51°25′3″N0°4′2″W / 51.41750°N 0.06722°W /51.41750; -0.06722
| Crystal Palace Dinosaurs | |
|---|---|
| Geological Court,Dinosaur Court | |
 Iguanodon sculpture inCrystal Palace Park. | |
 | |
| Year | 1852-54 |
| Medium | Clay, cement |
| Movement | Palaeontology |
| Subject | 19th century interpretations of dinosaurs |
TheCrystal Palace Dinosaurs are a series of sculptures ofdinosaurs and other extinct animals in theLondon borough ofBromley'sCrystal Palace Park. Commissioned in 1852 to accompany theCrystal Palace after its move from theGreat Exhibition inHyde Park, they were unveiled in 1854 as the first dinosaur sculptures in the world. The models, inaccurate by modern standards, were designed and sculpted byBenjamin Waterhouse Hawkins under the scientific direction of SirRichard Owen, representing the latest scientific knowledge at the time. The models, also known as theGeological Court orDinosaur Court, were classed asGrade II listed buildings from 1973, extensively restored in 2002, and upgraded to Grade I listed in 2007.
The models represent 15genera of extinct animals, only three of which are true dinosaurs. They are from a wide range of geological ages, and include true dinosaurs,ichthyosaurs, andplesiosaurs mainly from theMesozoic era, and some mammals from the more recentCenozoic era. The models are notable for representing inaccuracies of early palaeontology, the result of improperly reconstructed fossils and the state of science in the 19th century;[1][2] theIguanodon andMegalosaurus models are particularly erroneous.[3]
Following the closure of theGreat Exhibition in October 1851,Joseph Paxton'sCrystal Palace was bought and moved toPenge Place atopSydenham Hill, South London, by the newly formed Crystal Palace Company.[a] The grounds that surrounded it were then extensively renovated and turned into a public park with ornamental gardens, replicas of statues and two new man-made lakes. As part of this renovation,Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was commissioned to build the first-ever life-sized models of extinct animals.[5] He had originally planned to just re-createextinctmammals before deciding on building dinosaurs as well, which he did with advice from SirRichard Owen, a celebratedanatomist andpalaeontologist of the time who coined the wordDinosauria (meaning "Terrible Reptile" or "Fearfully Great Reptile").[6][7][8]
Hawkins set up a workshop on site at the park and built the models there. The dinosaurs were built full-size in clay, from which a mould was taken allowing cement sections to be cast. The larger sculptures are hollow with a brickwork interior.[9] There was also a limestone cliff to illustrate different geological strata.[10] The sculptures and the geological displays were originally called "the Geological Court", an extension of the set of exhibits made for the park that reconstructed historic art, including the Renaissance, Assyrian, and Egyptian Courts.[11][12]
The models were displayed on three islands acting as a rough timeline, the first island for thePalaeozoic era, a second for theMesozoic, and a third for theCenozoic. The models were given more realism by making the water level in the lake rise and fall, revealing different amounts of the dinosaurs.[13] To mark the launch of the models, Hawkins held a dinner on New Year's Eve 1853 inside the mould of one of theIguanodon models.[14][15]
Hawkins benefited greatly from the public's reaction to the dinosaurs, which was so strong it allowed for the sale of sets of small versions of the dinosaur models, priced at £30 for educational use. But the building of the models was costly (having cost around £13,729) and in 1855, the Crystal Palace Company cut Hawkins's funding.[16] Several planned models were never made, while those half finished were scrapped, despite protest from sources including the Sunday newspaper,The Observer.[17]
Hawkins later worked on a "Palaeozoic Museum" in New York'sCentral Park, an American equivalent to the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. In May 1871 many of the exhibits in Hawkins' workshop were destroyed by vandals and their fragments buried, possibly including elements of the originalElasmosaurus skeleton, which the American palaeontologistEdward Drinker Cope had loaned to Hawkins for preparation at the time.[18][19]
