72-662: The Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of West Brompton , London. It opened in 1866, coinciding with the opening of West Brompton station . It was named after the local landowner, Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) and the Lillie bridge over the West London Line , that links Old Brompton Road with Lillie Road. The grounds were adjacent to the railway on the south side of Lillie Road. Although geographically near to present day Stamford Bridge , there
144-493: A Southerly direction and Edgware Road and Upminster to the North and East. It is possible also to change at Earls Court (1 stop or a short walk) for District line services to Ealing Broadway and Richmond as well as Kensington Olympia. The West London Line also provides services between Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction, South Croydon and Gatwick airport. West Brompton F.C. was a 19th-century pioneer football team, who played in
216-460: A consortium trading as the 'Earls Court Development Company'. The nearest significant local commercial centres are North End Road to the west, which includes a street market, Fulham Broadway to the south and Earl's Court to the north. Earls Court Exhibition Centre Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue in London , England. At its peak it
288-466: A ground of their own, they chose Lillie Bridge and Oxford University were defeated 2–0. The attendance was over 1,000 higher than the previous final. Results of FA Cup Finals at Lillie Bridge Middlesex County Cricket Club moved to Lillie Bridge in 1869. WG Grace scored several centuries here before the MCCC left in 1872 to find better quality turf at Lord's . The club nearly folded at this time,
360-483: A horse ride. All three of these Lakota Native Americans were buried in Brompton's cemetery. The coffins of Long Wolf, White Star Ghost Dog and Paul Eagle Star were exhumed to Pine Ridge and Rosebud, South Dakota in the late 1990s by their tribal descendants. Whitley did not make money on his venture and in 1894-5 he was replaced by the internationally successful Hungarian impresario, Imre Kiralfy who not only relaid
432-574: A marshalling yard and overspill car park for the exhibition centre. Prior to its early 20th-century mixed industrial use, as a coal yard and for the automotive industry, the 20 or so acres were known as the " Lillie Bridge Grounds ", a popular sports destination. Since the site's acquisition by Capco plc as part of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre deal, it is being redeveloped as "Lillie Square", an estate of apartment blocks, some of them high-rise. The demolition of Earls Court
504-473: A mass network of rails trapped the land. The notion of introducing education and entertainment to the area was effected by John Robinson Whitley , an entrepreneur who used the land as a showground for a five years from 1887. Whitley did not profit from his efforts, yet his desire had decided the future of Earl's Court and its purpose in later years. The Great Wheel , a Ferris wheel , was created for Imre Kiralfy 's Empire of India Exhibition in 1895. A plaque in
576-408: A recipe for a disaster, with massive economic, social and environmental consequences. The winners will be the wealthy developers and overseas property speculators while the losers will be the community, local businesses and Londoners who will lose one of the capital's key exhibition centres." The Guardian ' s London blogger Dave Hill cited concerns over the number and relative affordability of
648-630: A swathe of public housing, existing retail and the historic Lillie Bridge Depot in Fulham in order to make way for four new urban "villages" inspired by Terry Farrell on the 80-acre site, which was expected to be completed in 2033. Demolition work began on the site in December 2014 following its closure on 13 December. The final event in the main Earls Court was a concert by indie rock band Bombay Bicycle Club . The final event to be broadcast from
720-657: A tunnel for show visitors, and in latter years with a direct link to Heathrow Airport . The founder of the entertainment grounds was the Leeds entrepreneur John R. Whitley and the first attraction headlined performances by Buffalo Bill Cody as part of the American Show visited by Queen Victoria and subsequently by members of the Royal Household . This was followed by numerous other exhibitions representing countries such as Canada, France and India. Earls Court
792-634: A vote for continuing being won 7–6. The LNWR opened its Brompton and Fulham Goods and Coal Station on the site in 1892. This was closed in the 1960s and the site was used for many years as a car park serving the Earls Court Exhibition Centre . From 2012–2017 the site was being redeveloped as part of the Lillie Square housing scheme. 51°29′07″N 0°11′39″W / 51.4854°N 0.1943°W / 51.4854; -0.1943 West Brompton West Brompton
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#1732779476055864-468: Is an area of west London, England, that straddles the boundary between the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . The centuries-old boundary traced by Counter's Creek , probably marked the eastern edge of Fulham Manor since Saxon times and is now partly lost beneath the West London Line railway. The land to the west of Counter's Creek lies in
936-404: Is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, originally opened in 1887, with an art moderne structure built between 1935 and 1937 by specialist American architect C. Howard Crane . With the active support of London mayor Boris Johnson , in an attempt to create Europe's "largest regeneration scheme", its proposed heritage listing
1008-518: Is the Grade I listed Brompton Cemetery , laid out between 1837 and 1839, with magnificent catacombs and a domed chapel by architect, Benjamin Baud. Since the area was chiefly devoted to market gardens, with leading nurseries such as that of James Veitch & Sons , philanthropists looking to establish hospitals near London. looked no further than Brompton as a suitable healthy location. Thus came into being
1080-598: The 2010 FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour was held at Earls Court Two on 11 March, with Wayne Rooney making an appearance with the trophy. Earls Court was the venue for the visit or mulaqat of the Aga Khan during the inauguration of the Ismaili Centre at Cromwell Gardens on 24 April 1985. Earls Court was one of the most popular arenas to play in the UK, with a capacity of around 19,000 including standing room, meaning it
1152-425: The Aga Khan visited daily for a series of religious gatherings with the UK and international Ismaili Muslim community. Earls Court Two was demolished by Capco Plc in 2015. With falling attendances and the sale of Earls Court-Olympia to a newly formed developer group in 2008 confidential plans were drawn up to demolish Earls Court. These were approved in outline by the two local authorities in 2013, along with
1224-893: The Amateur Athletics Club and developing the Lillie Bridge Grounds, is buried in Brompton Cemetery John Robinson Whitley opened his Earl's Court exhibition and fair grounds here in 1887, with the entrance in West Brompton in Richmond Gardens at the bottom of Richmond Place, named subsequently, Empress Place in honour of Queen Victoria's visit to the grounds. His opening gambit was the American Wild West Show which coincided with
1296-493: The London Book Fair . It was also used as one of the venues for both the 1948 and 2012 Olympic Games . Before 1887, Earl's Court was farmland attached to Earl's Court Manor. With the arrival of a multiplicity of railway companies, and before London Underground became distinct from the cross-country railways, the tracks formed a triangle which became 'waste ground'. The introduction of two Underground stations, and
1368-535: The NHL played the starting game of the 1938 Detroit Red Wings–Montreal Canadiens European tour there. Earls Court hosted the volleyball competitions in the 2012 Summer Olympics . The volleyball events were scheduled for the multi-sport arenas in the Olympic Park . At the 1948 Summer Olympics , the venue hosted the boxing preliminaries , gymnastics , weightlifting , and wrestling events. The London leg of
1440-675: The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. Each summer from 1950 to 1999, Earls Court was home to the Royal Tournament , the first, oldest and biggest military tattoo in the world. For this the area now occupied by Earls Court Two became a stables, artillery and vehicle depot for some two months, with several hundred military personnel from all three services billeted 'on site'. The Professional Lighting and Sound Association held its annual trade show,
1512-513: The PLASA Show , at Earls Court between 1992 and 2012. The 2013 show was held at ExCeL. London Film and Comic Con was hosted at Earls Court 2, held every July. The convention held autograph and photoshoot sessions with celebrity guests as well as providing a place to play games and buy collectables. In July 2014, due to the increase in the event's popularity, it was hosted in both Earls Court 1 and Earls Court 2. Notable historic exhibitions at
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#17327794760551584-639: The Royal Brompton Hospital , for chest diseases. Ten years later, William Marsden decided to erect a new Cancer Hospital in memory of his wife, and a tract of land was found for it along the Fulham Road in Brompton. Designed by Messrs John Young & Son, Architects , and built by the Lawrence Company in 1859, it has subsequently achieved world renown as The Royal Marsden Hospital . Notable residents of West Brompton include
1656-669: The Spice Girls performed Christmas in Spiceworld Tour . While dismantling the stage on 16 December, a worker died from falling more than 80 ft. The Brit Awards , the British Phonographic Industry 's annual pop music awards, were first held at Earls Court in 1996 and 1997. The awards show returned in 2000 at Earls Court Two, before moving back to the main Earls Court in 2006. The awards show moved to The O2 Arena in 2011. Before moving to
1728-499: The high jump in 1876 by Marshall Brooks in front of a crowd of 12,000. The person to codify the Marquess of Queensberry Rules was John Graham Chambers . The ground held the first ever amateur boxing matches in 1867, cups being supplied by the Marquess of Queensberry . The Wanderers , after winning the first FA Cup final in 1872 , were allowed to defend the cup in the second final of 1873 with choice of venue. Not having
