Crystal Palace is an area in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, named after

the Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...

Exhibition building which stood in the area from 1854, until it was destroyed by a fire in 1936. About southeast of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, it includes one of the highest points in London, at , offering views over the capital. The area has no defined boundaries and straddles five London boroughs and three postal districts, although there is a Crystal Palace electoral ward and Crystal Palace Park in the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

. It forms a part of the greater area known as

Upper Norwood Upper Norwood is an area of south London, England, within the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth and London Borough of Southwark, Southwark. It is north ...

, and is contiguous with the areas of Anerley, Dulwich Wood, Gipsy Hill,

Penge Penge () is a suburb of South East Greater London, London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross. Etymology The name ''Penge'' is first attested in charter of ...

, South Norwood and Sydenham. The area is represented by four parliamentary constituencies, four London Assembly constituencies and fourteen local councillors. Until development began in the 19th century, and before the arrival of the Crystal Palace, the area was known as Sydenham Hill. The Norwood Ridge and an historic oak tree were used to mark parish boundaries. After the Crystal Palace burned down in 1936, the site of the building and its grounds became Crystal Palace Park, the location of the National Sports Centre which contains an athletics track, stadium and other sports facilities. Crystal Palace Park has also been used as the setting for a number of concerts and films, such as '' The Italian Job'' and '' The Pleasure Garden'' and contains the Crystal Palace Park Concert Platform, in place since 1997. Two television transmitter masts make the district a landmark location, visible from many parts of Greater London. Local landmarks include the Crystal Palace Triangle, a shopping district made up of three streets forming a triangle; Westow Park, a smaller park that lies off the triangle southwest of Crystal Palace Park; and the Stambourne Woodland Walk. Crystal Palace was named in the '' Sunday Times'' newspaper's top ten list of "the best places to live in London" of 2016. In April 2022 Crystal Palace was named the best place to live in London by the ''Sunday Times'', being characterised by a bohemian fusion of urban vibes and village-feel.

History

The ridge and the historic oak tree known as the Vicar's Oak (at the crossroads of the A212 Church Road and A214 Westow Hill) were used to mark parish boundaries. This has led to the Crystal Palace area straddling the boundaries of five London Boroughs;

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

and

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

. The area also straddles three postcode districts: , , and . The ancient boundary between

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

passes through the area, and until 1889 included parts of both counties. From 1889 to 1965 the area was on the south-eastern boundary of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

. For centuries the area was covered by the Great North Wood, an extensive area of natural oak forest that formed a wilderness close to the southern edge of the then expanding city of London. The forest was a popular area for Londoners' recreation right up to the 19th century, when it began to be built over. It was also a home of Gypsies, with some local street names and pubs recording the link, and the area still retains vestiges of woodland. A pneumatic railway was briefly trialled in the area in 1864. Once the railways arrived, Crystal Palace was eventually served by two railway stations, the high level and low level stations, built to handle the large volume of passengers visiting the exhibition building. After the Palace was destroyed by fire, and with railway travel declining, passenger numbers fell and the high level station was closed in 1954 and demolished seven years later. Rail services gradually declined, and for a period in the 1960s and 1970s, there were plans to construct an urban motorway through the area as part of the

London Ringways The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council (GLC) to alleviate traffic co ...

plan. With rising passenger numbers, additional

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...

services began stopping at the station and a major station redevelopment occurred.

The Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace General view from Water Temple

The Crystal Palace, designed by

Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...

, was a remarkable construction of prefabricated parts. It was a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

and

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

building originally erected in Hyde Park to house the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

of 1851. Following the success of the exhibition, the Palace was moved and reconstructed in 1854 in a modified and enlarged form in the grounds of the Penge Place estate at Sydenham Hill. The buildings housed the Crystal Palace School of Art, Science, and Literature and Crystal Palace School of Engineering. It attracted visitors for over seven decades. Sydenham Hill is one of the highest locations in London; 109 metres (357 ft) above sea level ( spot height on Ordnance Survey Map); and the size of the Palace and prominence of the site made it easy to identify from much of London. This led to the residential area around the building becoming known as Crystal Palace instead of Sydenham Hill. The Palace was destroyed by fire on 30 November 1936 and the site of the building and its grounds is now known as Crystal Palace Park.

Landmarks

Crystal Palace Triangle

The area is formed by Westow Street, Westow Hill and Church Road, and has a number of restaurants and several independent shops, as well as an indoor secondhand market and a farmer's market on Haynes Lane. The triangle also contains a range of vintage furniture and clothing stores, as well as galleries, arts and crafts shops and other businesses. There was an ongoing campaign to turn a former bingo hall (at 25 Church Road) back into a cinema, after it had been purchased by the Kingsway International Christian Centre. The cinema had opened as "The Rialto" in 1928, later being renamed "The Picture Palace", only to close in 1968 and become a bingo hall. In 2018 after considerable restoration and renovation, Everyman Cinemas re-opened 25 Church Road as their 25th nationwide cinema location.

Transmitters

Television transmission has been taking place from Crystal Palace since at least the 1930s and two TV

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

towers — Crystal Palace Transmitter – tall — and Croydon Transmitter – tall — stand on the hill at Upper Norwood, making the district a landmark location visible from many parts of London. The towers may appear similar in height and design, but the Crystal Palace mast, constructed in 1956, is on a slightly higher elevation. The current Croydon tower was built in 1962. Cp mast

Crystal Palace Park

Crystal Palace Park is a large Victorian pleasure ground occupying much of the land within Crystal Palace and is one of the major London public parks. The park was maintained by the LCC and later the GLC, but with the abolition of the GLC in 1986, control of the entire park was given to the London Borough of Bromley. From 15 September 2023 responsibility for the park's management has been handed to the Crystal Palace Park Trust. Crystal Palace railway station is located by the park, as is the National Sports Centre. The park was formerly used for sports such as cricket, football and motor racing, and has been a venue for concerts often performed at the site of the Crystal Palace Park Concert Platform. In recent years the park has played host to organised music events such as Wireless Festival and South Facing Festival. It is also home to the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaur sculptures. The park is situated halfway along Norwood Ridge at one of its highest points. This ridge offers views northwards to central London, east to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, and southward to

and the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

. It is also one of the starting points for the Green Chain Walk, linking to places such as Chislehurst,

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north ...

, the Thames Barrier and

Thamesmead Thamesmead () is an area of south-east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly c ...

. Section 3 of the

Capital Ring The Capital Ring is a strategic circular walking route in London, around in length. It is promoted by London's 33 local councils, led by the City of London Corporation in partnership with the Greater London Authority and its functional body f ...

walk round London goes through the park.

Westow Park

A smaller park occupying is to the southwest of the triangle on Church Road. Westow Park hosts the annual Crystal Palace Overground festival, a free community festival held over four days in the summer.

Stambourne Woods

To the south of the triangle is a small area of woodland occupying , containing the Stambourne Woodland Walk. It was opened in 1984 and covers an area between developments on Stambourne Way and Fox Hill. The land originally formed the gardens of Victorian villas built on the hill overlooking Croydon, but fell into disrepair. In 1962, the Croydon Council approved terms for buying the land from the Church Commissioners and other local freeholders, allowing the construction of a link. Paths and benches were installed but much of the vegetation was left undisturbed, creating a woodland pathway.

Saint Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church

At 69 Westow Street is an ornate

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

which serves the Greek Cypriot and Orthodox community in the surrounding area. Built in 1878, and formerly an Anglican church (St. Andrew's), the walls are now dressed in ornate Byzantine-style art.

Geography

Crystal Palace is about southeast of

on Norwood Ridge and includes one of the highest points of London at 112 metres above the mean sea level (OS map reference TQ337707). The Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, in the centre of the park, is above the mean sea level. The soil in the area has been classified as typically "Slowly permeable, seasonally wet, slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils", with impeded drainage, moderate

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

and a loamy profile. The nearest Met Office climate station is based in Greenwich Park.

Local government

Crystal Palace is on the boundary of four

London boroughs The London boroughs are the current 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs wer ...

–

and

. A fifth borough –

– is nearby. As a result, the area is served by a diverse range of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

bodies and Members of Parliament (MPs).

Local authorities

Several local authority councillors in the area were elected on 5 May 2022. All seats bar 1 are held by Labour party candidates. The elected officials by ward for Crystal Palace local authorities in October 2023 were:

London Assembly

The area is represented by four constituencies in the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

. Their elected assembly members in 2024 were:

Westminster Parliament

The area is represented by four constituencies in the Westminster Parliament. In July 2024, their elected MPs were:

Media

Films

'' The Italian Job'' has a scene filmed at the athletics track in the Crystal Palace sports centre, in which

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

says, "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" '' The Pleasure Garden'' was also filmed in the park and '' Our Mother's House'' has a scene featuring

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House (film), Doctor in the Hous ...

with several children on the park's boating lake. The park features prominently as the setting of an outdoor

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

in the music video for

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...

' number 1 single " Setting Sun".

Literature

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

was active in the area between 1891 and 1894. Although he lived in nearby South Norwood, he visited the Crystal Palace and

area regularly in connection with the Upper Norwood Literary and Scientific Society. The Foresters Hall on Westow Street was then known as the Welcome Hall (or just Welcome), and it was in that hall in May 1892 that Arthur Conan Doyle was elected President of the society. He was re-elected to the post in 1893 and resigned in 1894. Each occasion was held in the same hall. The writer Deborah Crombie sets her 2013 mystery, ''The Sound of Broken Glass'', in the Crystal Palace area of London. Crystal palace fc 1905-06

Sports

Crystal Palace Football Club

The club were formed in 1905 and initially played their home games at the sports stadium situated inside the grounds of The Crystal Palace. However, in 1915 they were forced to leave due to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and played at nearby Herne Hill Velodrome and the Nest, before moving to their current home at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

in 1924. The club competes in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, the top–tier of English football, where they have been since 2013.

FA Cup Final

The

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

was hosted at the Palace sports stadium between 1895 and 1914. The historical grounds also hosted the first England Rugby Union match against New Zealand in 1905, which New Zealand won by 15–0. The

London County Cricket Club London County Cricket Club was a short-lived cricket club founded by the The Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace Company. In 1898 they invited WG Grace to help them form a first-class cricket, first-class cricket club. Grace accepted the offer and b ...

also played their matches here, having been formed by The Crystal Palace Company with the help of W. G. Grace. Crystal Palace athletics stadium

National Sports Centre

In 1964, a 15,500 seater athletics stadium and sports centre was built on the former site of the football stadium in Crystal Palace Park. The athletics stadium was known as the National Sports Centre and between 1999 and 2012 hosted the London Athletics Grand Prix among other international athletics meetings. The Crystal Palace triathletes club is also based here. Since the London 2012 Olympics, the status of the stadium and aquatics centre as the main facilities for their sports in London has been superseded by the

London Aquatics Centre The London Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility with two swimming pools and a diving (sport), diving pool in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, Stratford, London. The centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid as one of the main ...

and

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

. This led to Crystal Palace F.C. submitting plans to rebuild the stadium as a 40,000 capacity football stadium.

Motor Racing

A motor racing circuit was opened around the Park in 1927 and the remains of the track now make up some of the access roads around the park. The track was extended to in 1936, before being taken over by the Ministry of Defence at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Race meetings resumed in 1953, and the circuit hosted a range of international racing events, continuing until the last races in 1974. For three years, from 1997, parts of the circuit were used for a once-a-year sprint time trial similar to a hillclimb before stopping due to development work. The event resumed in 2010 and continued until 2019.

