Crystal Palace Park is a park in south-east London,Grade II* listed on theRegister of Historic Parks and Gardens.[1] It was laid out in the 1850s as apleasure ground, centred around the re-location ofThe Crystal Palace – the largest glass building of the time – from central London to this area on the border of Kent and Surrey; the suburb that grew around the park is known bythe same name.
Crystal Palace Park | |
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![]() Crystal Palace Park | |
Location of the park shown within content ofGreater London | |
Type | Public park |
Location | Crystal Palace London,SE19 United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°25′15″N0°04′12″W / 51.42083°N 0.07000°W /51.42083; -0.07000 |
Area | 200 acres (81 ha) |
Created | 1854 |
Operated by | London Borough of Bromley |
Status | Open all year |
Public transit access | ![]() ![]() |
Website | crystalpalacepark |
The Palace had been relocated fromHyde Park after the 1851Great Exhibition and rebuilt with some modifications and enlargements to form the centrepiece of the park, before being destroyed by fire in 1936. The park featuresfull-scale models of dinosaurs in a landscape, amaze, lakes, and aconcert bowl.[2]
This site contains theNational Sports Centre, previously a football stadium that hosted theFA Cup Final from 1895 to 1914 as well asCrystal Palace F.C.'s matches fromtheir formation in 1905 untilthe club was forced to relocate during theFirst World War. TheLondon County Cricket Club also played matches atCrystal Palace Park Cricket Ground from 1900 to 1908, when they folded, and the cricket ground staged a number of otherfirst-class cricket matches and had first been used byKent County Cricket Club as a first-class venue in 1864.
The park is situated halfway along theNorwood Ridge at one of its highest points. This ridge offers views northward to central London, eastward to theQueen Elizabeth II Bridge andGreenwich, and southward toCroydon and theNorth Downs. The park remains a major London public park; maintained by theLCC and then theGLC, but with the abolition of the GLC in 1986 the park and its management were moved into theLondon Borough of Bromley. The park has one of the largest weekly outdoorFarmers' Markets in London. In recent years the park has also played host to organised music events such asWireless Festival and theSouth Facing Festival.
History
editAfter the 1851Great Exhibition in Hyde Park,Joseph Paxton appealed for the retention ofThe Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, but the government decreed that the Palace be removed. Paxton formed the Crystal Palace Company to purchase the Hyde Park Crystal Palace for £70,000, as well as a new site at the summit of Sydenham Hill in Kent for the construction of an enlarged Crystal Palace which cost a total of £1.3 million.[3] The 389-acre site consisted of woodland and the grounds of the mansion known as Penge Place owned by Paxton's friend and railway entrepreneur Leo Schuster.[4] This land as enclosed in the early 19th century previously made up the northern part ofPenge Common, a large area of wood pasture which abutted theGreat North Wood. Between 1852 and 1854, an enlarged and redesigned Crystal Palace was rebuilt at the new site, set in a park constructed by Sir Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace Company.[5]
The development of ground and gardens of the park (which straddled the border between Surrey and Kent[6]) cost considerably more than the rebuilt Crystal Palace.Edward Milner designed the Italian Garden and fountains, the Great Maze, and the English Landscape Garden, and Raffaele Monti was hired to design and build much of the external statuary around the fountain basins, and the urns, tazzas and vases.[7] The series of fountains constructed required the building of two 284 ft (87 m) high water towers, designed byIsambard Kingdom Brunel, at either end of the palace.[8] The sculptorBenjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was commissioned to make33 lifesized models, completed in 1854, of the (then) newly discovered dinosaurs and other extinct animals in the park.[9] The park was also given a gift of amegatherium skull byCharles Darwin. The rebuilt Crystal Palace was opened byQueen Victoria in June 1854.
Rail access to the park became possible when theCrystal Palace railway station opened in 1854. In 1864,Thomas Webster Rammell experimented with a 600-yardpneumatic railway in the tunnel between the Sydenham and Penge gates to the park.[10] In 1865, another station, theCrystal Palace (High Level) railway station opened, but this station closed in 1954.[11]
The park has been used for various sporting activities from its early days. TheCrystal Palace Park Cricket Ground was created on the site in 1857. In 1894, the two largest fountains were grassed over and the south basin was converted to a football stadium in 1895.[7] The stadium was used to hostFA Cup Finals for 20 years starting with the1895 FA Cup Final until 1914.Crystal Palace F.C. also played their home games at the stadium from 1905 to 1915.
