History Hunters home Crystal Palace home Millennium Dome team Sydenham team Fire team Crystal Palace history Prince Albert Albert Memorial Joseph Paxton [the Crystal Palace in 1861] the fire of 1866 Crystal Palace in 1900 the fire of 1936 sport and entertainment maps evidence and finds timeline Crystal Palace resources glossary	the Crystal Palace in 1861 The following is an extract from Black's Guide to the History, Antiquities and Topography of Surrey, published in 1861 by A & C Black Ltd, reprinted in 1996 as Black's 1861 Guide to the Crystal Palace by Local History Reprints, 316 Green Lane, Streatham, London SW16 3AS. The Crystal Palace owes its origins to the Industrial Exhibition of 1851, which so admirably illustrated the aptitude of glass and iron for the construction of extensive edifices of a peculiar character. The 'idea', originally set forth by Sir Joseph Paxton and his friends, has been fully carried out by a joint-stock company at an outlay of nearly £2,000,000. The estate comprehends about 200 acres [80.94 hectares] of a demesne formerly known as Penge Place, and from its elevated position commands some of the finest views in Surrey. The gardens have been laid out under the immediate superintendence of Sir Joseph Paxton, and are probably not inferior in their general arrangement to any in Europe, while in many respects they surpass all others. With the Italian beauties of 'terraced heights', and the mechanical wonders of enormous water-works, they combine the rich verdure of English turf, and command from every point the attractions of English landscapes, gorgeous masses of bloom, ample stretches of luxuriant lawn, flashing waves of rolling light. These, beheld on a golden autumn noon, from the glittering galleries of the palace, with a rare background of hill, and dale, and meadow, relieved by thick clusters of leafy shadow, present a coup d'oeil of an unique and fascinating character. The building itself, in its combination of glass and iron, is very attractive. The immense length of the nave, the bold arches of the transepts, the lofty water-towers, convey a surprising idea of massiveness and grandeur. The central transept is 194 feet [59.13m] high and 120 feet [36.58m] wide; the others, 150 feet [45.72m] in height and 72 [21.95m] in width. The total length of the building is 1608 feet [490.12m], its greatest width is 384 feet [117.04m], and it occupies an area of 603,072 square feet [5.6 hectares]. The towers are 284 feet [86.56m] in height, and from their roofs, ascended to by a spiral staircase, may be obtained a prospect of unexampled beauty, variety and extent. They answer a double purpose, by carrying off the smoke from the fires which heat the palace, and maintaining in the immense tanks at their summit a sufficient quantity of water to supply the lofty columns of the great fountains. The interior of this surprising structure has a graceful and picturesque appearance. The colouring ... gives to solidity the effect of extraordinary lightness, and the wide sweep of the arched roof relieves an uniformity of design which might otherwise grow monotonous. A gallery, nearly a mile in length, runs round the building, and is chiefly devoted to the exhibition of manufactured products. A sufficient space, however, has been appropriated to the reception of pictures for sale, and here the visitor will occasionally find some works of considerable pretension. Other galleries are arranged at suitable points for the convenience of spectators, and are gained by handsome spiral staircases -- in themselves no mean addition to 'the effects' of the Crystal Palace. But these are details which the visitor will better comprehend from half an hour's inspection than from the perusal of many pages of tedious and unnecessary exposition.