Education

Crystal Palace contains three primary schools, Paxton Primary School, Rockmount Primary School and All Saints C of E Primary School, and one secondary school, Harris City Academy. Crystal Palace Park also contains a branch of Capel Manor College, offering courses in Animal Care, Arboriculture and Countryside, Horticulture and Landscaping and Garden Design along with other short courses. In 2013, due to a shortage of primary school places in both Crystal Palace and London, proposals to open a new primary school by September 2015 were put forward, with plans submitted to the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

in January 2014. The proposals were approved as part of wave 6 of the Free Schools Programme and the school is scheduled to open in September 2015. As of October 2014, the school is considering three possible building configurations – with the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...

running a public consultation on each option – all of which would involve demolishing one of the seated stands around the athletics track at the National Sports Centre.

Transport

Roads

The area is served by the A212, A214, A234 and A2199 roads. The roads that make up the triangle (Westow Hill, Westow Street and Church Road) form part of a one-way system and are in a 24-hour controlled parking and loading zone. There is a coach park inside Crystal Palace Park. The area would have been affected by the cancelled

motorway plans, as one of the radial routes connecting the South Cross Route to Ringway 2 (the South Cross Route to Parkway D Radial) would have run through a part of Crystal Palace Park, following the railway line.

Cycle routes

London Cycle Network routes 23 and 27 travel through Crystal Palace. Route 27 runs from Anerley Hill through part of Crystal Palace Park towards

and route 23 runs through the Crystal Palace triangle to connect to

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

and

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

have proposed to build Quietway route 7 that runs from Crystal Palace to

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The n ...

. The route was subject to consultation processes in the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark in 2016, with construction to begin in 2017.

Rail

Crystal Palace is accessible by rail from Crystal Palace railway station, where Southern trains run between Victoria on the Crystal Palace Line and

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

on the Brighton Main Line, and where

trains run to Highbury & Islington on the East London Line. In addition, Southern services run to Beckenham Junction,

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

and Epsom Downs. Crystal Palace railway station is one of the few stations to border two zones, Zones 3 and 4. The South Gate of the Park is accessible by rail via Penge West, which is served by Southern trains from

and

services. Crystal Palace used to have a second railway station, the Crystal Palace (High Level) railway station. The station was built to serve passengers visiting the Crystal Palace, but after the fire in 1936, traffic on the branch line declined. In

, the line serving the station was temporarily closed due to bomb damage. Repairs were made and the line was reopened, but the requirement for reconstruction and the decline in traffic led to a decision to close the station and branch line in 1954, followed by the demolition of the station in 1961. Despite the demolition, a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

subway remains under Crystal Palace Parade. The Crystal Palace pneumatic railway was also built in Crystal Palace c.1864. Unit 378149 at Crystal Palace

The low level station remain open, although passenger numbers at that station also fell after the fire of 1936 and many services were diverted to serve London–Croydon routes instead of the Victoria–London Bridge route. Rail travel was in decline across the UK in the 1960s and 1970s when the Beeching Axe was imposed. In the 1970s, two outer platforms used by terminating trains were abandoned and the third rail was removed. More recently rail travel at the station has seen a resurgence and new services have started running. Passenger numbers increased each year between 2004 and 2013. Since May 2010, the station has served the East London Line branch of the

, connecting with the

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

and East End of London. In 2011 services were extended to Highbury and Islington. The station underwent redevelopment in 2012, which brought the original Victorian booking hall back into use, created a new cafe in the station building and provided wheelchair access through the installation of three lifts; this work was completed by the end of March 2013.

