Crystal Palace Park

Crystal Palace Park is a large and beautiful park in south-east London. It was created in the 1850s around a huge glass building called The Crystal Palace. This building was originally built for the Great Exhibition in 1851 in Hyde Park, but it was moved to this area and made even bigger. Sadly, the building was destroyed by fire in 1936.

The park has many interesting things to see, like full-sized models of dinosaurs, a maze, lakes, and a place for concerts. There are also sports facilities, including a cricket ground where teams like the Crystal Palace Cricket Club and Kent County Cricket Club played matches. The park also once had a football stadium where the FA Cup Final was held and where Crystal Palace F.C. played home games until the First World War.

Located on Norwood Ridge, the park offers great views of London, Greenwich, Croydon, and the North Downs. Today, the park is cared for by the Crystal Palace Park Trust and is a popular place for people to relax, with a large weekly Farmers' Market and events like the Wireless Festival.

History

After the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, the government decided to remove The Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace Company bought the old palace and built a new, bigger one on Sydenham Hill, between Kent and Surrey. The park around it had gardens, fountains, and even dinosaur models.

The park had lovely gardens designed by Edward Milner and statues made by Raffaele Monti. Queen Victoria opened the new Crystal Palace in 1854. Trains made it easy for people to visit the park.

The park became a spot for sports, with a cricket ground and a football stadium for big games. In 1911, it hosted the Festival of Empire, showing buildings from across the British Empire. Sadly, a fire destroyed The Crystal Palace in 1936.

The park also had a track for motorcycle racing and later for cars. Today, the park is looked after by the Crystal Palace Park Trust, which started work to renew the park in 2025.

Sites of interest

The park has a large bust of Sir Joseph Paxton, made by William F. Woodington. It was shown for the first time in 1873 and looks toward where the Crystal Palace once stood.

You can still see the Italian Terraces with their sculptures, which were part of the Crystal Palace. The upper and lower terraces are connected by steps with sphinxes on each side.

In the southeast part of the park, you’ll find the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, sculptures of dinosaurs and old mammals set in a landscape that looks like a lake.

A statue of Guy the Gorilla by sculptor David Wynne was put up in the park in 1961.

The park has a free maze that is 160 feet wide and covers nearly 2,000 square yards (1,700 m²). It was made around 1870 and was one of the biggest mazes in the country. The maze fell into pieces but was fixed up again in 1987 by the London Borough of Bromley. In 2009, a special art piece was added to celebrate 100 years since the Girl Guide movement began. A sign near the maze tells how the Girl Guides started: in 1909, during a Boy Scout event in the park, some girls asked Lord Robert Baden Powell to create a group for girls, too. He agreed, and soon after, he made plans for the Girl Guides.

In the north part of the park is the Crystal Palace Bowl, a natural space where big summer concerts were held for almost 60 years. Famous musicians like Pink Floyd, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and the Beach Boys performed there. It was also where Bob Marley gave his last big concert in London on June 7, 1980. The stage was rebuilt in 1996 but later stopped being used. In 2020, the London Borough of Bromley Council began working with local groups to bring concerts back to the Bowl.

A memorial bell for the Royal Naval Voluntary Reserve (RNVR) that remembers World War I is in the park. The bell was first shown in 1931 but was moved to its current spot in the 1970s.

The Crystal Palace Museum is inside the last building made by the Crystal Palace Company around 1880. It was originally a classroom for the company’s School of Practical Engineering.

The park is one of the places you can start the Green Chain Walk, a path that goes to places like Chislehurst, Erith, the Thames Barrier, and Thamesmead. Part of the Capital Ring walk around London also goes through the park.

Proposed developments

Since the 1980s, many ideas have been suggested to change Crystal Palace Park. After the Greater London Council stopped existing in 1986, the park was given to the London Borough of Bromley. One big question has been whether to build on the open space where the original Crystal Palace once stood or to keep it as parkland.

In 1989, Bromley wanted to build a hotel and leisure area there, and this was limited by a special law passed in 1990.

Over the years, different plans were suggested, such as building a large entertainment space, a modern glass building, and a big sports centre. Some plans also included building homes on parts of the park, which caused debates among local groups. In 2011, the owners of Crystal Palace F.C. wanted to move their team back to the park, but these plans changed later.

In 2020, Bromley Council suggested a £40 million plan to improve the park. In May 2025, the Crystal Palace Park Trust started work on refreshing the park. This includes fixing old dinosaur models, adding new play areas, and improving walkways, with help from selling some land for social housing. Plans were also announced to update the National Sports Centre.