1800-579: The 150-year-old residences in Empress Place and retail outlets by Lillie Bridge, scheduled for demolition, they were soft-stripped by the original developer company and are occupied as 'meanwhile use', such as very popular 'The Prince', formerly, the 'Prince of Wales' public House. The extant mid-Victorian residential and retail precinct became subject of five separate Certificates of Immunity from Listing , (COIL)s issued in May 1922 by Historic England to
1872-509: The Birmingham's NEC, Crufts Dog show was held here annually. With public and Kennel club concerns about the neglect and mistreatment of dogs, it introduced an annual exhibition aimed at showing how best to look after dogs as pets or care companions. This was Discover Dogs . The last show in London was held in 2014. The owner of Earls Court and Olympia , Capital & Counties Properties (also known as Capco), opened discussions in 2010 with
1944-554: The Conservative Kensington and Chelsea side have grown since the Grenfell tragedy in 2017 has put elected representatives in the spotlight in relation to their public responsibilities. During 2018 the developers have been touting for buyers to off-load at least part of the scheme. In February 2019 Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council let it be known they were considering a Compulsory purchase order to take over
2016-529: The EC press centre commemorated some of these facts and that the reclusive Queen Victoria was an occasional visitor to the shows. Kiralfy had the neighbouring Empress Hall built to seat 6,000 people and then had the Earls Court grounds converted in the style of the 1893 Chicago White City for the Columbian Exposition , and went on to found nearby White City in 1908. In 1935, Earls Court was sold and
2088-605: The Earl's Court grounds but had erected the greatly popular Great Wheel (1894–1907), and the Empress Hall (1894) to accommodate 5,000 spectators who came to shows including spectaculars on ice. The venue was used for part of the 1948 Olympics . It survived until 1959 and is now the site of the Empress State Building (1961). In 1913 Mrs Pankhurst called one of her rallies in the local Empress Hall, just to
2160-622: The Earls Court and adjacent land currently banked by the developers. In May 2019 H&F Council indicated they would be going ahead with raising £200 million capital to compulsorily purchase the land, including that in RBKC , with a view to "remastering" the plans, a decision to be considered at a full council meeting in September 2019. A spokesman for the developers responded that the council had not demonstrated their capacity to do this. Capco plc sold their declining interest in Earls Court to APG ,
2232-699: The Kensington Canal turned out to be a financial fiasco for its backers trying to link the Grand Union Canal and the burgeoning railways with the Thames . They switched to the idea of a railway to benefit from the boom to the West and to the North, and the canal was filled in to make way for the West London (extension) Line 1840. The earliest 'West Brompton' residential development was along
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2304-640: The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea to demolish the existing landmark centre and redevelop the area with up to 8,000 residential flats, retail outlets and, possibly, a new convention centre. Demolition work began on the site in December 2014. Since the 1970s, Earls Court-Olympia had acquired parcels of industrial land west of the West London Railway in Fulham to use as
2376-636: The Queen's Golden Jubilee and featured William Cody, aka, Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley along with a cortege of First Nation Americans. After Queen Victoria's personal attendance with her cortege on 9 May, the show became a runaway success. The show was not without tragedy, as three performers died during their tours. As a result, two Oglala Sioux Native Americans, 'Surrounded By the Enemy' and 'Red Penny', were buried in Brompton Cemetery . Red Penny
2448-607: The West Brompton area, is buried in Brompton Cemetery. Fortuitously, 16-18 Empress Place (at risk) housed, at the turn of the last century, the former engineering headquarters of the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway , from where the westward expansion of the Piccadilly line was planned and carried out. West Brompton Station provides London Underground District line services to Wimbledon in
2520-406: The West of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre and former Exhibition Grounds. She too is buried in Brompton Cemetery. The Empress Hall was knocked down in the late 1950s and was replaced by the brutalist 30-storey Empress State Building in 1961. West Brompton today is bounded by West Kensington and Earl's Court to the north, Chelsea to the east, Fulham Broadway to the south and Fulham to
2592-627: The adjacent 6,000 seater Empress Hall , turned into a huge refugee camp of the British Government . From 15 October 1914 onwards until 1919, more than 100,000 Belgian refugees stayed in this camp. Empress Hall was the site of the first game played outside of North America by any of the major North American professional sports leagues, when on 21 April 1938 the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens of