Tram

Tram services from Surrey used to operate up Anerley Hill to the Crystal Palace Parade until the 1930s. More recently there have been proposals to connect Tramlink to Crystal Palace, with mayoral candidates citing the desirability of the initiative. Crystal Palace Bus Station - geograph

Bus

The area is served by multiple bus routes, many of which terminate at Crystal Palace Bus Station situated on the Parade. These services include routes N2, 3/N3, N63, 122, N137, 157, 202, 227,

249 __NOTOC__ Year 249 ( CCXLIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gavius and Aquilinus (or, less frequently, year 1002 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 24 ...

, 322, 358, 363, 410, 417, 432 and 450.

Air

The nearest major international airports are Heathrow and Gatwick.

London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...

and Biggin Hill Airport are also nearby.

Notable people

Marie Stopes, early promoter of sex education and contraception, was raised in a house on Cintra Park shortly after her birth in Edinburgh in 1880.

, designer of the Crystal Palace itself and instrumental in having the building reassembled on Sydenham Hill following the success of the

of 1851, lived in a house called "Rockhills" at the top of Westwood Hill. Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, artist and sculptor who created the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs in the park, lived in Belvedere Road between 1856 and 1872. Jim Bob, Carter USM frontman, currently lives in Crystal Palace. The African-American Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge lived in Hamlet Road. The French novelist

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

lived in what is now the Queen's Hotel on Church Road between October 1898 and June 1899. Zola fled to England after being convicted of criminal libel in France on 23 February 1898, a direct consequence of the publication of his open letter '' J'Accuse…!''. Francis Pettit Smith, one of the inventors of the screw propeller and a contributor to the construction of the SS ''Archimedes'', lived in the area between 1864 and 1870. British rapper Speech Debelle was born in Crystal Palace. She left the area because of "traffic and parking problems". Camille Pissarro, Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter, stayed in Crystal Palace between 1870 and 1871. Comedy scriptwriter John Sullivan of ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' fame wrote the pilot episode of his debut sitcom '' Citizen Smith'' at his in-laws' house in Crystal Palace. A fuller list of notable people can be found on the same section of the

page.

Nearest places

* Anerley * Beckenham *

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

and Dulwich Wood * Elmers End * Forest Hill * Gipsy Hill *

* South Norwood * Sydenham *

* West Norwood

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Beryl D. Cheeseman, ''Treetops & Terraces'', Theban Publishing, 1991. *Beryl D. Cheeseman, ''Upper Norwood Triangle Memories'', Theban Publishing, 2007. *John Coulter, ''Norwood: A Second Selection'' (Britain in Old Photographs), The History Press, 2012. *John Coulter, ''Norwood Past'', Historical Publications, 1996. *John Coulter, ''Norwood Pubs'' (Images of England), Tempus Publishing, 2006 (reprinted by The History Press). *David R. Johnson, ''Around Crystal Palace & Penge'' (Britain in Old Photographs), Sutton Publishing, 2004 (reprinted by The History Press). *Ian Leith, ''Delamotte's Crystal Palace: A Victorian Pleasure Dome Revealed'', English Heritage, 2005 (reprinted by The Crystal Palace Foundation, 2013). *J. R. Piggott, ''Palace of the People: The Crystal Palace at Sydenham 1854-1936'', Hurst & Company, 2004. *Nicholas Reed, ''Crystal Palace and the Norwoods'' (Images of England), Tempus Publishing, 1995 (reprinted by The History Press). *C. J. Schuler, ''The Wood that Built London: A Human History of the Great North Wood'', Sandstone Press, 2021. *Alan R. Warwick, ''The Phoenix Suburb: A South London Social History'', The Blue Boar Press/Norwood Society, 1972 (reprinted 1991 & 2008).

External links

Crystal Palace FoundationCrystal Palace Community AssociationCrystal Palace Park TrustUpper Norwood Triangle Conservation Plan

The Transmitter – local magazineUpper Norwood LibraryVirtual Norwood – community web siteThe Norwood Society
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Bromley Districts of the London Borough of Croydon Districts of the London Borough of Lambeth Districts of the London Borough of Lewisham Districts of the London Borough of Southwark Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Bromley District centres of London