This article is about the famous building. For a separate article about the London area named because of it, see Crystal Palace, London, England.
The Crystal Palace was one of the wonders -- if not of the world -- certainly of Great Britain. It stood from 1854 until 1936, and attracted many thousands of visitors from all levels of society.
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The huge glass and iron structure at Sydenham was the successor of the similar but smaller building erected in Hyde Park to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, which itself had caused a sensation, embodying as it did the manufactures of many countries throughout the world.
Seen in its grand magnificence, the new Crystal Palace again displayed the genius of its creator, Joseph Paxton, later to be knighted in recognition of his work.
Paxton had been head gardener at Chatsworth, in Derbyshire, where he had become a friend of its owner, the Duke of Devonshire. Here he had experimented with glass and iron in the creation of large greenhouses, and had seen something of their strength and durability. Thus he applied to his plans for the building to house the Great Exhibition -- with astounding results.
Planners had been looking for strength, durability, simplicity of construction and speed -- and this they got from Paxton's ideas.
The life of the Great Exhibition was limited to six months, and something then had to be done with the building. Against the wishes of Parliamentary opponents of anything to do with the scheme, the edifice was re-erected at Sydenham, much modified and enlarged, and within two years Queen Victoria again performed an opening ceremony.
Two railway stations were opened to serve the permanent exhibition. The lower is still in use today, and the higher, which gave access to the Parade area, can also still be seen with its Italian mosaic roofing.
Joseph Paxton was first and foremost a gardener, and his layout of gardens, fountains, terraces and cascades left no doubt as to his ability. One thing he did have a problem with was water suply. Such was his enthusiasm that thousands of gallons of water were needed in order to feed the myriad of fountains and cascades which abounded in the Crystal Palace park. The two main jets were 250-feet high.
Initial watertowers were constructed, but the weight of water in the raised tanks caused them to collapse. And so Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was consulted, and came up with the plans for two mighty watertowers one at the north and the other at the south end of the building. Each supported a tremendous load of water, which was gathered from three reservoirs at either end of and the middle of the park.
Two years later, the grand fountains and cascades were opened, again in the presence of the Queen -- who got wet when a gust of wind swept mists of spray over the Royal carriage.
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Among the attractions was that of the dinosaurs, life-size models designed and made by Waterhouse Hawkins, situated by the Lower lakes, near the Anerley entrance. These are still there today, although we now know that they are anatomically inaccurate. A dinner party for 22 was held by Hawkins inside one of the Iguanodon statues. This part of the Crystal Palace park has recently been closed to the public while the Victorian statues have been subjected to renovation work. They were officially re-opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2002, but the area is still closed off at the present time in order to allow the new trees to grow.
Among the exhibits were just about every marvel of the Victorian Age, encompassing the products of many countries thoughout the wrold. There was pottery and porcelain; ironwork and furniture; steam hammers and hydraulic presses; perfumes and pianos; houses and diving suits; firearms and barometers; fabrics and fireworks -- and much more.
Queen Victoria loved the place and said she found it 'enchanting'. This was to some extent due to the degree of esteem in which she held the ultimate architect of its fortunes, her beloved husband, Prince Albert.
The fortunes of the Crystal Palace began to decline when the place ran down and money was not available for maintenance. This was a large extent due to the failure to obtain sufficient money by way of admission fees, in turn due to the inability to cater for a large portion of the population. The mass of people who would gladly visit the Palace were unable to do so because the only day on which they could get away from work was Sunday. And Sunday was the day on which the Palace was firmly closed. No amount of protest had any effect: the Lord's Day Observance Society (as today) held that people should not be encouraged to work at the Palace or drive transport on the Sabbath, and that if people wanted to visit, then their employers should give them time off during the working week. This, naturally, they would not do.
There was a Festival of Empire in 1911, to mark the coronation of George V and Queen Mary but things went from bad to worse, and two years later the Duke of Plymoth purchased the Palace for the nation to save it from developers.
Then came the Great War, when it was used as a naval barracks under the name of HMS Victory VI. At the cessation of hostilities it was re-opened as the first Imperial War Museum. Sir Henry Buckland took over as General Manager, and things began to look up, many former attractions being resumed, including the Thursday evening displays of fireworks by Brocks.
But in November, 1936 came the final tragedy. Within hours fire consumed all that had stood for a mighty empire and boundless imagination. The Palace was destroyed, the fire was seen for miles and hundreds of people saw it burn down in the night sky. Just like in 1866 when a fire burnt down the north transept the building was not insured for enough to be rebuilt. Some said that it should never be rebuilt as it was a symbol of a past age of values that didn't mean anything anymore.
Winston Churchill said: "This is the end of an age'.
The base of the South Tower was used for tests by Logie Baird for his Television.
All that was left standing were the two watertowers, and these were taken down during World War 2, the reason given was that the Germans could use them to navigate their way to London, but the same could have been said about St Paul's Cathedral. The north one was dynamited, the south one was taken down brick by brick owing to the proximity of other buildings.
The Crystal Palace Foundation was created in 1979 to keep alive the memory and respect for this epic age in Britain's history.
Discussion regarding its future continues, various plans which some people have called hideous, have been put foward, but none have been put into action on the Top Site.
Nearby is the home of Crystal Palace Football Club, Selhurst Park.
External link
- Crystal Palace Park - map of the park as it is now (slightly out of date)