History and background

Surviving remnants

Surviving remnants
This image links to a larger versionThe main Palace building was destroyed in the fire of 1936, but parts of the park landscapes of 1854 and later survive to this day. As part of our work to understand the heritage values of the park we are producing a Conservation Plan for the park with the help of the Museum of London.

The work so far has identified the following surviving remnants:

1. Remains of the Crystal Palace on the Upper Level Terrace - Tower bases, Aquarium, School of Engineering, buried foundations, vaults and cellars
2. The vaulted High Level Station subway that led visitors through from the station to the main body of the Palace. The station has since been demolished
3. Lower station
4. Upper & Lower Terraces and stonework; six sphinxes and other statues
5. Site of the more southerly of two circular fountain basins accessed from the Lower Terrace, on either side of Grand Centre Walk
6. 'Tidal Lake' including geological strata, lead mine and prehistoric monsters (dinosaurs)
7. Rockhills House gate piers
8. Housing on fringe of park
9. Bust of Sir Joseph Paxton
10. Grand Centre Walk running through the park
11. Site of The Crystal Palace ground's 'English Landscape Garden' and 'Archery Ground'
12. Site of pond first shown on OS map of 1863 (Kent). It now has the concert platform in its centre
13. Site of Intermediate Reservoir
14. Unconfirmed site of 'Gymnasium'
15. Site of 'Cricket Ground'
16. Site of North Mound. Central area with footpaths as six 'spokes' and footpath around circumference. Maze recreated by Bromley Council in the 1990s following the original design and using hornbeam hedges. Reputed to be one of the largest in the country
17. Reservoir has now been covered but is still in use as a reservoir (the modern construction is contained within the older structure)
18. Site of the Crystal Colonnade linking the Lower Level Station to the Crystal Palace. Parts of the truncated back wall remain
19. Locally Listed South Tower base, by Brunel
20. Site of large rectangular fountain to the south of the South Basin. Foundations and coping stones are still there, along with a cast-iron fountainhead

What this means

With all this rich history we need to think about what we want to conserve or enhance and how we can make best use of the park's precious resources.

Ideas include:

• Interpretive trails - looking at nature, history, architecture or landscape
• Victorian Engineering discovery - an interactive educational centre celebrating great technological achievements in an engaging way
• Wild about the Park - the natural history of the park
• Botanical centre - recreating Paxton greenhouse
• Events space - concerts, opera, theatre
• Flexible exercise space - sports, fitness trails, dog walking

All images copyright J&L Gibbons except if stated otherwise.