With progress in palaeontology, the reputation of the Crystal Palace models declined. In 1895, the American fossil hunterOthniel Charles Marsh scorned the dinosaurs' friends as doing them a great injustice, and spoke negatively of the models.[20] The models and the park fell into disrepair as the years went by, a process aided by the fire that destroyed the Crystal Palace itself in 1936, and the models became obscured by overgrown foliage. A full restoration of the animals was carried out in 1952 by Victor H.C. Martin,[21][22] at which time the mammals on the third island were moved to less well-protected locations in the park, where they were exposed to wear and tear. The limestone cliff was blown up in the 1960s.[23]
In 2001, the display was totally renovated. The destroyed limestone cliff was completely replaced using 130 large blocks ofDerbyshire limestone, many weighing over 1 tonne (0.98 long tons; 1.1 short tons), rebuilt according to a small model made from the same number of polystyrene blocks.[23] Fibreglass replacements were created for the missing sculptures, and badly damaged parts of the surviving models were recast. For example, some of the animals' legs had been modelled in lead, fixed to the bodies with iron rods; the iron had rusted, splitting the lead open.[23]
The models and other elements of Crystal Palace Park were classed asGrade II listed buildings from 1973. The models were extensively restored in 2001, and upgraded to Grade I listed in 2007.[24][25]
In 2018, the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs ran a crowd funding campaign to build a permanent bridge to Dinosaur Island.[26][27] The bridge was designed by Tonkin Liu with engineering by Arup. The bridge swings on a pivot so it can be parked when not in use, to prevent unauthorised access. It was installed in January 2021.[28]
In May 2021, the nose and mouth of theMegalosaurus sculpture was given an emergency renovation, after it had fallen off the previous year.[29] Twenty-two new teeth and a 'prosthetic jaw' were installed on the sculpture. The renovation was funded by a grant from the Cultural Recovery Fund and fundraising from Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs.
Fifteengenera of extinct animals, not all dinosaurs, are represented in the park. At least three other genera (Dinornis, amastodon, andGlyptodon) were planned, and Hawkins began to build at least the mastodon before the Crystal Palace Company cut his funding in 1855. An inaccurate map of the time shows planned locations of theDinornis and mastodon.[30]
ThePalaeozoic era is represented in the park by the model rock exposure showing a succession of beds, namely theCarboniferous (includingCoal Measures and limestone) andPermian.[31]
Crystal Palace's twoDicynodon models are based on incompletePermian fossils found inSouth Africa, along with Owen's guess that they were similar toturtles. No evidence has been found to suggestDicynodon had protective shells.[32]
TheMesozoic era is represented in the park by the model rock exposure showing a succession of beds, namely theJurassic andCretaceous, by models of dinosaurs and other animals known from mesozoic fossils, and by suitable vegetation – both living plants and models.[31]
Curiously, it isHylaeosaurus, from the Cretaceous of England, notIguanodon, that most resembles the giantiguanastereotype of early ideas of dinosaurs. TheHylaeosaurus in reality is much likeAnkylosaurus – smallish quadrupedalherbivore with a knobbled armoured back and spines along its sides. Hawkins's depiction is of a large Iguana-like beast with long sharp spines along its back, which Owen noted were "accurately given in the restoration [by Hawkins, to Owen's instructions, but] necessarily at present conjectural".[33]
TheIchthyosaurus models are based onTriassic or Jurassic fossils from Europe. Though the three ichthyosaurs are partly in water, they are implausibly shown basking on land likeseals. Owen supposed they resembled crocodiles or plesiosaurs. Better fossil evidence shows that they have more in common withsharks anddolphins, having adorsal fin and fish-like tail, whereas in Hawkins's models the tail is a flat protuberance from a straight backbone. A further discrepancy is that the models' eyes have exposed bonysclerotic plates, Owen conjecturing that with such large eyes they had "great powers of vision, especially in the dusk".[34] They became one of the three mascots of Crystal Palace Park, along with theIguanodon andMegalosaurus (although ichthyosaurs are not dinosaurs). Coincidentally, the models more closely resemble more basic ichthyosaurs such asCymbospondylus.[35]
TheIguanodon models represent fossils from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Europe.Gideon Mantell sketched the original fossil, found in Sussex in 1822 by his wife, Mary Ann Mantell, as like a long slender lizard climbing a branch (on four legs), balancing with a whiplike tail; lacking a skull, he conjectured that the thumb bone was a nose horn.[36] The nose horn in particular is used repeatedly in popular textbooks and documentaries about dinosaurs to make fun of Victorian inaccuracies;[3] actually, even in 1854, Owen commented "the horn [is] more than doubtful".[37]