2664-621: The area was to the West of Counter's Creek, which between 1828 and 1859 became the short-lived, two-mile long Kensington Canal . This area of farm land, bounded by North End Lane to the West, was known then as North End in the Parish of Fulham and was dotted with a few grand houses, such as the Hermitage and the less grand Grange, home of artist, Edward Burne-Jones . A new road was laid out to join North End and Kensington parish with access to
2736-669: The centre included: The central area of the main hall concealed a massive pool area, formerly used for the London Boat Show which was held annually from 1960 until 2003. The event transferred to ExCeL in the London Docklands the following year. It was also briefly used for the Earls Court Boat Show in 2007 and 2008. During the First World War , Earls Court Exhibition grounds, including
2808-570: The concerts from The Wall Tour in 1980 and 1981 were recorded and released in 2000 as Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 , while performances from The Division Bell Tour in October 1994 were recorded and released on the live concert film Pulse . Genesis performed live shows since 1977, and between 2 and 8 November 1992 they performed 6 shows at the venue during their We Can't Dance Tour , in which their shows on 6–8 November were filmed and later released on VHS and later DVD under
2880-450: The current Empress Place (scheduled for demolition for a dense high rise development), and in 1866 by a terrace of more substantial houses along Richmond Road, both designed by the City of London architect, John Young , known for his signature ornamental brickwork. The houses would have been intended for the different levels of professionals, craftsmen and workers coming into London to service
2952-627: The defunct West London Cup along with the likes of Fulham F.C. and Queens Park Rangers F.C. Between 1869 and 1874 the Middlesex County Cricket Club had its home on the Lillie Grounds, prior to moving to Lord's in St John's Wood , where the turf was judged to be superior. Nevertheless, WG Grace scored a few centuries in West Brompton. John Chambers , who was himself a competitor and the moving force behind both
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3024-474: The dominating new high rise Lillie Square development emerging out of the erstwhile Athletics ground , latterly the Earl's Court exhibition car park, seeking to insert 'modern urban living' into this quiet, human scale and almost rural backwater, permanently obscuring the spires of the Redcliffe Square and Boltons churches and the trees of Brompton Cemetery. After the purchase in 2014-2016 of all of
3096-622: The drastic need to increase exhibition space. Earls Court II was built over the London Underground and British Rail lines and adjacent land originally occupied by a mass of sheds linked to the Lillie Bridge Engineering and Railway Depot in Hammersmith and Fulham. Earls Court Two was constructed at a cost of £100 million. The barrel-roofed hall linked with Earls Court One; the hall's 17,000 sq m floor
3168-541: The early death of Brunel and was active in the area laying down tracks and building bridges and leading to the establishment in 1869 of the Lillie Bridge Depot and Railway Engineering works, currently being demolished to make way for a high rise development. Among his many famous designs is the West Brompton station opened in 1865. Fowler, like many people who contributed to the early development of
3240-526: The east, linked to its western namesake through the areas of Earl's Court and South Kensington by the Old Brompton Road . Before the vigorous urbanisation of the second half of the 19th century, Brompton also referred to the area between the Fulham Road , previously known as Little Chelsea and Counter's Creek to the West, on its way to the Thames . The most famous landmark in the area
3312-497: The following year. This coincided with the development on the north side of Lillie Bridge , of John Robinson Whitley 's 1887 Earl's Court Exhibition Grounds . This was transformed in 1937 into the internationally famous venue, which hosted the indoor Volleyball competition of the 2012 Olympics before itself being consigned to demolition. Lillie Bridge was the home of the Amateur Athletic Club whose moving spirit
3384-523: The growing transport and building booms. Indeed, the owners and residents of this Fulham housing development would soon be involved from 1872 in the massive urbanisation of the farmland estates of the Edwardes and Gunter families, over Lillie bridge. Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet , a civil engineer from Yorkshire took over as consulting engineer of the Metropolitan and District Railway following
3456-454: The housing units that will be constructed on the site after the proposed demolition of Earls Court, as well as concerns over the views of local residents. Despite the opposition, Boris Johnson approved the redevelopment plans on 3 July 2013. Since the election of a Labour majority on the Hammersmith and Fulham side of the boundary in 2014, relations between the developers and elected representatives have soured if not stalled. Sensitivities on
3528-527: The medieval parish of Fulham which evolved out of the extensive Fulham Manor, the residence of the Bishop of London for 1,300 years, known today as Fulham Palace . To the east is the parish of St Mary Abbots which traces its foundation to the 12th-century as the Manor of Kensington. Until modern times, both sides of the creek were in the county of Middlesex . The name refers to the locality of Brompton to