In 1911, theFestival of Empire was held at the park and the park was transformed with buildings designed to represent theBritish Empire. Many of these buildings remained at the site until the 1940s.[5]
In 1936, The Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire.[12] The south water tower was demolished soon afterwards due to fire damage. The north water tower was demolished in 1941, perhaps to eliminate landmarks that German bombers might use to orient themselves during air raids in theSecond World War.[13]
A 400 ft-long Marine Aquarium was built in 1872 on a part of The Crystal Palace site left vacant after a fire in 1866, but it was not a financial success. A large section of it was destroyed during the demolition of the north water tower. TheCrystal Palace transmitting station was built on part of the site of the aquarium in the 1950s.[14]
The park also housed one of the pioneer speedway tracks, which opened for business in 1928. TheCrystal Palace Glaziers raced in theSouthern andNational Leagues up to 1933 when the promotion moved on to a track in New Cross. The extensive grounds were used in pre-war days for motorcycle racing and, after the 1950s, for motorcar racing; this was known as theCrystal Palace circuit. Large sections of the track layout still remain as access roads around the park. The circuit itself fell into disuse after the final race in 1972, although it has been digitally recreated in theGrand Prix Legends racing simulation and 2010 sees the 10 years of campaigning work to reopen the track culminating in Motorsport at the Palace.[15]
TheNational Sports Centre (NSC) was built in 1964 on the old football ground. In 2005 theMayor of London and theLondon Development Agency (LDA) took control of the NSC as part of London's bid for the2012 Summer Olympics andParalympics, and it is now managed byGreenwich Leisure on their behalf. The park also once housed a ski slope.[16]
After the abolition of theGreater London Council, the ownership of the park was transferred toLondon Borough of Bromley in 1986, which oversaw a number of restoration works on the site. A third of the park was restored between 2001 and 2003, including the dinosaur figures.[17]
21st century and the Crystal Palace Park Trust
editIn 2007 the London Development Agency developed a Masterplan for the park that cost almost £70 million.[18][19] Although the Masterplan received planning permission in December 2010, the funds were never identified.[20]
In 2015 Bromley council committed resources to an adapted version of the 2007 Masterplan. This regeneration plan included plans to raise a £40 million endowment fund (largely through two residential developments and grant giving bodies) to establish a sustainable business model run by a new charitable trust that would eventually become the sole custodian of the park.[21][20] A shadow board was established in 2016, becoming the Crystal Palace Park Trust in 2018 and a registered charity in 2021.[20][22][23] The Trust is expected to take ownership of the park in 2023.[24]
Sites of interest
editThe park contains a large bust ofSir Joseph Paxton, first unveiled in 1873. It was sculpted byWilliam F. Woodington, and was originally located looking towards the Palace building over the central pool on the Grand Central Walk.
The Italian Terraces with their sculptures survive from the destroyed Crystal Palace.[8] The upper and lower terraces are linked by flights of steps with sphinxes flanking each flight.[25]
TheCrystal Palace Dinosaurs, a group of sculptures of dinosaurs and extinct mammals complete with a 'geological' landscape, are in and around the 'tidal lake' at the southeast side of the park.
A statue ofGuy the Gorilla by the sculptorDavid Wynne was erected in Crystal Palace Park in 1961.[26]
The park contains a free maze. The maze is 160 ft in diameter and occupies a total area of nearly 2000 square yards. The maze was first created around 1870, and it was one of the largest mazes in the country. It later fell into disrepair but was replanted in 1987 by theLondon Borough of Bromley. In 2009, an artwork was set within the maze, which was restored to celebrate the centenary of theGirl Guide movement. A notice by the entrance to the maze informs of the park's link to the founding of the Girl Guides:[27][28]
In 1909 during a Boy Scout rally held in the park a group of girls approached Lord Robert Baden Powell to demand the formation of a similar movement for girls. Baden Powell responded positively to the request and shortly afterwards published his Scheme for Girl Guides. Six thousand girls joined when the organisation was founded in 1910.
