Crystal Palace

The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park in 1851. Housed inside the Crystal Palace, it contained over 100,000 exhibits from all over the world. This talk covers the origins of the Exhibition, its contents and the aftermath.

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

in 1853, part of the new Crystal Palace Park was devoted to contemporary knowledge of the evolution of the Earth over the millennia. The rock strata at various stages are represented, accompanied by life-size dinosaurs, designed by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. This talk explains the Geological Exhibit as it was known, its layout and the design of the prehistoric animals.

Football at the Crystal Palace
For 20 years (1895-1914) the Crystal Palace hosted the FA Cup Final. However, football has been played at the Palace since its earliest days. A Crystal Palace Football Club was formed in 1861 and the current club played there from 1905 to 1914. In addition, there have been 4 England Internationals, amateur cup finals and the amateur clubs, Corinthians and Casuals were based there. This talk charts the 150-year history of football at the Crystal Palace.

The Crystal Palace was built in 1851 to house the Great Exhibition. Following the success of the Exhibition, Joseph Paxton, its designer, and a few friends formed the Crystal Palace Company which bought the building and moved it to South London. Placed at the top of Sydenham Hill, it became the focal point of a theme park with hundreds of attractions. Opened in 1854, the building survived until it was lost in a disastrous fire on 30th November 1936.

The following talks are available:

The Story of the Crystal Palace

This talk looks at the history of the Crystal Palace from its inception, its use for the 1851 Great Exhibition, its removal to Sydenham, the 82 years when it was the first theme park and its ultimate demise in the disastrous fire in 1936.

The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park in 1851. Housed inside the Crystal Palace, it contained over 100,000 exhibits from all over the world. This talk covers the origins of the Exhibition, its contents and the aftermath.

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

in 1853, part of the new Crystal Palace Park was devoted to contemporary knowledge of the evolution of the Earth over the millennia. The rock strata at various stages are represented, accompanied by life-size dinosaurs, designed by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. This talk explains the Geological Exhibit as it was known, its layout and the design of the prehistoric animals.

Football at the Crystal Palace
For 20 years (1895-1914) the Crystal Palace hosted the FA Cup Final. However, football has been played at the Palace since its earliest days. A Crystal Palace Football Club was formed in 1861 and the current club played there from 1905 to 1914. In addition, there have been 4 England Internationals, amateur cup finals and the amateur clubs, Corinthians and Casuals were based there. This talk charts the 150-year history of football at the Crystal Palace.

The Crystal Palace was built in 1851 to house the Great Exhibition. Following the success of the Exhibition, Joseph Paxton, its designer, and a few friends formed the Crystal Palace Company which bought the building and moved it to South London. Placed at the top of Sydenham Hill, it became the focal point of a theme park with hundreds of attractions. Opened in 1854, the building survived until it was lost in a disastrous fire on 30th November 1936.

The following talks are available:

The Story of the Crystal Palace

This talk looks at the history of the Crystal Palace from its inception, its use for the 1851 Great Exhibition, its removal to Sydenham, the 82 years when it was the first theme park and its ultimate demise in the disastrous fire in 1936.

The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park in 1851. Housed inside the Crystal Palace, it contained over 100,000 exhibits from all over the world. This talk covers the origins of the Exhibition, its contents and the aftermath.

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

in 1853, part of the new Crystal Palace Park was devoted to contemporary knowledge of the evolution of the Earth over the millennia. The rock strata at various stages are represented, accompanied by life-size dinosaurs, designed by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. This talk explains the Geological Exhibit as it was known, its layout and the design of the prehistoric animals.

Football at the Crystal Palace
For 20 years (1895-1914) the Crystal Palace hosted the FA Cup Final. However, football has been played at the Palace since its earliest days. A Crystal Palace Football Club was formed in 1861 and the current club played there from 1905 to 1914. In addition, there have been 4 England Internationals, amateur cup finals and the amateur clubs, Corinthians and Casuals were based there. This talk charts the 150-year history of football at the Crystal Palace.