantly. By the middle of the nineteenth century the population had increased to 400 and the centre of Wood Green's gravity had moved north and east with most development taking place in a triangle directly north of St Michael's Church . By the time of the publication of the 1869 Ordnance Survey map, Clarence Road, Truro Road, Nightingale Road, Finsbury Road and Commerce Road were all laid out and were becoming increasingly built up. The opening of
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#17327657940625828-403: The former Clarendon Gas Works, Olympia Trading Estate and land on Western Road. The programme aims to transform the area into a mixed sub-neighbourhood, with 1,700 homes, along with retail and office space. There are also plans for new public open space including a 'civic boulevard' linking the east and west of Wood Green and a public square for events and activities. The wider area of Wood Green
5922-421: The funeral service of the Labour MP Bernie Grant took place at the Palace. An estimated 3,000 people attended. The fourth Mind Sports Olympiad was held at Alexandra Palace in August 2000, with more than 4,000 competitors from around the world taking part in mind sports. In December 2002, The Miss World 2002 pageant was staged at the venue. In June 2007, a Hackday event was hosted at Alexandra Palace by
6016-417: The general manager, W. J. MacQueen-Pope , spending the war reparation money on refurbishing the auditorium. He abandoned the understage machinery that produced the effects necessary in Victorian melodrama; some of the machinery is preserved, and there is a project to restore some of it to working order. After these changes, the theatre was leased by Archie Pitt , then husband of Gracie Fields , who appeared in
6110-431: The grounds (in the middle of the old racecourse) since 1888. A Henry Willis organ installed in 1875, vandalised in 1918 and restored and reopened in 1929, survives. In its 1929 restored form, Willis's masterpiece was declared by Marcel Dupré to be the finest concert organ in Europe. In 1900, the owners of Alexandra Palace and Park were threatening to sell them for redevelopment, but a consortium of public-spirited men in
6204-421: The history of commercial television in the UK. In 1955, with the opening of Lew Grade 's London weekend franchise Associated Television (ATV), the Wood Green Empire in Lymington Avenue was home to variety programmes on Independent Television ( ITV ); one of which was The Arthur Haynes Show , starring the host himself and his straight man Nicholas Parsons . Only the frontage of The Wood Green Empire survives. It
6298-495: The importance of the quickly developing Underground scene. Although venues such as the UFO Club were hosting counter-cultural bands, this was certainly the largest indoor event at the time. Performers included headlining act Pink Floyd as well as the Pretty Things , Savoy Brown , the Crazy World of Arthur Brown , Soft Machine , The Purple Gang , The Move and Sam Gopal's Dream (featuring Sam Gopal, Mick Hutchinson and Pete Sears ). John Lennon attended, and Yoko Ono (who
6392-402: The junction of Alexandra Road and the High Road. Records suggest that settlement around Wood Green did not start till after the Norman Conquest . There is some limited evidence of Roman presence in the Wood Green area but none of any Saxon settlement. However, from the latter part of the 14th century, a number of estates developed around Wood Green. This included the Manor of Ducketts and
6486-473: The most exclusive real estate in the world. As is often the case in other areas of London, the boundaries for South Kensington are arbitrary and have altered with time. This is due in part to usage arising from the tube stops and other landmarks which developed across Brompton. A contemporary definition is the commercial area around the South Kensington tube station and the adjacent garden squares and streets (such as Onslow Square and Thurloe Square , opposite
6580-414: The north and west of the tube station, a large number of green spaces weave through the streets and a number of larger open green areas remain. Haringey Civic Centre on Wood Green High Road is the official seat of the London Borough of Haringey and contains the council chambers. It was opened in 1958 and is a listed building . Wood Green does not fit neatly into wards . However, a significant part of
6674-425: The opening day before an audience of 102,000. Only 16 days later, Alexandra Palace was destroyed by a fire which also killed three members of staff. Only the outer walls survived; a loan exhibition of a collection of English pottery and porcelain, comprising some 4,700 items of historic and intrinsic value, was also destroyed. The Palace was quickly rebuilt and reopened on 1 May 1875. The new Alexandra Palace contained
6768-490: The pull of Central London. The Shopping City was constructed between 1976 and 1981. Up to the nineteenth century, Wood Green came under the governance of the Manor and Parish of Tottenham. Tottenham developed from a parish in Middlesex into an Urban sanitary district in 1875, after a local board of health had been established in 1850. In 1888, the Municipal Borough of Wood Green was created as an urban district , and later
6862-429: The river looped across Chitts Hill and then passed along the northern side of Wood Green Common before turning south. The proximity of Wood Green to the new watercourse enhanced the area's reputation and between the 17th and early 19th Century, several large properties were constructed in the area, initially as country retreats for wealthy Londoners. Such dwellings included Cherson House, Wood Green Cottage, Moat Cottage and
6956-515: The same time as the population was growing so was the traffic along Green Lanes . As a result, Wood Green's first inn and recognisable business appeared. In 1770 George Chesser established a blacksmith's shop on the corner of Green Lanes and Lordship Lane (later known as Spouter's Corner). In 1781, the Three Jolly Butchers coaching inn was opened on the west side of Green Lanes between Lordship Lane and Bounds Green Road . During
7050-486: The scattered Middlesex village of Brompton . Its name was supplanted with the advent of the railways in the late 19th century and the opening (and shutting) and naming of local tube stations. The area has many museums and cultural landmarks with a high number of visitors, such as the Natural History Museum , the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum . Adjacent affluent centres such as Knightsbridge , Chelsea and Kensington , have been considered as some of
7144-403: The southeast wing with their producers' galleries and are used for exhibiting original historical television equipment. The original Victorian Alexandra Palace Theatre with its stage machinery also survives and as of 2019, is back in use. The theatre and stage structure is on English Heritage 's Buildings at Risk register. Alexandra Palace became a listed building in 1996, at the instigation of
7238-498: The surrounding park; it is long since closed and little trace remains except some reeds. The grounds included a horse racing course with grandstand (named Alexandra Park Racecourse and nicknamed the "Frying Pan" and the "Pan Handle" because of its layout), which was London's only racecourse from 1868 until its closure in 1970, a Japanese village, a switchback ride, a boating lake and a 9-hole pitch-and-putt golf course . Alexandra Park cricket and football clubs have also played within
7332-587: The theatre. Fields also drew an audience of 5,000 people to the hall for a charity event. In 1935, the trustees leased part of the Palace to the BBC for use as the production and transmission centre for their new BBC Television service. The antenna was designed by Charles Samuel Franklin of the Marconi Company . The world's first public broadcasts of (then) "high-definition" television were made from Alexandra Palace in November 1936, an event which
7426-490: The title Showtime and used as the basis for the video for the band's song " End of a Century ". From 1993 to 1995, the Brit Awards were hosted at Alexandra Palace. In November 1996 it was the venue for the annual MTV Europe Music Awards . In 1996, the Palace hosted the inaugural London Model Engineering Exhibition which continued each year until 2021 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In April 2000,
7520-546: The trading arm of the charitable trust that owns the building and park on behalf of the public. There is also a pub, ice rink , palm court , and a panoramic view of central London. In 2013, Alexandra Park was declared a local nature reserve and is also a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation , Grade 1. The nearest railway stations are the Alexandra Palace with Great Northern services from Moorgate and London Underground station Wood Green on
7614-470: The trustees to maintain the building and park and make them available for the free use and recreation of the public forever. The present trustee is the London Borough of Haringey, whose coat of arms shows lightning bolts depicting Alexandra Palace's pioneering role in the development of television. In 1935, the trustees leased part of the Palace to the BBC for use as the production and transmission centre for their new television service . In 1936, it became
7708-613: The two-hour-long gig and were uniquely made available from specific Harlequin Record Shops within Central London. In 1973, the Divine Light Mission held a "Festival of Love" there. Also in 1973, British rock band Wishbone Ash played a Christmas concert at the Palace, billed as "Christmas at the Palace". The American band Grateful Dead played a series of three shows there between 9 and 11 September 1974;
7802-471: Was cancelled due to higher-than-anticipated costs. Plans by the current trustees, Haringey Council, to replace all the charitable uses by commercial ones by a commercial lease of the entire building, including a casino, encountered considerable public and legal opposition, and on 5 October 2007, in the High Court, Mr. Justice Sullivan granted an application by Jacob O'Callaghan, a London resident, to quash