— Inscription in the park by the entrance to the maze
In the northern corner of the park is theCrystal Palace Bowl, a natural amphitheatre where large open-air summer concerts were held for nearly 60 years, including Pink Floyd, Elton John, Eric Clapton and the Beach Boys. The Bowl hostedBob Marley's largest and last ever concert in London on 7 June 1980, which was commemorated in October 2020 when a blue plaque was affixed to the structure.[29] The stage was rebuilt in 1996 with a permanent structure designed byIan Ritchie, which was nominated for theRIBA Stirling Prize, but it later fell into a state of disrepair and became inactive as a music venue.[30][31] In 2020,London Borough of Bromley Council announced they are working with a local action group to find "creative and community-minded business proposals to reactivate the cherished concert platform".[32]
AWorld War I memorial bell is placed in the park. Crystal Palace was once used as a training ground for the Royal Navy, and was referred to as H.M.S. Victory VI. The bell was originally unveiled in 1931 on the terrace in the park (the location was called the "quarterdeck"), but moved to the present location in the 1970s.[33]
The Crystal Palace Museum is housed in the only surviving building constructed by the Crystal Palace Company built circa 1880 as a classroom for the Crystal Palace Company's School of Practical Engineering.[34]
The park is one of the starting points for theGreen Chain Walk, linking to places such asChislehurst,Erith, theThames Barrier andThamesmead. Section 3 of theCapital Ring walk round London goes through the park.[35]
Proposed developments
editA number of proposals to redevelop the Crystal Palace Park have been put forward since the 1980s. The park was handed to theLondon Borough of Bromley after the abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986, and a long-fought-over local issue is whether to build on the open space which was the location of the original Crystal Palace building or to leave it as parkland as theGreater London Council had done. In 1989 Bromley proposed the development of the site for hotel and leisure purposes, it culminated in the passing by the House of Commons of the Bromley London Borough Council (Crystal Palace) Act 1990, which limits development on the site.[36][37]
In 1997, a planning proposal was submitted which involved 53,000 square metres of leisure floor space, including a 20-screen multiplex. The proposal was opposed by a local campaign group, the Crystal Palace Campaign, set up a month later.[38]
In 2003, plan for a modern building in glass was submitted to the Bromley council.[39]
In 2007, a £67 million master plan was drawn up byLondon Development Agency which includes the building of a new sports centre, the creation of a tree canopy to mimic the outline of the palace, the restoration of the Paxton Axis walkway through the park, but it also included a controversial proposal for housing on two parts of the park.[40] It won government backing in 2010, and the plans were upheld by the High Court in 2012 after a challenge by a local group, the Crystal Palace Community Association.[41][42]
In January 2011 the owners ofCrystal Palace F.C. announced plans to relocate the club back to the site of the NSC from their currentSelhurst Park home, redeveloping it into a 25,000-seater, purpose-built football stadium.[43] HoweverTottenham Hotspur F.C. also released plans to redevelop the NSC into a 25,000-seater stadium, maintaining it as an athletics stadium, as part of their plans to redevelop theOlympic Stadium after the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.[44][needs update]
In 2013, a plan to build a replica of the destroyed Crystal Palace was proposed by a Chinese developer.[45][46][47] Bromley Council however cancelled the exclusivity agreement with the developer in 2015.[48] In February 2020 Bromley Council submitted a planning application for a £40 million park regeneration project, adapted from the 2007 masterplan.[49]
References
edit- ^Historic England,"Crystal Palace Park (1000373)",National Heritage List for England, retrieved19 November 2017
- ^"Map of Crystal Palace Park".Crystal Palace Park, Penge, South London. Cadillac Owners Club of Great Britain. Archived fromthe original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved29 May 2013.
- ^"History of The Crystal Palace (Part 1)".Crystal Palace Foundation.
- ^"Leaving Hyde Park, 1851".Crystal Palace Foundation.
- ^ab"About Crystal Palace Park: History of the park".Bromley Council. Archived fromthe original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved28 July 2013.
- ^Camberwell: Divisions of the New Borough (Map) Ordnance Survey, 1885
- ^ab"The Rebuilding at Sydenham, 1852-1854".Crystal Palace Foundation.
- ^ab"History of The Crystal Palace (Part 2)".Crystal Palace Foundation.
- ^"Dinosaur Audio Tour".
- ^"Making History - The Crystal Palace atmospheric railway". Archived fromthe original on 12 February 2010.
