VISITOR ATTRACTIONS, DISAPPEARED

The Crystal Palace

Following the closure of Great Exhibition of 1851, the Sir Joseph Paxton-designed Crystal Palace was bought by the Brighton Railway Company. In 1854 the structure was re-erected in an extended form at Sydenham in south London, to be an exhibition and leisure centre. Two barrel-vaulted end transepts were added as a longitudinal vaulted nave. The building became 1608-ft.-long, 312-ft.-wide, and it was 168-ft.-high at the crown of the central transept. The public travelled to and from Sydenham via the company s railway line. The Palace played a role in the process by which Norwood and Sydenham became fashionable middle-class districts during the later 19^thC.

In 1855 Isambard Kingdom Brunel completed the 280 ft.-tall, conical-hatted water towers at the Crystal Palace to provide water pressure for its fountains. They could feed 120,000 gallons within a minute to supply the complex's 11,788 jets of water.

In 1911 the business that managed the Crystal Palace went bankrupt. By then Norwood and Sydenham had long lost their former cachet. The Palace was destroyed by a fire in 1936. The blaze could be seen across London from as far away as Harrow.

In 2007 it was reported that the London Development Agency was planning to rebuild Brunel's water towers. They would have a capacity to hold 1200 tons of water.

Location: Thicket Road, SE20 8DT

Website: www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk (A group that is interested in the history of the Palace)

Blondin

In 1861 the French rope walker Blondin (n Jean Gravelt) (1824-1897) moved to London. He had a residency at the Crystal Palace. Dickens was in one of the audiences. To an orchestral accompaniment he crossed the rope in a number of manners; cooking an omelette, in a sack, in a suit of armour, and pushing a lion in a wheel barrow. The authorities did prevent him from carrying across his five-year-old daughter Adele.

Diabetes killed him in his own bed.

Location: Northfields Avenue, W5 4UG

The Elizabethan Room

In 1950 the hotelier Robin Howard appointed Peter Herbert (1926-2013) to be the managing director of The Gore Hotel in Queen's Gate. To mark the coronation the two men created The Elizabethan Room. This was a themed restaurant that sought to celebrate the era of Queen Elizabeth I. The food was served on wooden trenchers. Out-of-work actors were hired to be bards and wenches. The diners were encouraged to throw bones onto the fireplace. The venue proved to be a success, especially with Americans. The attraction was expanded by having The Star Chamber and Backstage At The Globe added. It was toured internationally.

Location: 190 Queen's Gate, SW7 5EX (orange, red)

The Primatarium

The Primatarium was an audio-visual exhibition that sought to increase awareness of environmental issues. In the late 1970s the enterprise was established in a former adult cinema in King's Cross by Cyril Rosen (1927-2013), a dental equipment manufacturer who in 1977 had founded the British branch of the International Primate Protection League. The attraction survived for only eighteen months. It reopened as a cinema. The first movie to be shown was King Kong.

Location: 275 Pentonville Road, N1 9NL (red, brown)

Spas

Dulwich

In Charles II's people used to visit Dulwich to drink the waters. The well/spa acquired a reputation for drunkenness. This was because many of the imbibers added brandy to their water.

Watkins's Folly

Sir William Watkins created the Metropolitan Line and Marylebone Station which was the London terminus of the Great Central Line, its track stills runs to Birmingham.

Watkin s Folly (site - marsh because River Brent).

Location: Wembley Stadium, South Way, HA9 0WS

David Backhouse 2024