7896-466: Was demolished: the Government had declined to take it over. In 1863 Alexandra Park Co. Ltd. acquired the land of Tottenham Wood Farm for conversion to a park and to build the People's Palace, on a site that stands on a ridge more than 300 ft (91 m) high, part of Muswell Hill . Alexandra Park was opened to the public on 23 July 1863. The planned building was originally named "The Palace of
7990-491: Was due in part to a considerable decrease in sales between 2015 and 2016 in addition to the company expanding its online presence. Tim Waterstone opened his first eponymous Waterstones bookshop in 1982 in Old Brompton Road. It has given way to a Little Waitrose . Caffè Nero also started life as a single coffee shop in Old Brompton Road, opened by Ian Semp in 1990. It was subsequently bought out and became
8084-550: Was held here. After the fire, the burnt-out shell of the great hall of Alexandra Palace was used as Victory Square in Michael Radford 's 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell 's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four . The Sinclair C5 battery electric vehicle was launched at the Palace in January 1985, one week after the closure of the 405-line television system that was inaugurated there 49 years earlier. In November 1989,
8178-476: Was partly filmed in South Kensington. Morgan cars , a British family-owned hand built sportscar company operates a main dealership out of Astwood Mews in South Kensington. Christie's auction house had a second London salesroom in the Old Brompton Road, South Kensington from 1975, which primarily handled the middle market. Christie's permanently closed the South Kensington salesroom in July 2017 as part of their restructuring plans announced March 2017. The closure
8272-470: Was sealed by the arrival of the Metropolitan and District Railways at Brompton, but for public relations reasons, it was re-named "South Kensington" in 1868. To facilitate public access to the museums, the railway company built a pedestrian tunnel directly from the station concourse to an exit halfway up Exhibition Road, next to the now defunct Royal Mail sorting office, to avoid crowds having to cross
8366-453: Was set up by Haringey Arts Council in 1996 to develop artists' studios and now has a second building. The project houses 200 local artists, music, film and multimedia studios, photographic studios, and several performing arts organisations. Wood Green tube station is at the northern end of Wood Green High Road and Turnpike Lane tube station at its southern. Both are on the Piccadilly line . Alexandra Palace (named Wood Green until 1982)
8460-456: Was soon to become Lennon's new romantic partner) presented her performance work "Cut Piece". In 1970, Italian director Lucio Fulci filmed an important segment of his giallo film A Lizard in a Woman's Skin here. Alexandra Palace posed as a disused church. The rock band Led Zeppelin played at Alexandra Palace's Grand Hall in two sell out performances on the evenings of the 22/23 December 1972. Their concert tickets were priced at £1 each for
8554-401: Was the largest shopping centre in north London with a turnover of more than £20m. With the reorganisation of local government in the 1960s, Haringey Council was formed from the former boroughs of Wood Green , Hornsey and Tottenham . The new unified administration wanted to reinvent Wood Green as a ‘Heart for Haringey’. It was one of a number of new suburban centres intended to counteract
8648-528: Was to serve as a public centre of recreation, education and entertainment; North London 's counterpart to the Crystal Palace in South London . At first a private venture, in 1900, the owners planned to sell it and Alexandra Park for development. A group of neighbouring local authorities managed to acquire it. An Act of Parliament created the Alexandra Palace and Park Trust. The Act required
8742-457: Was transferred to Haringey council in 1980. During the First World War the park was closed; the Palace and grounds were firstly used as a refugee camp for displaced Belgians, and then later from 1915 to 1919 as an internment camp for German and Austrian civilians. The camp commandant was Lt. Col. R. S. F. Walker until his death in May 1917. The theatre was greatly altered in the early 1920s, with
8836-521: Was unlawful, and so could not be charged to the charity. The council for some years did not accept this politically embarrassing finding and instead maintained that the charity "owed" the council £30 million, charged compound interest on what it termed a "debt" (which eventually rose to a claim of some £60 million), and to recoup it tried to offer the whole palace for sale. An ice rink was installed at Alexandra Palace in 1990. Primarily intended for public skating, it has also housed ice hockey teams including
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