LONDON CALLING
A NEW INGLIS CLASSIC HAS ARRIVED, THIS TIME FOCUSED ON THE NATION’S CAPITAL
PLAYED IN LONDON
CHARTING THE HERITAGE OF A CITY AT PLAY
By Simon Inglis, English Heritage, 360 pages, £25, ISBN
978-1-84802-057-3
As Simon Inglis points out in his introduction to Played in
London, heritage and history are not the same thing. While
nothing can be done to alter the past, most would agree
that conserving elements of the historic environment is a
good thing. That this should include Britain's incredibly
rich sporting heritage has not always been acknowledged,
but largely thanks to Played in Britain, of which Simon Inglis has been series editor since 2004, sport's crucial role in
shaping the landscape and cultural life of Britain is now
being recognised.
It comes as no surprise that Played in London is by far the
weightiest book in the Played in Britain series to date. The
birthplace of many of the world's organised sports, three times an Olympic city, and home
to more professional football clubs than any city on earth other than Buenos Aires, it is a
city that has had sport coursing through its veins for hundreds of years. But though football may dominate today's headlines, sport's appeal is spread across 107 different activities
in London, with chapters devoted to thirteen sports in addition to football.
The book's publication coincides with the biggest shifting of tectonic plates in over a century of London football. Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are all planning to move to new grounds in the next three years, with QPR and Chelsea also on the
lookout for new premises. With Arsenal's move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium in
2006, and the demolition of the old Wembley in 2003 also taking place in recent times, a
need has developed for a more enlightened attitude towards the protection of our sporting heritage.
Arsenal have emerged as leaders in this field, both at Highbury and at the Emirates Stadium. The Ferrier and Binnie designed East and West Stands, both dating from the 1930s
and both enjoying listed status, have been reinvented as flats, of which there are a total of
725 at the Highbury Square complex. Residents are treated to a view of the former Highbury pitch, now divided into gardens, with a car-park considerately sited beneath the Highbury turf, while the famous marble hall, Herbert Chapman's bust included, now serves as a
foyer for the flats. Arsenal fans alighting at Arsenal Station and passing by Highbury on
their way to the Emirates Stadium, are thus provided with a permanent reminder of their
spiritual home.
One of the most common complaints about the Emirates Stadium early on was its anonymity and lack of atmosphere. Though expertly designed and a byword for comfort, it lacked
identity. To combat this, a process of 'Arsenalisation' began to take place in an effort to
reconnect the supporters to Arsenal's heritage. The two ends were renamed the North
Bank and the Clock End, the latter with the aid of a replica of the 1930s clock at Highbury.
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