The Crystal Palace

Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park in central London for the 1851 Geat Exhibition. The Exhibition was a showcase for the industrial wonders of Britain, as well as the marvels of the Empire. It was a huge success.

Because the structure was a prefabricated glass and steel structure, it was possible to take it to pieces and re-erect it elsewhere when the Exhibition was over. It was enlarged and moved to Sydenham Hill in south London, where it stood for the next 80 years as a place for people of all classes to go for entertainment. They even built it its own railway station. It housed all kinds of shows, including Blondin, the man who tightrope-walked across Niagara Falls. There were concerts - the building had the largest organ in the world. It was almost like a church in its vast layout - there were aisles and transepts.

Daisy Ashford, a very imaginative 12-year-old Victorian girl, wrote a book called The Young Visiters (sic), which is a sweet little romantic comedy based in the Palace of her imagination.
In 1936 the Crystal Palace burnt down. Apparently the flames lit up the sky over several counties. Times had changed, and its popularity had decreased with the arrival of other entertainments, such as the cinema. One water tower remained, which was demolished at the start of World War Two as it was thought to present too good a navigation tool for nazi bombers attacking the capital.

The Palace was set in a huge park, with lots of water features. Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was commissioned to make statues of dinosaurs, which have just been restored. Some had to be rebuilt from his original plans.


The terraces above which the Palace stood are still in existence, and the whole site is being restored, now that planners have been refused persmission to build a hotel and leisure centre there.