3600-574: The naturalist, writer and illustrator, Beatrix Potter , William Hurlstone (1876–1906), English composer born in Empress Place, and Benjamin Rawlinson Faulkner (1787–1849), reputedly Queen Victoria 's favourite portrait painter. The most notable landowners in 'West Brompton' at the start of the 19th century were James Gunter (1731–1819), Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) and the Edwardes family . The first non-agrarian activity in
3672-507: The new Hammersmith Bridge by Sir John Scott Lillie, Peninsular War veteran, road builder and investor in the canal company. Lillie is buried in Brompton Cemetery. After Gunter's Bridge was built over the canal in 1826, the road on either side was called the Richmond Road. The remnants of the canal bridge can be seen from platform 4 at the West Brompton station. The early Fulham buildings were associated with freight transport such as
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#17327794760553744-476: The new owners decided to construct an exhibition centre, with an internal pool, to rival any other in the world and to dominate the nearby Olympia exhibition hall. The plan was to create Europe's largest structure by volume. The project did not go exactly to plan; it ran over budget and was late in completion. Designed by the specialist American theatre architect, C. Howard Crane , with over 40,000 sq m of space over two levels, Earls Court finally opened its doors to
3816-405: The night of 12 October 1994, Pink Floyd were scheduled to begin a 14-night residency of the venue as part of The Division Bell Tour . During their opening song, " Shine On You Crazy Diamond " a section of seating, containing 1,200 attendees, collapsed, injuring 90 people with no fatalities. The show was immediately cancelled and rescheduled for 17 October. On 11, 12, 14 and 15 December 1999,
3888-520: The old Fulham (Fever) Hospital, and its once associated Fulham Ambulance Station . One hospital ward block remains and appears to have been renamed "Lillie Bridge House" although it is a quarter of a mile from the bridge, down Seagrave Road. Also down that road are The London Oratory School , linked to Brompton Oratory , the Sedlescombe Conservation Area and a number of late Victorian streets of stucco terraces. These now front
3960-427: The pool when not in use and was lowered using water hydraulic rams. The pool was used for watercraft exhibitions and lastly as a feature for the Ideal Home Show in 2011. A new entrance to Earl's Court tube station was constructed on Warwick Road to facilitate easy access to the exhibition centre, including a direct entrance from the underground passage which connected the District and Piccadilly lines. However, this
4032-416: The present development company, which frees the buildings for re-development for a period of five years. There are major plans to regenerate the land made vacant after the demolition of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre and adjoining property, including TFL's , historic Lillie Bridge Depot , in total 40 acres. The proposals for redevelopment were published in November 2023 and updated in March 2024 by
4104-712: The public for the Chocolate and Confectionery Exhibition on 1 September 1937. The British International Motor Show immediately followed and later the Commercial Vehicle show. In spite of all the problems during the latter part of its construction, the project was eventually completed at a cost of £1.5 million. At the centre of Earls Court was its internal pool or "lake" (its basin being 60m long and 30m wide), which for use took four days to fill and four days to empty; 2 1 ⁄ 4 million gallons of water were required to fill it. These operations could only be accomplished at night, so as not to put undue strain on local services. A 750-tonne retractable floor in three sections covered
4176-414: The south side of Richmond Road (today's Lillie Road) and was called Lansdowne and Beaufort Villas in the 1840s, a group of Palladian style semi-detached houses with front and back gardens, now entirely demolished. These were followed in 1864 off its north side by a small terraced cul-de-sac abutting the railway with a number of attached retail outlets onto the main road, a development called Richmond Place,
4248-559: The title The Way We Walk . In November 1995, Oasis staged the two biggest ever indoor gigs at the time in Europe, at a specially expanded Earls Court. Between 28 May and 1 June 2002, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held concerts as part of their World of Our Own Tour supporting their album World of Our Own . However, after the opening of the O2 Arena in 2007, concert performances at Earls Court were rarer. Iron Maiden performed at Earls Court in 2000, 2003 and two nights in 2006 - each time sold out with circa 21,000 in attendance. On
4320-419: The venue began hosting other sports including: bicycle racing , football , cricket and wrestling . There were also hot air balloon festivals and county fairs . It fell into disuse after a riot on 18 September 1888 following the cancellation of an athletics meeting at which 6,000 to 7,000 people had paid to watch and placed their bets. The ensuing riot destroyed the track and grandstand , leading to closure