- ^"Crystal Palace High Level and Upper Norwood".Disused Stations.
- ^"Disaster strikes, 1936".The Crystal Palace Foundation.
- ^Vanessa Thorpe (29 April 2007),"Brunel to tower again over Crystal Palace",The Observer
- ^"Crystal Palace Aquarium Co Ltd".Crystal Palace Foundation.
- ^Williams, David (17 May 2013)."Motor to the Palace for action-packed vintage racing".London Evening Standard. Retrieved29 May 2013.
- ^"Skiers - Edinburgh And Crystal Palace 1967".
- ^"History".Crystal Palace Park.
- ^"Regeneration of the park".London Borough of Bromley.
- ^"Crystal Palace Park Masterplan – Management and Maintenance Plan". November 2007.
- ^abc"Regeneration Plan Public Information Boards"(PDF).
- ^Hale, Holly."Regeneration of the park".London Borough of Bromley. Retrieved8 December 2022.
- ^"CRYSTAL PALACE PARK TRUST overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved8 December 2022.
- ^"CRYSTAL PALACE PARK TRUST - Charity 1193331".register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved8 December 2022.
- ^"Crystal Palace Park Trust plans to take over running of park from Bromley Council".News Shopper. Retrieved8 December 2022.
- ^"The Italian Terraces at Crystal Palace".The Victorian Web.
- ^"Animal statues in London".Time Out. 10 July 2007. Archived fromthe original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved17 February 2014.
- ^"Girlguiding Centenary Maze". Archived fromthe original on 24 February 2011.
- ^"Music, Saurians and Colored Fire at the Crystal Palace".
- ^Porter, Toby (20 October 2020)."Crystal Palace Bowl, venue where Bob Marley debuted Redemption Song, marked with a plaque".South London News. Retrieved4 January 2021.
- ^"Crystal Palace Concert Platform".Ian Ritchie Architects. Archived fromthe original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved4 January 2021.
- ^"Crystal Palace Concert Platform".Ian Ritchie Architects. Archived fromthe original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved10 February 2020.
- ^"Creative proposals wanted for the future of the concert platform".London Borough of Bromley. 20 January 2020. Archived fromthe original on 29 March 2020.
- ^"RNVR Great War Memorial Bell - Crystal Palace Park, London, UK - Bells on Waymarking.com".Waymarking.com.
- ^"Information about the Museum".The Crystal Palace Museum. Archived fromthe original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved29 July 2013.
- ^Walk London, Capital Ring, Section 3, Grove Park to Crystal PalaceArchived 27 September 2013 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Crystal Palace Park".House of Commons Hansard. Archived fromthe original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved23 April 2016.
- ^"Bromley London Borough Council (Crystal Palace) Bill (By Order)".They Work For You.
- ^"Background to the Development at Crystal Palace - Campaign History".Crystal Palace Campaign.
- ^Alison Freeman (7 November 2003)."Glass icon for Crystal Palace".BBC News.
- ^Cara Lee and Gemma Wheatley (22 October 2007)."£67m Crystal Palace Park masterplan unveiled".Croydon Guardian.
- ^"Masterplan, environmental statement non-technical summary"(PDF).London Development Agency.
- ^"High Court upholds £68m Crystal Palace Park redevelopment plans".BBC News. 13 June 2012.
- ^"Crystal Palace unveil plans for National Sports Centre".BBC Sport. 20 January 2011. Retrieved29 May 2013.
- ^Bisby, Sam (28 January 2011)."Tottenham release images of proposed Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium".Goal.com.
- ^"Plans for Crystal Palace replica".BBC News. 27 July 2013.
- ^"Crystal Palace Park - what next?".London Borough of Bromley Website. London Borough of Bromley. Archived fromthe original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved15 October 2013.
- ^"The Crystal Palace - About the development".The London Crystal Palace Website. ZhongRong Group. Retrieved15 October 2013.
- ^Mann, Will (26 February 2015)."Shattered:£500M Crystal Palace rebuild plan". New Civil Engineer.
- ^"The Crystal Palace Park Regeneration Plan".Crystal Palace Park Trust.
External links
edit- Crystal Palace Park – map of the park as was until recently
- The Crystal Palace, sources from www.victorianlondon.org