My latest feature for Discover Your Ancestors magazine tells the story of the Crystal Palace. The first Palace was the brainchild of Joseph Paxton, designed for the Great Exhibition of 1851, and was later re-erected at Sydenham. The Palace, with its wonderful gardens, sculptures, concerts and entertainments, was a great favourite with the public for many years.
Then on
the night of 30 November 1936, horrified onlookers watched as the Palace suffered a catastrophic fire, with flames reaching over 100ft high. The Palace's glory days were over.
Image: The Crystal Palace at Sydenham. Old and New London Vol. VI, Cassell,
Petter & Galpin, c.1893.