4392-426: The venue was the 2014 BBC Music Awards two days earlier. The site remains derelict to this day (2023). Earls Court hosted many shows and exhibitions throughout the years, including the Earls Court Motor Show , Ideal Home Show and the BRIT Awards . The MPH Show , one of Britain's largest motoring exhibitions and shows, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson and others, took place there each winter after an earlier showing at
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#17327794760554464-410: The west. It contains the historic 'Lillie Enclave' destined to be replaced, under the aegis of Mayor Boris Johnson , on its Western flank along with three social housing estates by an ambitious high rise development, trailed as four new 'villages' on decking, due to obliterate most of its existing biodiversity and history. Also included in the area are the Brompton Park Crescent estate, in the grounds of
4536-415: The wharves in today's Rickett Street and Roxby Place, south of Lillie Road, and a brewery to offer refreshment to the canal, barge and later railway workers as well as the builders of the nearby Westminster and Brompton Company 's new 40 acre cemetery opened in 1840. The oldest extant building is the Lily Langtry public house, formerly the Lillie Arms 1833, part of the old brewery in Lillie Road. Meanwhile,
4608-449: Was Little Chief and Good Robe's eighteen-month-old son. Brulé tribesman, Paul Eagle Star who died on 24 August 1891 at age twenty-seven due to complications from a horse-riding accident in Sheffield . Fifty-nine-year-old Oglala Sioux tribesman, Long Wolf died due to pneumonia during the Wild West Show's tour on 13 June 1892. Two months later, a two-year-old girl named White Star Ghost Dog lost her life when she fell from her mother's arms on
4680-405: Was closed in the 1990s after the capacity of the exhibition centre had been expanded by the construction of a second hall, Earls Court Two , in an effort to compete with the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham . In 1985 it was decided by the then owners P&O to expand the covered venue to fend off competition from rival national venues, such as the NEC in Birmingham and in response to
4752-435: Was entirely column-free and could hold a maximum capacity of 10,750. The hall was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales on 17 October 1991. The biennial London Motorfair was the first event held in the new hall. Following the construction of Earls Court Two, the original building became known sometimes as Earls Court One. One of the largest gatherings at Earls Court II was the United Kingdom Padhramni from 5–14 August 1994 when
4824-470: Was never direct access, there being the 13 acre now defunct Western Hospital site between the two. The ground was the scene in its day of many sports including athletics, boxing, cricket, cycling and football, and hosted the FA Cup Final in 1873 . It closed in 1888 following a riot reported in The Times . The London Athletic Club , founded in 1866, moved to the Grounds in 1869 where it stayed until 1876, prior to its transfer to Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile,
4896-401: Was often chosen over other venues by bands with a large fan base. Slade and David Bowie were the first rock acts to play there, in 1973. Led Zeppelin performed five sold-out shows at the venue in May 1975. Bowie's 1978 concert performance, part of his Isolar II Tour , was released as Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78) in 2018. Pink Floyd performed live shows since 1972, and
4968-444: Was opposed by the 'Earl's Court Area Action Group', which began a 'Save Earl's Court' campaign. The Group is composed of local residents and interested parties who would be affected by the exhibition centre's destruction and subsequent 20 years of proposed redevelopment. Darren Johnson , a Green Party member of the London Assembly, wrote to the Mayor of London , Boris Johnson , and argued that "the Earl's Court demolition plans are
5040-524: Was refused after it was acquired by developers, who promptly in 2008 applied for and were granted a Certificate of Immunity from Listing by English Heritage , and its demolition was completed in 2017. Located in Earl's Court but straddling the boundary between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham , it was the largest such venue within the capital served by two London Underground stations—one of them, Earl's Court tube station , being specially adapted with
5112-451: Was the Cambridge University athlete, John Graham Chambers and who helped to organise the Amateur Championships before they were held under the auspices of the Amateur Athletic Association. From 1867 to 1887, the annual athletics Varsity match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities were held here before moving to Queen's Club on the ground's closure. Many World Records were set at Lillie Bridge , including for example, 6' 2.5" in
5184-712: Was widely known for serving as London's and the country's premier exhibition venue for many decades, hosting the Royal Smithfield Show , Royal Tournament , the British International Motor Show , London Boat Show , the Ideal Home Show , Billy Graham rallies, the Brit Awards (until 2010), Crufts and other events such as large scale opera productions and pop concerts in addition to hundreds of trade shows, such as
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