The Crystal Palace

A huge iron and glass building, The Crystal Palace was a building in 19th Century Britain. A rebuilt and expanded version of the building that originally housed the Great Exhibition of 1851, it stood in Upper Norwood from 1854 until 1936, and attracted many thousands of visitors from all levels of society. The name "Crystal Palace" was coined by the satirical magazine Punch who also commented on other historical features like the cholera epidemic, and the filthy streets of London.

Decline

The fortunes of the Crystal Palace began to decline when the place ran down and money was not available for maintenance. This was to a large extent due to the failure to obtain sufficient money by way of admission fees, in turn due to the inability to cater for a large portion of the population. The mass of people who would gladly visit the Palace were unable to do so because the only day on which they could get away from work was Sunday, and Sunday was the day on which the Palace was firmly closed. No amount of protest had any effect: the Lord's Day Observance Society (as today) held that people should not be encouraged to work at the Palace or drive transport on the Sabbath, and that if people wanted to visit, then their employers should give them time off during the working week. This, naturally, they would not do.

Related Topics:
Sunday - Lord's Day Observance Society

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There was a Festival of Empire in 1911, to mark the coronation of George V and Queen Mary, but things went from bad to worse, and two years later the 1st Earl of Plymouth purchased the Palace for the nation to save it from developers.

Related Topics:
Festival of Empire - 1911 - Coronation - George V - Queen Mary - Earl of Plymouth

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Then came the Great War, when it was used as a naval barracks under the name of HMS Victory VI. At the cessation of hostilities it was re-opened as the first Imperial War Museum. Sir Henry Buckland took over as General Manager, and things began to look up, many former attractions being resumed, including the Thursday evening displays of fireworks by Brocks.

Related Topics:
Great War - Naval barracks - Imperial War Museum - Sir Henry Buckland - Fireworks - Brocks

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