ThreeLabyrinthodon models were made for Crystal Palace, based on Owen's guess that, beingamphibian in lifestyle, the Triassic animals might have resembledfrogs; he named them Batrachia, from theGreek 'Batrachios',frog. One is smooth skinned and is based on the species "Labyrinthodon salamandroides" (Mastodonsaurus jaegeri); the other two were based on "Labyrinthodon pachygnathus" (Cyclotosaurus pachygnathus). Casts ofChirotherium footprints that Owen thought were made by the animals[38] were included in the ground around the models.[39]
Gigantic and visually impressive, theMegalosaurus became one of the park's three 'mascot dinosaurs' along with theIguanodon and (less so) the Ichthyosaurs. Working from fragmentary evidence from Jurassic fossils found in England, consisting mainly of a hip and femur (thigh bone), with a rib and a few vertebrae, Owen conjectured the animal was quadrupedal; palaeontologists now believe it to have been bipedal (standing likeTyrannosaurus rex). The first suggestion that some dinosaurs might have been bipedal came in 1858, just too late to influence the model.[40]
When the models were built, only skulls of the Cretaceous fossilMosasaurus had been discovered in theNetherlands, so Hawkins only built the head and back of the animal. He submerged the model deep in the lake, leaving the body unseen and undefined.[41] TheMosasaurus at Crystal Palace is positioned in an odd place near the secondary island that was originally a waterfall, and much of it is not visible from the lakeside path.
The threePlesiosaurus models represents three species of marine reptile,P. macrocephalus,P. dolichoderius andP. hawkinsii, from the Jurassic of England. Two of them have implausibly-flexible necks.[42]
Owen noted that thePterodactylus fossils from the Jurassic ofGermany had scales, not feathers, and while "somewhat bird-like" they had conical teeth, suggesting they werepredatory. The two surviving models are perched on a rock outcrop; there were originally two more 'pterodactyls of theOolite'.[43] The surviving models representPterodactylus cuvieri (=Cimoliopterus cuvieri), whereas the two other lost pterodactyl models representPterodactylus bucklandi (=Dolicorhamphus bucklandi). The latter species was poorly known based on fossil remains and explains why their designs were more based onPterodactylus antiquus.[44][45]
Owen correctly identifiedTeleosaurus as similar togharials, being slender JurassicCrocodilians with very long thin jaws and small eyes, inferring from the sediment in which they were found that they were "more strictly marine than the crocodile of the Ganges [thegharial]."[46]
Anoplotherium commune is an extinct mammal species from the lateEocene to earliestOligocene epochs, first found nearParis. Hawkins's models draw on Owen's speculation about itscamel-like appearance. Three models were made, forming a small herd.[47] Hawkins seemingly closely followedGeorge Cuvier's reconstructions ofA. commune, giving it short or naked hair following Cuvier's view that its anatomy implied an aquatic lifestyle. Hawkins deviated from Cuvier by making it look more camel-like with small lips, small and rounded ears, a sloping skull, and four toes on each foot. These errors are the result of Hawkins' overreliance on camelids as an analogue for anoplotheriids.Anoplotherium is today thought to have used its robust build and long tail for bipedal browsing.[48]
Confusion between whether theA. commune sculptures were ofA. gracile (=Xiphodon gracilis) is common, resulting from 19th-century guidebooks listing both species as present on the Tertiary Island.A. gracile was another fossil species studied by Cuvier; it was later determined to be of a distinct genusXiphodon. Today, the sculptures of the three animals are confirmed to be ofA. commune, but the "Megaloceros" fawn has been identified as a misplaced statue ofA. gracile. An 1854 illustration reveals that there were once fourA. gracile sculptures, three of which were lost and one of which remains. The body of the sculpture appears more heavily inspired by camelids thanA. commune with a gracile muscle build.[48]
