Crystal Palace was an iron and glass structure that was designed by Joseph Paxton. It was built in Hyde Park, London, for the Great Exhibition held in 1851. When this exhibition closed, it was moved in it's entirety to what was Penge Place Estate, in South London. It re-opened there in 1854. The palace was a well known local landmark and the attraction hosted exhibitions, concerts, and demonstrations of scientific achievements. Towers at each end of the building supplied water for the ornamental fountains.
On the evening of November 30th, in 1936, Sir Henry Buckland, a trustee of the Crystal Palace, was walking his dog when he noticed the Palace was on fire. As he neared the building, he could see an ominous glow rising from the Palace's central aisle. He ran inside to see two night-watchmen attempting to extinguish a small fire but could see they stood little chance. He immediately called the local Fire Brigade. The Penge Fire Brigade was called at 7.59pm, and was the first to arrive soon after at 8.03pm. They quickly realized that the fire far exceeded their resources. Eventually almost 500 firemen with more than 80 fire engines from four Fire Brigades would be summoned to the blaze. There was little they could do other than to help prevent the spread of the fire to nearby buildings.
An eye witness described the fire below:-
"Great crashes and explosions could be heard, and billowing mountains of spark filled clouds, about twice the height of the 350 foot towers, rolled away over South Kent, flaming with the glow of the fire, when we got to the Crystal Palace parade at the top of the hill, we found a seething mass of people, cars, bicycles, and pedestrians, and still more thousands streaming up from every hill and road. Fire engines trying to run out their hoses; cars and bicycles and humans rushing over the hoses, and over and above all the blinding blaze of the Crystal Palace alight almost from end to end."
The fire burned most of the night, melting the glass panels and softening the steel superstructure such that, one by one, the great supporting arches twisted and fell. By morning, nothing was left but a tangled ruin. The fire's cause was never clearly determined, though it appears a forgotten cigarette in a ladies' washroom may have ignited the flooring and the fire spread through the space between the joists. Others claim it was caused due to an electrical fault.
Surveying the ruins the next morning, Sir Winston Churchill pronounced it the "end of an era."
The only parts left standing were the two water towers, but these were demolished during the 2nd world war, as it was thought they could be used as landmarks by German Bombers.
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