Leaving Hyde Park

When the doors of the Great Exhibition closed in October 1851, it had already been agreed that Hyde Park had to be returned to its original state. From that arose the controversial question posed by Sir Joseph Paxton: 'What is to become of the Crystal Palace?' The building

The Palace Building

The building was purchased by the company for seventy thousand (over £3.5 million today) from Fox and Henderson and on 5 August 1852 rebuilding began. During a time of high unemployment the project provided jobs for over seven thousand workmen. In August 1853

Open Again 11 June 1854

It was intended to open the building on 1 May 1854, but because of constructional and financial problems it opened over a month late on 10 June. Another significant problem that contributed to the late opening was the fact that dozens of male statues throughout the building

Selling Up

28 November 1911 Disaster and misfortune were always associated with the Palace. The first major disaster was in 1861 when the building was badly damaged in a gale. The first major fire was on 30 December 1866 when the north transept containing among other areas the

Disaster Strikes the Palace

30 November 1936 The Crystal Palace Company was put into liquidation. Before the First World War a charitable trust was formed and the trustees hired Henry James Buckland (lately Manager of Harrogate Spa) as the Manager of the Crystal Palace. He was a firm but fair man who

The Palace Site and Park

1 August 1951 On the 1 August 1951 the Crystal Palace Trust was dissolved and responsibility for Crystal Palace Park passed into the hands of the London County Council (LCC) and eventually to the Greater London Council (GLC). Much work was done by LCC and GLC staff in the