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

Royal School of Naval Architecture

Royal School of Naval Architecture

Established in South Kensington on the site now occupied by the V&A Museum.

Group, Architecture, Education

1 memorial
Councillor A. C. Shearing

Councillor A. C. Shearing

Architect of the British Legion Hornsey in 1929.

Person, Architecture, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Sir Robert Smirke

Sir Robert Smirke

Born London. Died Cheltenham. Designed the British Museum and Covent Garden Theatre, amongst other buildings.

Person, Architecture

2 memorials
Sir Arthur Mackmurdo

Sir Arthur Mackmurdo

Architect and designer. Born Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo.  In 1874, he travelled to Italy with John Ruskin to study the architecture. He later opened his own architectural practice in London, and in 1...

Person, Architecture, Craft / Design

1 memorial
The Polygon

The Polygon

Polygon Road was the site of The Polygon - a fifteen sided building of 32 houses situated around a garden. William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft lived at No 29 for a time and their daughter, later...

Place, Architecture

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Frederick Bremer

Frederick Bremer

Engineer and inventor. Born in Stepney. A gas-fitter and plumber by trade, in 1892, with his assistant Tom Bates, he built the first British motor car with an internal combustion engine. Died Walth...

Person, Engineering

1 memorial
Jessica Tandy

Jessica Tandy

Actor. Born Jessie Alice Tandy in Upper Clapton. She appeared in over 100 stage productions and more than 60 roles in film and TV. In 1940, on the break-up of her marriage to actor Jack Hawkins, sh...

Person, Cinema, Theatre, TV & Radio, USA

1 memorial
John Burns

John Burns

Labour leader and politician. Born John Elliott Burns in Vauxhall. in 1889 he played a major part in the London dock strike. Entered parliament in 1892. Appointed president of the Board of Trade in...

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial