CRYSTAL PALACE PARK
CRYSTAL PALACE PARK
It may be in the deep south of London, but Crystal Palace Park is quite easy to get to -take the Elizabeth or District Line to Whitechapel then the Overground to Crystal Palace Station. Entrance is free. The original Crystal Palace was built for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park. It had the greatest area of glass ever seen in a building. After the exhibition closed, designer Joseph Paxton dismantled his gigantic structure and used the parts to construct an even bigger exhibition building within a sprawling leisure park in South East London .....
Queen Victoria opened the park in 1854. A huge bust of Paxton (above, right), unveiled in 1873, stands in the park to this day. But his creation was sadly destroyed by a fire, which could be seen as far away as Brighton, on November 30, 1936. What remained was largely sold as scrap. Perhaps the structure wouldn't have survived Hitler's bombers a few years later. Note that the large water tower on the right, above, was one of a pair built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. John Logie Baird used it to install Crystal Palace's first television transmitter. It survived the fire but was demolished in 1941 so as not to be a landmark for the Luftwaffe. In terms of population coverage, the current TV and Radio Mast is the most important in the UK in terms of households reached.
A few statues have survived and can still be seen .....
...... the three pairs of Sphinxes, recently repainted, are the most imposing. Of the remainder, theTurkish Statue is the only one still largely intact.
The Seated Lady is headless. Also known as the Screaming Lady, she is said to be haunted and you should avoid touching her.
Dante, in front of the Italian Terrace, is also headless ..... as is the Hollow Lady....
........ she was given a new head. But it seems some joker thought they could do better.
The Subway (above) is a beautiful Victorian construction which provided access from a separate station to the park for first-class rail passengers. It has been closed to the public for many years but will soon reopen following a major restoration. The station, which was very close to the main one, no longer exists.
The views from the top of the park looking out over Kent are non too shabby. But then you wouldn't build the main transmitter for Greater London at the bottom of a hill.
Without a doubt the most famous attraction in Crystal Palace Park is the Dinosaurs ....
There are over thirty life-size models located on islands within the lakes at the Penge (eastern) side of the park. Unveiled in 1854, they were a sensation, representing (not entirely accurately) many newly-discovered prehistoric creatures.
Guy the Gorilla was a major attraction at London Zoo from 1947 until his death in 1978. This statue of Guy was created in 1961 by David Wynne, of whom I've spoken before (see National Portrait Gallery). As with his human subjects, Wynne spent a lot of time in the company of the great ape.
The Memorial Bell (above, right) commemorates those who lost their lives whilst serving in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves of the First World War and the Merchant Navy in World War II.
It remains a mystery as to why (and how) primitive man transported these cumbersome stones all the way from Penge to this remote spot in the 1960s era.
Stonepenge is almost as impressive as the real thing - Carhenge in Nebraska .....
..... but I digress (sorry) .....
The Crystal Palace Bowl is a natural amphitheatre where concerts were held for sixty years. The concert platform, which also serves as a seating area for the adjacent kiosk, is nicknamed The Rusty Laptop .....
I had a fascinating chat here with a local chap. He told me, back in the day, there used to be a rickety hut that served as a dressing room for those performing at the Bowl. And now there is a shed on his wife's allotment that onetime was used by the likes of the Beach Boys, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley and Pink Floyd. A plaque commemorates Marley's last ever London concert in June 1980. He died in the following year.
The National Sports Centre is on the same site as the venue for FA Cup Finals between 1895 and 1914 and where, in 1913, 121,919 spectators saw Aston Villa beat Sunderland 1-0.
The present stadium is used for concerts and international athletics although these have been less frequent since the London Stadium opened for the 2012 Olympics.
Other facilities at the centre include four swimming pools, a gymnasium and skatepark.
The Maze, one of the largest in the country with a diameter of 49 metres, was first created around 1870. It is fiendishly difficult to navigate so advisable to tackle BEFORE visiting the Crystal Palace Beer Festival.
A small Museum, open on Sunday afternoons in the summer, traces the history of the ill-fated Crystal Palace. Entrance is free .....
Also on Sundays, there is a popular market with lashings of street food ....
For sustenance at other times there are cafes at Crystal Palace railway station and near the Dinosaurs. There is also a refreshment kiosk next to the Concert Bowl.
If, however, you need something more substantial (or alcoholic) there's a good range of restaurants, pubs and coffee shops around Westow Hill ......
..... with nice street art and some spectacular views of central London ....
1. TV and Radio Mast
2. Subway (currently closed)
3. The Seated Lady
4. Jubilee Gardens
5. Westow Hill
6. Crystal Palace Museum
7. Iron Column
8. Sphinxes
9. View point/Crystal Palace Corner Piece
10. Hollow Lady
11. Turkish Statue
12. Italian Terraces
13. Dante
14. Crystal Palace Bowl/Bob Marley plaque/Concert Café
15. Maze
16. Stonepenge
17. Joseph Paxton Bust
18. National Sports Centre
19. Stadium
20. Skatepark
21. Memorial Bell
22. Children’s Playground
23. Sunday Market
24. Brown and Green Life Café
25. Guy the Gorilla statue
26. Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park
27. Crystal Palace Station
28. Penge West Station
Finally ....
Some token wildlife pictures from the park I'm rather pleased with:
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