Megaloceros giganteus or Irish Elk is a species from thePliocene toPleistocene epochs inEurasia. Hawkins built fourMegaloceros sculptures, two male and two female. One sculpture of a doe was lost, leaving just three sculptures today. The adult male's antlers were made from actual fossil antlers, long since replaced. Moved from the third island, they had fallen into disrepair as they were easily reached by vandals. With their original but fragile antlers, theIrish Elks were the most accurate of the Cenozoic models; since they are of recent geological age (dying out 11,000 years ago), Hawkins was able to model them on livingdeer.[49][48]
The giant ground slothMegatherium is from the Pliocene to Pleistocene epochs in South America, whereCharles Darwin had excavated some fossils in 1835. The model was built hugging a live tree which subsequently grew and broke the model's arm. The arm was replaced and later the tree died. The model depicts the sloth as having a short trunk like atapir, something the real animal never had. This model used to be in the children's zoo which has now been demolished.[50]
The models ofPalaeotherium represent an extinct Eocene mammal thought byGeorges Cuvier to be tapir-like. Three species were represented by each individual sculpture: the small-sizeP. minor (=Plagiolophus minor), the medium-sizeP. medium, and the largest and most robust-appearingP. magnum, all of which were studied by Cuvier. They have suffered the most wear and tear of all of the models, and the standing model no longer looked much like the original made by Hawkins. During the 1960s these models were lying discarded in the bushes about fifty yards from the original site and, prior to the 2002 restoration, they were in such bad shape that they were removed and put into store.[48][51] Some sources state that these models were added at a later date, but anIllustrated London News illustration of Hawkins's workshop shows them in the background.[52] A replica ofP. magnum was commissioned by the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs and built bypalaeoartistBob Nicholls, and unveiled to the public on 2 July 2023.[53]
Models of the "fearfully great bird"Dinornis ofNew Zealand (extinct by 1500 AD), and of the extinct elephant-likeMastodon (orDeinotherium of theMiocene and Pliocene of Eurasia and Africa), were planned for the 'Tertiary Islands' but not completed.[54]
Charles Dickens's 1853 novel,Bleak House, begins with a description of muddy streets, whose primordial character is emphasised by a dinosaur in the streets of London:
"Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling[b] like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill."[55]
InH. G. Wells's 1905 novelKipps, Kipps and Ann visit Crystal Palace and sit "in the presence of the green and gold Labyrinthodon that looms so splendidly above the lake" to discuss their future. There is a brief description of the dinosaurs and their surroundings and the impact they have on the characters.[56] Several of E. Nesbit's children's books feature the Crystal Palace dinosaur sculptures coming to life, includingThe Enchanted Castle (1907). The 1932 novelHave His Carcase, byDorothy L. Sayers, has the characterLord Peter Wimsey mention the "antediluvian monsters" of the Crystal Palace.[57] Ann Coates's 1970 children's bookDinosaurs Don't Die, illustrated byJohn Vernon Lord, tells the story of a young boy who lives near Crystal Palace Park and discovers that Hawkins' models come to life; he befriends one of theIguanodon and names it 'Rock' and they visit theNatural History Museum.[58]
Thetravel writerPaul Theroux mentions the dinosaurs in his 1989 novelMy Secret History. The novel's narrator, Andre Parent, accidentally learns of his wife's infidelity when his young son, Jack, reveals that he has visited the dinosaurs in the company of his mother's 'friend' during Andre's prolonged absence gathering material for a travel book.[59] The title story inPenelope Lively's 1991 novelFanny and the Monsters is about a Victorian girl who visits the Crystal Palace dinosaurs and becomes fascinated by prehistoric creatures.[60]
George Baxter, a pioneer of colour printing, made a well-known engraving which imagines Crystal Palace, set in its landscaped grounds with tall fountains and the dinosaurs in the foreground, before the 1854 opening.[61]
In 2022 the dinosaurs featured in the documentarySeeking The First Dinosaur Hunters in which presentersGreg and Felicity use them to help tell the story of early palaeontologists and how their finds helped to shape the statues.[62]
In 2023,Historic England created three-dimensional photogrammetric models of the 29 sculptures.[63] The models can be viewed online.[64]
The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs are the world's first attempt to model prehistoric animals at full scale.
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