In the evening of 30th November 1936, the Crystal Palace was tragically destroyed by fire, exactly 85 years after it housed the 1851 Great Exhibition. Designed by botanist, Joseph Paxton, the Crystal Palace was made of iron beams and 300,000 panes of glass, which helped preserve the pre-existing trees in Hyde Park where the exhibition had been held. In her journal dated 18th February 1851, Queen Victoria writes that ‘the building is so light & graceful’ (1) earning it, in her opinion, a position as ‘one of the wonders of the world’. (2)
Following the closing of the exhibition in October 1851, it was decided that the Crystal Palace would be dismantled and rebuilt in Sydenham near Kent. On 10th June 1854 it was once again opened by Queen Victoria, who was relieved to see its resurrection and evolution into the largest building in the world. Over the next 82 years the Crystal Palace was used for a variety of events and exhibitions. However, as time passed the majestic ‘palace’ began falling into disrepair.
At around 7pm on 30th November 1936, Sir Henry Buckland was doing his nightly rounds when he noticed a small fire burning in one of the rooms. Having sent his daughter, Crystal, to alert the night guards, Buckland began fighting the fast-spreading flames.
With the men busy attempting to control to fire, it took an hour for anyone to alert the fire brigade. Penge, Beckenham and Croydon fire services were first to arrive, with the London fire brigade later joining the attempts, but by this point they were already too late.
After years of poor maintenance, the Crystal Palace was in an unsafe condition. The wooden floor had dried out from years of excessive heat, with wooden panels also being used to replace missing panes of glass. On top of this, there had been recent reports of a gas leak, which doesn’t appear to have been investigated. All of this, along with the hilltop winter breeze, caused the fire to spread at an unmanageable pace.
Before long, a major incident had been declared and thousands of people began gathering to watch as 88 fire engines, with 50 water pumps and approximately 400 firemen attempted to battle the blaze. For almost a century the palace had amazed visitors with its unusual iron and glass structure but now this would become its downfall. As the glass began shattering from the extreme heat, the iron beams began losing their structural stability, causing the whole building to tumble down, section by section.
By the following morning the Crystal Palace was completely destroyed, besides the two brick water towers. However, these were later dismantled upon the commencement of the Second World War as it was feared that the prominent structures would serve as navigation points for enemy bombers. Fortunately, no one was killed in the disaster, which is believed to have been caused by either an electrical fault or cigarette. Nonetheless, the nation and the rest of the world mourned the glass wonder that had graced the London skyline for so many years.
© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2025
Citation:
(1) RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 18 February1851 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 12 November 2025. Royal Collection Trust / © King Charles III
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Very sad. I remember my father telling me about this. It’s a shame, I would like to have seen the famous Crystal Palace,
The only good thing is that Queen Victoria didn’t have to see her beloved Crystal Palace being destroyed. It was interesting to see the police pulling out items from the remains. It is amazing how not everything was burnt to a crisp.
It would be wonderful if another one was built to honor of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.