The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs
Attraction · Penge, England
The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs stand on and beside the islands at the lower lake in Crystal Palace Park, SE20 8DN. They are listed at Grade I, NHLE 1067798, under an entry naming prehistoric animal sculptures, geological formations and a lead mine on islands and on land facing the lower lake, so the geology and the mine fall inside the same designation as the animals. They were unveiled in 1854.
History
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins designed and built the sculptures under the scientific direction of Sir Richard Owen. They represent fifteen genera of extinct animals, of which three are true dinosaurs. Each was modelled full size in clay, moulded and cast in cement sections, and the larger figures are hollow over a brickwork core. Hawkins held a dinner inside the mould of one of the Iguanodon models on New Year's Eve 1853. Victor H. C. Martin carried out a full restoration in 1952. The sculptures were listed Grade II in 1973 and upgraded to Grade I in 2007, and they appear on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register 2024.
Visit
Crystal Palace Park, Thicket Road, Penge, London SE20 8DN
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