LONDON'S EIFFEL TOWER

Michael Montagu tells the story of Sir Edward Watkin’s lost Great Tower of London

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It's long forgotten now, but London was once to have its very own version of Paris's famous Eiffel Tower. The proposed site of the tower is now home to Wembley Stadium, but the “Great Tower of London” was there first — just. It was intended as a tourist attraction, planned to rise to a height of 358 metres, taller than the Eiffel Tower which stands at just over 330 metres.

The tower was the brainchild of the railway magnate Sir Edward Watkin, who chaired nine railway companies, among his other business interests. He planned on building a Channel tunnel, to link his rail networks to the French system. Sadly, that scheme failed in 1881. Watkin then had an idea for getting more passengers to travel out of London on his trains. To help with this plan, he bought land at a slightly isolated small village in Middlesex called Wembley. The idea was to construct a huge amusement park, complete with a boating lake, gardens, football and cricket pitches and, towering over it all, an ornamental iron tower, with access to the top, allowing visitors to enjoy distant views. These delights were to be no more than 12 minutes by train from central London via Baker Street station. A new station for the park was built, with extra platforms to cope with the expected large crowds. Wembley Park station opened partially in October 1893, then fully on 12 May 1894.