Building    From 1854  To 30/11/1936

Crystal Palace

Originally erected in Hyde Park to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was on the section south of Rotten Row and east of West Carriage Drive with the mid-point opposite Rutland Gate. The cast-iron and glass building was then taken down and reconstructed, modified and enlarged, in 1854 at Sydenham Hill in what was then known as Penge Park. The area around then became known as Crystal Palace. In 1936 the Palace burnt down and was not rebuilt. What remains are the terraces, the steps and some sphinxes. The BBC reported that the UK's first fatal car accident happened at "Dolphin Terrace" at the Crystal Palace in 1896 but we can't discover exactly where that was.

The distinctive curved roof above the central transept, running north-south, was added to the design of the building to enable several elm trees in Hyde Park to be retained within the building rather than felled. The trees are not there now and were presumably lost to Dutch Elm disease some time 1970-90. (But London does still have elm trees - see the Londonist article and this pdf with map.)

Some good pictures and quotes at: The Library Time Machine.

Caroline's Miscellany on the model of Crystal Palace - in Paris.

Chapter IX of Dorothy Richardson's 1915 'Pilgrimage Volume 1, Backwater' describes a summer evening visit to Crystal Palace with fireworks, a calendar-clock, a winter garden, a concert room, etc.

2025: Londonist's post What's Left From the 1851 Great Exhibition? provides many answers, including the fact that the V&A holds 3,595 items, the museum having been created partly for that very purpose.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Crystal Palace

Commemorated ati

Crystal Palace fatal accident

{Around an illustration of the Crystal Palace:} The grave beneath this yew tr...

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Crystal Palace workmen's grave

Twelve workmen were killed, but we are unable to find out where the other two...

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HMS Crystal Palace

This trophy was originally placed on the old quarter-deck (presumably constru...

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Sir Joseph Paxton - giant bust

The Carrera marble bust is 8ft high.

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Other Subjects

C. W. Reeves

C. W. Reeves

Discussing St Mary Magdelene (Ridgeway/Windmill Hill) British History Online gives: "The adjacent vicarage, in 1974 no longer used for the purpose, was designed by Butterfield, while the church hal...

Person, Architecture

1 memorial
Sylvia Blanc

Sylvia Blanc

She was born as Sylvia Sara Cole and her birth was registered in the 2nd quarter of 1927 in the Willesden registration district. In 1953 she married Alan John Blanc (1929-1995) in Marylebone and el...

Person, Architecture

1 memorial
Henry Flitcroft

Henry Flitcroft

Architect.   His London work includes: church of St Giles in the Fields.  Lord Burlington was his patron.  Died at his Hampstead home.

Person, Architecture

1 memorial
Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson, C.H., K.C.V.O., P.R.A., R.D.I.

Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson, C.H., K.C.V.O., P.R.A., R.D.I.

Hugh Casson was an architect, notably for the 1951 Festival of Britain and the London Zoo Elephant House. President of  the Royal Academy (PRA) from 1976 to 1984.  He was also president of The Frie...

Person, Architecture

1 memorial

Previously viewed

George Inn

George Inn

This George Inn existed in the late 16th century though originally known as The George and Dragon.  The current building was erected in 1677 after a serious fire destroyed most of Southwark.  The n...

Building, Food & Drink

3 memorials
Hackney Council

Hackney Council

Hackney Council was created in 1965 from the 3 Metropolitan Borough Councils of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington, all three of which had been created in 1900. Previously they had been paris...

Group, Politics & Administration

61 memorials
Ealing Council

Ealing Council

Governing body of the London Borough of Ealing, Formed in 1965 by the merging of the Municipal Boroughs of Acton, Ealing and Southall.

Group, Politics & Administration

11 memorials
King Edward the Seventh's Galleries

King Edward the Seventh's Galleries

An extension to the British Museum by the architect Sir John James Burnett.

Building, Museums / Libraries

1 memorial
Tim Crawley

Tim Crawley

Active in 2006.

Person, Sculpture

9 memorials